If you find yourself in Tokyo with a day off and an interest in sake, then Sake Voyage and their portfolio of sake breweries should be on top of your list.
The concept is easy, four breweries all located in neighboring Tochigi, within easy reach of Tokyo, have decided to open their doors to give you a behind-the-scenes look into Japanese sake. They have joined forces to make it easy for people to learn more about this traditional Japanese beverage, composed of small multi-lingual self-guided tours using modern technology, and of course and possibly most importantly are eager to showcase their sake!
Each of them makes a great day trip from Tokyo and although easily accessible, it is worth acknowledging that they are spread over 3 locations, Mashiko, Nasukarasuma and Nikko. So if you were thinking of squeezing them all into a single day, you may have to reconsider your plan, as that would not work, especially if you were to use public transport. However fret not, each location offers plenty of other things to do, rounding off that perfect day trip from Tokyo.
But now let’s look at the sake breweries that Sake Voyage has lined up, find out what they offer and what else is there in the area to make the most out of your day!
Tonoike Brewery
The first brewery in Sake Voyage’s portfolio is “Tonoike Sake Brewery”. Founded in 1937, the Brewery is located in Mashiko, a town famous for its pottery. Inside its historic Edo-era complex, Tonoike Brewery is featuring a small sake museum, shop, and of course a tasting room, where you can try some of their delicious sake along with other things.
What makes Tonoike Brewery so special is its connection to the community, being located in a pottery town, they have also integrated this part into their tastings, as you can choose from one of their many ceramic cups. Tasting sets start at 500yen and you could comfortably order two of them, as each set offers a different variation of sake. Get their best sellers and add one of their premium sake to it, then sit back and enjoy the experience.
Aside from winning the fourth-place in the World Sake Brewery Rankings, they are also the makers of well-known brand “Bo:”, pronounced the french way “beaux” meaning beautiful. Furthermore, you may also have seen their award-winning sake abroad, as Tonoike Brewery exports to 13 countries. So if you are living in Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Malaysia in Asia, or the UK, Italy, Austria, France, the US, Canada, and Australia you are in luck and will be able to buy their sake in your home country too.
And before you leave, and this is especially for anyone having a sweet tooth, make sure to try either the sake soft ice or the small sake cakes, and don’t forget to browse through Tonoike’s well-stocked shop, where aside from sake you will also find rice shochu, doburoku, small snack, and even cosmetics made from sake.
Other Things to do in Mashiko
Aside from the Brewery, make sure to browse the many pottery stores, head to the Mashiko Ceramics Museum and try to make your own pottery in one of the studios for a small fee. There are also plenty of cafes and restaurants to stop by.
If you are lucky to be here in spring or autumn, you will get to experience the pottery fairs. Mashiko’s annual main events and a highlight in every potter’s calendar.
Dating back to 1966 there are two festivals held every year. One of them in spring during Japan’s Golden Week and the second one in fall around November 3rd (last week of October/1st week of November, check here for more info). Expect around 50 shops and about 550 tents to be especially set up for the festival selling pottery and of course food stalls and other festivities.
Good to Know
For info and to book the tour: http://nearbytokyo.com/tonoike-sake-brewery/
Access: Located about 2 hours north of Tokyo, get on the Tohoku-Hokkaido Shinkansen and get off in Utsunomiya to change for the local bus leaving on platform 14. This will cost you about 5800Yen, unless you have a JR Pass, in that case, you would only need to pay 1200 yen for the bus.
Address: 333番地1 Hanawa, Mashiko, Haga District, Tochigi 321-4216
Shimazaki Brewery
Another sake maker in their portfolio is Shimazaki Sake Brewery. Established in 1849, they boast a long history of sake brewing and are well-known beyond their city for their sake being stored in caves, something that has earned them the nickname “Cave Brewery”.
Another thing they are well known for is their aged sake, with some bottles in their storage being 50 years old. This project of “long-term” aging sake goes back to 1970 when Shimazaki Brewery decided to utilize the nearby cave as a storehouse. They have since then been producing aged Daiginjo without missing a single year.
One reason they do this is the consistent temperature inside the cave, which makes it a perfect storage facility. The caves have even proven to be a safe place, as although earthquakes have hit the area, no damage has been done to the sake.
