Sake Tour in Japan: Taste the Best Japanese Cuisine in Japan

There are about 1 500 breweries in Japan, and there are local sake Getty Images in almost every corner.

Sake, known as Japanese wine in Japan, is a representative drink in this country. There are about 1 500 kura (breweries) in the whole island, and there is a ji-zake (local sake) in almost every corner.

It contains only four ingredients-rice, kji (rice mold), water and yeast-even the smallest changes in raw materials, climate and technology make this rice wine unique. This leads to strong regional flavor characteristics, making it an adventure to explore Japan through regional sake.

Due to the emergence of new technologies, time-honored technologies can be perfected in a way that was impossible in the past. In order to stand out in an unprecedented era of consumer choice, breweries are innovating, reviving their creative desire and upgrading this traditional beverage to a new field. If there is time to enter the exciting world of sake, it is now.

Here, we will explore the eight most famous destinations in Japan, three on the "northern route" and five on the "southern route", which are easily connected by the capital Tokyo.

Exploring Japan through local sake is an adventure with its own Getty Images.

The southern route is centered on Japan's "Big Three" or three sake breweries centered on Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima, and it is easy to integrate into any sightseeing trip.

Departure: Depart from Osaka and take the Hanshin tram from Nanpu Station or Meitian Station. In the Sandalwood Sake Brewing Area, the scenic spots include Yuan Qi, Sumitomo, Shiwuchuan and Dashi.

Kobe is a good place to taste local sake.

Nada-Gog or "Five Villages of Nada" refers to five sake brewery groups in Kobe and Nishimiya, which are located near Osaka. This coastal brewery cluster accounts for 25% of the domestic sake production and is the leading sake producing area in the country.

The location of the port provides Tanwu Township with some historical advantages and convenient transportation routes to Edo (the ancient name of Tokyo), but its lasting legacy must be attributed to two most important factors of Kura's success: high-quality ingredients and talented winemakers, or Dongsi.

Understand the history and production process of sake, a famous Japanese beverage, and know where to find the best variant of the most famous Japanese beverage.

A key ingredient of yellow rice wine is of course high-quality rice. 80% of Yamada Brocade, which is considered as the "king of sake", is planted in Hyogo Prefecture, enabling Monkey King to obtain this top resource locally.

Moreover, the "Danbo East Temple" named after Danbo area (now the eastern part of Hyogo Prefecture) is considered to be one of the three major ranks of sake brewers. Tamba tūJi uses a slow and labor-intensive traditional method called kimoto, which is not commonly used in sake making today.

Continuation: It takes less than 15 minutes from Shinosaka Station to Kyoto, and the ordinary train service takes less than 30 minutes. It takes 10 minutes to take the local train near Kyoto Line from Kyoto Station to Fujian.

Fujian is one of the most important rice wine producing areas in China.

In recent years, Fujian is famous for hundreds of scarlet hillside birds living in the door, which is attributed to the surge in popularity of Fujian Daohe Temple. But what you may not know is that the rice god (rice lotus) is enshrined in the shrine, and Fujian is one of the most important rice wine producing areas in China.

The main reason for the vigorous development of sake production in Fujian is the abundance and high quality of groundwater. When you consider that 80% of sake is water, the quality and composition of this key ingredient are very important to the taste of the final product.

The spring water produced by the famous "Fujian Qi Jing" has moderate hardness and contains appropriate amount of calcium and potassium. This is the reason why Fujian sake is exquisite in flavor and mellow in taste. Compared with the hard palace water rich in potassium and phosphoric acid used in Monkey King, these two regions cannot produce more different sake.

Fuji sees the traditional feeling of tourists coming to Kyoto, and it will not disappoint people along the sake area of Horikawa, which is shaded by willow trees. From spring to autumn, taking a 50-minute Jikkokubune boat is a pleasant way to explore the charm of historical buildings and the ever-changing seasonal landscape.

Next to Jikkokubune's press conference is Gekkeikan, the second largest sake brewery on earth and one of the oldest companies in the world, which was founded in 1637. The adjacent Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum provides excellent insights on the sake brewing process through English explanations, including free tasting and a small bottle of sake to take home, including a free admission ticket of 600 yen.

