Become a Sake Brewer: Sake Brewing Experience in Nagano
Learn about the heart of sake brewing from the craftsmen who have dedicated their lives to this traditional and spiritual practice. (Eat! Meet! Japan 2020 Silver Award)
Package Options
Highlights
Join the only sake brewery experience that allows you to take part in the sake production process
Enjoy brewery tours, several sake tastings, and a presentation that goes in-depth into Japanese sake
Have a delicious meal featuring 100% locally made cow and goat’s milk cheeses and various brands of sake
Make your own label for a souvenir bottle of sake
10 meals
Experience Details
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)
What You Get
Good To Know
- The sake brewery is a spiritual environment; please cover your hair with a cloth and don’t let your hair touch the ingredients
- So as not to disturb the brewing environment, please note that hand cream, perfume, fur, and long nails are not allowed
- Please do not eat yogurt or natto before this experience
Meeting Point and Meeting Time
We will meet at Kitsukura Shuzo (384-0301 623-2 Usuda, Saku City, Nagano Prefecture 〒384-0301 長野県佐久市臼田中町６５４−３), about 1 hour and 40 minutes from Tokyo Station
Cancellation Policy
Cancel your booking at least 48 hours before the experience start time to receive a full refund minus a 3.2% transaction fee.
Experience Location
Home to several of Japan’s highest mountains, discover the many secrets of Nagano; from world-class pistes to villages frozen in time, and even a troop of hot-tub loving monkeys!
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10 meals
Learn all about miso in this tour of a miso factory in Matsumoto, Nagano! The factory has been in business since 1868 and ages its miso for up to three years. Try this rich miso in a variety of foods available after the factory tour like miso soup.
Chat with locals as you wander about the Zenkoji Temple area in Nagano, the heart of the prefectural capital. Snack on oyaki and other local delicacies along the way. Tea and sake included!