Visitors can walk freely through the caves, equipped with tablets featuring multilingual explanations ready to be pulled up when reaching certain spots inside the cave. A great way to explore this unique storage environment in your own time.
One of the highlights on the tour is certainly the “Owners Bottles”, an area where bottles are stored that have been prepurchased at or for a special occasion. For example, people buy a bottle of sake when their baby is born and have it stored here for 18 years, a special present for their child when it comes of age. (Although they are legally not allowed to drink it for another two years, as the legal drinking age in Japan is 20 years old…)
The cave also features a small shop and a soon-to-be-ready bar (build at the time of writing this). However, their sake tasting room is not at the cave and in order to do so you would have to make your way back to their main shop in town.
Here you get to sample their famous aged sake “Uroko” along with other sake from their range. This is certainly a great opportunity to get a look into the world of aged sake, as you get to try sake at different maturity (1, 3, and 5 years) and get to experience the change it undergoes not just in color but certainly also in taste.
Other Things to do in Nasukarasuyama
Once you arrive in Nasukarasuma and before heading to the brewery, make sure to try some of the local soba and check out the “Yamaage Kaikan”, a museum dedicated to the biggest festival in town. Said to be celebrated for the past 450 years, it is held each year on the 4th Saturday in July and is the highlight for the area.
Expect to experience kabuki dances performed on stages carried around all over town. It is truly an incredible spectacle with its unique festival floats, where mountains and beautiful backdrops are being erected as they are pulled through the town. And last but not least, the Ryumon waterfall, a stunning natural place not to be missed. Relax on the visitor centers terrace overlooking the waterfall or go for a little walk to get up and close.
Good to Know
For info and to book the tour: https://nearbytokyo.com/shimazaki-sake-brewery/
Access:Located about 2 hours north of Tokyo, get on the Tohoku-Hokkaido Shinkansen and get off in Utsunomiya to change for the Karasuyama line. Get off at Taki station to visit the caves and the Ryumon falls or at Karasuyama station to head straight to the brewery for a tasting. This will cost you about 5300Yen, unless you have a JR Pass, in that case, you would only need to pay 600 yen for the bus.
Address: 1 Chome-11-18 Central, Nasukarasuyama, Tochigi 321-0621
Watanabesahei Brewery
Located just one station before the famous Nikkomountains and its UNESCO World Heritage temples and shrines is Watanabesahei Sake Brewery. It is a traditional small brewery and has been family-run since 1842 making Japanese sake along with rice shochu. Founded just at the end of the Edo period the family is now the 7th generation and has been making sake for more than 180 years.
As you walk through the brewery you will see much of this history, as it showcases how sake is made without much of the modern big scale machinery used these days. For its sake production, the brewery focuses on Junmai sake (about 90% of their production), this means no distilled alcohol is added to the sake during the process.
There are two different tours offered at Watanabesahei, the “regular” and the “special”. They have different price points, with the regular tour fee being 1000yen, which is a self-guided tour, using smart technology to help you understand the different steps of sake making in more detail. Various locations within the brewery feature a QR code that can be scanned and will give you all the information and of course, a sake tasting is included.
The special tour comes in at 5000yen and aside from the sake tasting will give you more access around the brewery. You will be guided by the brewery staff and have permission to see places that are normally off-limits to the public, such as going above the fermentation tanks and seeing the sake bubble away.
After enjoying the tour, make yourself comfortable in their cozy shop/tasting room and be prepared to try some of their amazing sake. Watanabesahei’s sake is incredibly easy to drink and having a conversation with Watanabe-san really adds to the experience. Having lived in Australia, his English is perfect and makes this a great opportunity to ask all those sake-related questions you always wanted to get an answer to.
Other Things to do in Nikko
Nikko by itself would make a fabulous day trip from Tokyo and is quite a popular location, especially on weekends. Because of that, it can get rather busy, so if you do decide to add this to your brewery visits better be prepared to get there early.
Make sure to get a good look at Shinkyo Bridge on the way to the Nikko National Park in which the majority of shrines and temples are located. If you had to decide on just one place, you should certainly make it the Toshogu shrine, with its lavish decorations it is a real highlight. It is stunning to look at in any season and even on a rainy day, actually, it can be especially beautiful when it rains, as it adds to the mysterious atmosphere, and there will be fewer people.
