Kame no O
A 19th-century heirloom from Yamagata, brought back from near-extinction: tangy, rich and characterful.
- Bred in
- Yamagata山形
- Registered or found
- 1893
- Typical US price, 720 ml
- $48 median
- Bottles at Tippsy
- 5
Kame no O (亀の尾) was selected by farmer Abe Kameji in Yamagata in 1893. It was once one of Japan's main rice varieties — for eating and brewing — and is an ancestor of Koshihikari. It fell out of use after the war until Niigata's Kusumi brewery revived it in the 1980s from a small handful of seeds, a story told in the manga Natsuko no Sake.
In the glass: lively acidity, rich flavor and a distinctive, slightly wild character.
Brands that use Kame no O.
From bottles our US retail partner lists with this rice. Brands often use several rices.
Kame no O bottles you can buy in the US.
In stock at Tippsy, best-rated brands first.
Prices and bottle counts come from Tippsy's catalog on October 28, 2026. Sake 47 may earn a commission when you buy through these links. It never affects flavor data or rankings.
Other sake rice
Flavor profiles and rankings: Sakenowa (さけのわ) open data, built from drinkers' check-ins in Japan.