After a day of sightseeing on Miyajima Island, you may want to enjoy a cold drink. One hundred year old Kubota Liquor Shop offers interesting local soft drinks, as well as top-quality sake and beer.
For local non-alcoholic drinks, try the Hiroshima cola made in Fukuyama, or other regional sodas called ramune featuring figs or citrus fruits from the Seto Inland Sea region. These bottles of pop are as fun to open (by pressing a cap down into the top) as they are to drink. They are a traditional type of non-alcoholic cider that can be found all over Japan, but recently regional varieties like this have been popping up in stores like this which specialize in local products.
If you want an alcoholic drink, it's nice to know that drinking in public in Japan is perfectly fine, as long as you behave yourself and don't become a public, drunken nuisance. Unlike some countries where open containers are a no-no, you can sit on the beach and have a drink on Miyajima island while taking in the views of the floating Itsukushima Shrine or giant red O-torii gate. This is especially beautiful in the late afternoon and at sunset, just around the time you usually start to feel like it's time to unwind.
The sign in front says jizake (地酒) which refers to the availability of spirits from Hiroshima and the nearby regions. Kubota offers a variety of local sake (nihonshu), shochu and wines to choose from. The shelves are lined with different bottles. If you are unsure of which to choose, ask the friendly staff for a recommendation: "O-susume-wa?" You are unlikely to be disappointed.
To find the shop, turn right down a small street heading away from the ocean side of the covered shopping street if you are heading from the torii gate area. You will soon see a tunnel in front of you, turn left down this street and you will see a supermarket (the only one on the island) and the Ikezaka liquor shop is a little further down, just before the Okonomiyaki shop.
Look for the wooden sign above the shop of the sake bottle and sake glasses. There are also teapots, glasses, fans and other local products in the store window. This shop has a great rustic-modern, wooden design inside. They are open everyday except Wednesdays, 09:00-18:30.