To be honest, you could easily spend an entire day just here, so make sure to keep enough time for the brewery visit. Another option would be to stay overnight to make the most of both things.
Good to Know
For info and to book the tour: https://nearbytokyo.com/watanabesahei-sake-brewery/
Access: Located just short of 2 hours north of Tokyo, get on the Tohoku-Hokkaido Shinkansen and get off in Utsunomiya to change for the Nikko line. Get off at Imaichi station. This will cost you about 5300Yen, unless you have a JR Pass, in that case, you would only need to pay 600 yen for the train. If you wanted to check out Nikko, you would only have to ride one more stop, so this really is extremely close. You can also check out the Nikko Free pass, a pass including the train, bus and discounts on other attractions, more info to it here.
Address: 450 Imaichi, Nikko, Tochigi 321-1261
Katayama Brewery
Katayama Brewery is the second brewery in the Sake Voyage catalog that is located in Nikko and is only a short walk from Watanabesahei Brewery. This means you could possibly visit both breweries on the same day!
Similar to Watanabesahei Brewery, it is also quite small and incredibly charming. The Katayama family is now the seventh generation brewing sake here, ever since they moved in 1879 from Niigata in search of great water to make their sake.
Walking through the brewery feels like stepping back in time, as every corner seems to reveal a bit of history and anecdotes only known to the people who work here. With the sake is made the traditional way, handmade and with the utmost care.
Another interesting fact, they don’t start brewing until December, compared to most breweries who would start brewing in October. This is because of the temperature, as October would still be a bit too warm.
Thes staff is very welcoming, however, English is a bit of a challenge, nevertheless, they do make a huge effort trying to answer as much as they can. Of course, they also do have QR codes placed around the brewery, which makes it easy to get more information about certain aspects of the brewery and the different steps of sake making.
What is special about Katayama Brewery is that they are focused on making genshu sake, which is unfiltered, unpasteurized, and undiluted sake. They also use unusual sake bottles featuring “Kilner Clip” tops instead of the traditional lids.
As you look around the shop, you will likely notice a couple of rugby jerseys on the wall and if you peek deeper into the fridges find a black sake bottle decorated with a silver fern, the all blacks sake. Rumour has it there are not many bottles left, so make sure you get one if you can. As a matter of fact, if you do like their sake, make sure to take a bottle home with you, as most of their products can only be purchased here.
Other Things to do in Nikko
Nikko by itself would make a fabulous day trip from Tokyo and in fact, is quite a popular location especially on weekends. Because of that, it can get rather busy, so if you do decide to add this to your brewery visitsbetter be prepared to get there early.
Make sure to get a good look at Shinkyo Bridge on the way to the Nikko National Park in which the majority of shrines and temples are located. If you had to decide on just one place, you should certainly make it the Toshogu shrine, with its lavish decorations it is a real highlight. It is stunning to look at in any season and even on a rainy day, actually, it can be especially beautiful when it rains, as it adds to the mysterious atmosphere, and there will be fewer people.
To be honest, you could easily spend an entire day just here, so make sure to keep enough time for the brewery visit. Another option would be to stay overnight to make the most of both things.
Good to Know
For info and to book the tour: https://nearbytokyo.com/katayama-sake-brewery/
Access: Located just short of 2 hours north of Tokyo, get on the Tohoku-Hokkaido Shinkansen and get off in Utsunomiya to change for the Nikko line. Get off at Imaichi station. This will cost you about 5300Yen, unless you have a JR Pass, in that case, you would only need to pay 600 yen for the train. If you wanted to check out Nikko, you would only have to ride one more stop, so this really is extremely close. You can also check out the Nikko Free pass, a pass including the train, bus and discounts on other attractions, more info to it here.
Address: 146-2 Segawa, Nikko, Tochigi 321-1263
Ready for Your Sake Voyage?
All of these sake breweries are well worth a visit and are a unique way not just to learn more about Japanese sake, but Japanese culture, as well as see some areas of Japan you may otherwise not visit. So if you are curious and want to know more, then make sure to visit Sake Voyage’s official homepage for more info and how to book any of these tours!
Booking.com
