Fushimi Yume Hyakushū
This building is the former headquarters of Gekkeikan. Construction began in 1917 in celebration of the company reaching its production target of 20,000 koku (3.6 million liters) of sake. It was completed in 1919 and is a beautiful example of Taishō era (1912–1926) architecture and styling, with high ceilings, wooden chairs, a lush green carpet, wooden transoms with inset glass panes, and an upright piano. The atmosphere is reminiscent of a prosperous Victorian trading office.
The business here was selling sake. When the building was constructed, it must have seemed the height of modernist chic. Today, it is a very pleasant café and shop called Fushimi Yume Hyakushū, where you can relax with a light meal, enjoy a sake tasting, or buy souvenirs from Fushimi.
A floor plan and sign depict how the first-floor office was originally laid out, with Western-style meeting rooms, a tatami-floored office space, the president’s suite, and a spacious Japanese garden. Antique Gekkeikan drinking vessels and an impressive copper sake steamer are on display in glass cabinets. The old company safe, likely too large to remove, remains in one corner.
The building was restored in 1993, most of the material taken from original building was reused, including the roof tiles.