Become a Sake Brewer: Sake Brewing Experience in Nagano

During this 2-3 day experience at a Nagano sake brewery, find out firsthand what it takes to be a kurabito (sake brewer)! Visit the sake brewery village in Saku (eastern Nagano), which is home to 13 different sake breweries, the oldest of which is 300 years old! Here, guests will have a sake brewery tour, learn how sake is made, and then jump into the sake brewery experience. Before starting the sake making process, a purification ritual will be conducted by a Shinto priest. Sake brewing is deeply rooted in Shintoism in Japan and these ties can still be seen at some shrines in Japan, where barrels of sake are displayed. Then, the sake brewing process will begin. Among other tasks, budding sake brewers will get a chance to wash and soak the rice, a seemingly simple process that’s actually like a precisely-timed dance. The next day, this rice can be steamed and brought into the highly-controlled koji room, which is kept at a precise temperature to stimulate the koji’s growth. During normal brewery tours, guests are barred from entry to the koji room, as the environment is very sensitive. But here, guests may have the rare opportunity to enter the koji room and experience the Zen-like process of inoculating the rice with koji. After a day of hard work, you’ll be rewarded with a meal at a local restaurant that specializes in cheeses; all house-made from local goat and cow’s milk. This course meal also includes a tasting of several types of Nagano sake. FRIDAY 18:00 Check-in 19:00 Dinner & sake (not included) SATURDAY 7:00 Breakfast 7:40 Orientation & Shinto ritual 8:30 Brewery tour & sake brewing process explanation 9:00 Perform work like steaming rice, making koji, etc. 10:15 Break 10:45 Perform tasks like tidying & preparing sake for shipment 12:00 Lunch 13:30 Make an original label for your souvenir sake bottle 15:00 Wash & soak rice 16:00 Tasting seminar 18:00 Sake pairing dinner 20:00~ Leisure time SUNDAY (See option below)