Inside Japan’s Ultra‑Clear Ice: How Kuramoto’s Slow‑Freeze Method Wins Bars Worldwide

Co‑owner Yong Wei says local ice is cheaper, but Kuramoto’s product is clearer, denser and melts more slowly, a quality that attracts bars worldwide.

Kuramoto Ice, based in Ishikawa’s historic city of Kanazawa, has been shaping and slicing premium ice for more than a hundred years. Today the company ships its ultra‑clear cubes to trendy bars across the United States, Australia and other markets.

According to Kazuhiko Kuramoto, the firm’s fifth‑generation head, the water is frozen for 48 to 72 hours while it is kept in motion. As the ice forms from the outside inward, impurities are forced toward the centre; the tainted water is then removed and replaced with fresh water. Constant stirring also drives out air bubbles, producing completely transparent “junpyo” ice.

Industry insiders say the resulting ice is denser and melts more slowly than ordinary blocks, which means a cocktail is diluted less quickly. “Ice really has a huge impact on the taste of a cocktail,” bartender Shingo Miyachi told AFP, adding that slower melt preserves the lingering aftertaste.

Bars abroad are willing to pay as much as 200 yen (about US$1.25) per cube. Since the company began exporting in 2019, Kuramoto Ice’s total sales have more than doubled, making it one of the few Japanese ice makers with a strong international presence.

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