Visiting a Sake Brewery
Thinking about maybe taking a sake brewery tour on your next trip to Japan? Of course you should! Not only is sake an important part of Japanese culture, ceremonies and daily life, but its also delicious! Read why booking a tour might just be the highlight of your trip:
What to expect when visiting a sake brewery
Most sake tours will talk you through the main elements of their sake making process. They will show you around the grounds and you can observe the fermentation tanks up close. They might discuss the type of rice they use, koji mould, and if additional alcohol is added.
I can guarantee they will talk about their water source. Most sake breweries will claim that their water source is the cleanest, purest, freshest water that you could possibly imagine!
This may seem a little dull if you are not interested in nihonshu. But you will definitely leave more knowledgeable about how different sake is made and its impact on the flavour.
Last is the most exciting part. Most sake tours will finish with a sample of their products. This is a great way to taste a few of their signature sakes (and maybe a few experimental ones!). Once you have decided your favourite, you will be discreetly guided to the gift shop to buy a bottle to take home!
Matsuoka brewery
The first brewery I visited was the Matsuoka brewery in Ogawamachi, Saitama. The brewery was founded in 1851 by Yuemon Matsuoka. He was born into a sake brewing family and chose this area due to its booming merchant market and close proximity to the Chichibu mountains and rice farmlands.
This tour was good fun! Our tour guide was the son of the current CEO. He was very knowledgeable about making sake but also had a flair for presenting. He talked passionately about each stage of the brewing process. He explained each of the sample sakes in great detail. Everyone in the tour could feel his love for his work.
Ingeniously, this brewery also has a restaurant onsite. The restaurant offers Japanese delicacies made from locally sourced meat and vegetables. Of course, the flavour of the food is enhanced with the brewery’s-own sake! It was such a delight to eat with perfectly paired sake, all while enjoying view of the garden in its spring colours.
But for me, the highlight of this tour came from the gift shop. This is where you can buy freshly prepared sake ice cream. Let me tell you. This is a creamy, delicious treat with just a hint of sake. Perfect for relaxing after the tour.
Seiun Sake Brewery
If you are planning to visit Matsuoka brewery, why not visit the Seiun sake brewery on the same day? The Seiun brewery is located just 2km from the Matsuoka and 900 metres from the station, so its easy to fit into your schedule.
Good sake made in the traditional way must be crafted in a cold brewery. So skilled craftsmen work in the Seiun brewery only in winter. They stay for 5 months and return home in the early spring.
This tour was a little shorter but still intriguing. The group was shown the multiple machines, including the rice milling machine onsite. Sake breweries often buy polished rice from another source, so it was striking to see that Seiun polish their own rice down to create it’s beautifully delicate daiginjo sake.
Again, the best part for me was browsing and sampling the products! The brewery generously offered samples of its premium sake. The shop was elegantly presented with a relaxing atmosphere.
How to visit a sake brewery in Japan.
Oh, did I mention? Both of these tours are absolutely FREE! If you want to visit a sake brewery, just visit their website and book a slot in advance.
However, there is no guarantee the tour will be in English. If you want an English-speaking guide, try searching on trip advisor or Meet up. Sake tours are a popular tourist activity, but many have stopped currently due to the coronavirus restrictions.
I highly recommend visiting a sake brewery on your next trip to Japan. Even if you don’t care how its made, I’m sure you will enjoy tasting new and exciting sakes you have never tried before!
Thanks for reading! To learn more about nihonshu, please read more sake blogs with Kanpai Drinks or follow me on Instagram at hellokanpaidrinks
