Sake Tour with a Sake Brewer

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Sake Tour with a Sake Brewer — Photos: the activity supplier, via Viator

Wooden Sake Tanks — Photos: the activity supplier, via Viator

About this activity

Join an expert brewer for an exclusive journey through Japan’s most famous sake region. Go beyond the free tasting areas to explore traditional techniques, visit a master cooperage where barrels are still handcrafted, and enjoy a guided tasting of sake made from three different rice varieties.

Exclusive Tastings: Sample rare Nama (unpasteurized), barrel-aged, and ultra-premium Daiginjo sake.
Behind-the-Scenes Access: Visit a workshop where skilled craftsmen still hand-build traditional wooden sake barrels.
Expert Insights: Learn centuries-old brewing secrets and local culture from an experienced sake brewer.
Sake Knowledge: Enjoy a guided Sake Flight with your host at an active sake brewery.

For weekend dates, please check my other tour at Origin Sake Tours, available Fri, Sat and Sun

Wine Tastings Half-day Tours Private and Luxury Walking Tours Sake Tasting Sake Brewery Tour Wine Tours Small Group

At a glance

Duration: 4 hours
Confirmation: Instant confirmation
Ticket: Mobile or paper ticket accepted
Group: Up to 8 people
People per booking: 1–8
Guide: English
Operated by: Origin Sake Tours

Ages: Youth (15–19 years) · Adults (20–99 years)

What is included

Included

Included: All taxes, fees and handling charges
Included: Taste various types of local sake
Included: Explanation of traditional sake brewing techniques
Included: Guided Sake Tasting with your host (comparative tasting of different grades of sake)
Included: Guided by a local sake brewer, not a tour guide

Itinerary

Stop 1

10 min

Enjoy a welcome drink in front of the crystal-clear spring water of Sawa no I well. This natural spring is directly beneath the elevated tracks of Hanshin Mikage Station in Kobe and holds deep cultural importance both for the naming of the Mikage area and for the region's brewing history.
Hakutsuru Sake Brewery Museum

one hour

Our first stop begins with traditional sake brewing. Your guide is an experienced sake brewer and has experienced the Edo-period brewing techniques on display. He will be on hand to show you around their interactive museum and explain the various tools and equipment on display. This is also a chance to see the workings on a fully operational craft sake brewery. Free sake tasting is provided.
Kiku-Masamune Sake Brewery Museum

one hour

Our first stop is Kiku-Masamune, founded in 1659. Today they are famous for their continued use of traditional brewing techniques such as cask-aged sake (taruzake) and the natural kimoto method. Here you will visit the workshop where dedicated craftspeople still make these casks by hand (subject to availability) and try the sake aged in them based on a traditional Edo-period (1603-1868) recipe.
Hamafukutsuru Ginjo Brewery

one hour

Our last stop takes us up to the modern age of sake brewing at one of Nada's smallest breweries. Hamafukutsuru is a interactive brewing facility, built after the devastation of the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995. They concentrate on the luxurious ginjo method of sake brewing, known for its light and floral brews. Here you will enjoy a comparative tasting of 3 different kinds of ginjo made from 3 different rice varieties.

Meeting point and pickup

Everyone meets at the meeting point.

Meeting point

Our meeting point is Hanshin Nishinomiya Station on the Hanshin Electric Railway Main Line. After getting off the train, wait outside the ticket gate of the Ebisu Exit.

End point

Just a short walk from the original meeting place, Uozaki Station is an express stop on the Hanshin Main Line. Both Osaka and Kobe are easily accessible on this line.