4 Japanese sake brewery tour recommendations for foreigners

photo by davidgsteadman

Don’t you want to enjoy Japanese sake more? In Japan there are many Japanese sake breweries, places where Japanese sake is made. Lately there are more breweries that allow group brewery tours, not just individuals and they are receiving a lot attention as Japanese tourist spots. Wouldn’t you like to visit a brewery and get a taste of not just the sake, but also Japanese culture? Wouldn’t you like to visit the brewery and try the sake you’ve been interested in? Wouldn’t you like to visit the brewery and boast to your friends who have gone around to the usual tourist spots? To enjoy Japanese sake more, an introduction of Japanese sake breweries.

Before that, a little bit about Japanese sake

photo by Tatsuo Yamashita

Here’s a simple introduction on Japanese sake for individuals who are not familiar. Japanese sake is a wine made from rice. When people hear of wines made from rice, they tend to think of white cloudy alcohols like Makkori, but this is not the case with Japanese sake. Japanese sake is colorless and transparent. That transparency is like that of water.  However, this is also the appeal of sake. For example, you can figure out the year and flavor of a wine depending on the color, right? This is not possible with sake. Because it is colorless and transparent. In other words, you don’t know what it tastes like until you drink it. Depending on the brand of sake, there are many different characteristics such as a sharp dry flavor,  a rich well-rounded flavor, or a refreshing fruity flavor.  Because you can’t tell by just looking at it, the anticipation for the flavor builds. Such alcohol is Japanese sake. 

2 benefits to visiting breweries

photo by Ogiyoshisan

So realistically what are the benefits of visiting a brewery? Here we will introduce 2 benefits of visiting a brewery.

You can do a tasting of many kinds of sake

You hate screwing up when you go shopping, right? You went to the trouble of purchasing it, only to find that when you ate or drank it, it was lacking. Such a thing happens a lot. There most likely are people who think ‘I’m curious about Japanese sake, but what if it’s not good?’and can’t take the leap. Those kind of worries are unnecessary with a brewery. Many of the breweries allow tastings. And, most are free (There are some places that do charge). At just a few hundred yen you can do sake tastings that are worth a couple thousand or ten thousand yen, making it so worth the price. Japanese sake is a little expensive. Hence, buying many different kinds of sake to do tastings becomes a little difficult, right? However, if you’re one that usually drinks sake and you visit a brewery and do a tasting, you’ll probably find a bottle that most suits you.  If you’re one that doesn’t usually drink sake, you can determine whether sake is for you. 

Be more knowledgeable about Japan than a Japanese person 

There are breweries that display the tools necessary to make Japanese sake.  Also, there are places where you can actually watch the process of Japanese sake making. Breweries are devising various ways for foreigners to understand the facts about Japanese sake, such as having their displays in English or having guides who speak English. It is humiliating to say that within the Japanese population, there are some people who don’t know how Japanese sake is made. By visiting a brewery, you can not only get a taste of Japanese sake, but learn more about the sake’s background and the secret to it’s palatability, and learn about the Japanese culture. In other words, you’ll be more knowledgable about Japan than a Japanese person. 

4 sake breweries recommended for foreigners

So what kind of sake breweries are there in Japan? Here, out of the 1300 sake breweries in Japan, we will introduce the ones that are easily accessible from the popular sightseeing spots and kind to foreigners.

Tokyo Fukusei city Ishikawa Brewery

Representative brand Tamajiman. One of the select few Tokyo-based sake breweries. When you tire of Tokyo’s modern spaces, we would love for you to visit this tourist spot. 

Osaka Kouno City Daimon Brewery

Representative brand Mukune. Distinctive sake made selectively with water from their back mountain and rice grown on their land

Kyoto Kyotango-shi Takeno Brewery

Representative brand Yasakatsuru. Sake made by a young chief brewer in his 20s.

Nara prefecture Nara city Seibei Imanishi Store

Representative brand Harushika. This brewery is not far from Kasuga-taisha and Toudaiji, so it might be nice to walk around old charm Nara a little tipsy after a tour at the brewery. 

In closing

There are many more sake breweries in Japan than the ones introduced here. ‘What kind of sake breweries are there in the region I am now?’ If you’re wondering, select the prefecture you’re in, on the site below and you’ll be able to find a brewery in your region. 
SAKAGURA Tourism
I hope that by visiting a sake brewery, people who enjoy sake will enjoy it even more, and people who have never tried it will enjoy it. Please enjoy your stay in Japan further by drinking sake. 

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