Continuation: Kyoto-Hiroshima Shinkansen 1 hour 40 minutes. Then it takes less than 40 minutes to travel by train from Hiroshima Station of JR Yangshan Line to Nishijo (no need to transfer).

Sake rice is different from ordinary table rice. It is said that there is the best quality rice Getty photo agency in Nishito, Hiroshima.

Just a stone's throw from Xitiao Station, you will find yourself in the cherry blossom passage or sake brewing street. Here, you can find seven of the eight breweries in Xitiao, making it an ideal place for breweries to jump and get familiar with many different types of sake.

Sake is divided into two categories, Wujin sake or ordinary sake, and Toku teimeish not-shu, which means "specially designated sake", accounting for about 25% of the domestic market. One of the main factors that distinguish these high-quality sake is the polishing degree of rice.

Sake rice is different from ordinary table rice. Starch is concentrated in the center of grain, which is the basis of fermentation process. Outer grinding will remove the fat and protein that affect the processing, resulting in less than ideal flavor components.

Generally speaking, the more polished rice, the more expensive sake. This is measured by a term called seimaibuai, expressed in percentage points, which refers to the amount of rice left after milling. For example, 70% of seimaibuai means that 30% of rice grains are removed.

Xitiao is considered as "the hometown of Yin Cheng wine", which is a general term, referring to four high-grade sake grades, and it is an ideal place to try some sake with special names.

Continue the journey: It takes only 90 minutes to return to Shinosaka Station by Shinkansen (or 1 hour and 45 minutes to Kyoto), or it takes less than 4 hours to drive from Hiroshima to Tokyo.

Sugidama is a ball made of Japanese cedar branches, which is traditionally hung on the eaves of Getty Images, a sake brewery.

These websites will take you to some of the best attractions for sake lovers in northern Japan and let you explore counties that are not on the usual tourist routes. Depart from Tokyo and drive along the northwest of Shinkansen for two hours to Niigata.

Niigata has nearly 100 kura, with the largest number of sake breweries in all counties in Japan. This is no coincidence. If there is a land created for brewing top sake, Niigata Prefecture is it. It is not only famous for its rice production, but also has one of the highest snowfall in China every year, which melts in the most primitive water in spring.

This pure spring gives Niigata sake a refreshing taste and a touch of dryness. In the process of brewing, snow is also used as a natural seasoning, for example, in the "snow room" or the snow cellar used by some wineries to brew snow-stored sake.

At the beginning of each spring, as much as 1000 tons of new snow is put into the cellar, and sake is kept at a constant temperature of 3 degrees Celsius all the year round without electricity. Sake becomes incredibly mellow and smooth after being stored in the snow cellar for several years.

After arriving at Niigata JR Station, you can immediately start your sake exploration. There are over 100 sake vending machines from the prefecture. Five million yen will provide you with five tokens to try five different kinds of sake you choose.

Continuation: It takes 3 hours and 20 minutes to get to Yamagata (the fastest route combining express train, local train and Shinkansen) or take Shinkansen to pass through Omiya (Saitama) for 4.5 hours.

Yamagata has developed its own proprietary sake rice, yeast and kji strains, all of which contribute to its unique taste westen61/Getty Images.

Yamagata Prefecture is the first county in Japan to obtain Geographical Indications (GI). This title is recognized by the World Trade Organization to prove the origin and quality of products.

Other famous examples of international geographical indications include champagne and Darjeeling tea, and it is recognized that physical location (such as soil, water and climate) plays an important role in the products obtained.

Yamagata has developed its own unique sake rice, yeast and kji strains, which contribute to its unique taste, and can usually be described as soft, light but full of flavor and pleasant sweetness.

Yamagata wine has experienced a revival in the past decades, which is largely due to the unique and open cooperation between the public sector and the private sector and between winemakers, which has been protected in history. This makes Yamagata not only keep up with the ever-changing industry, but also become one of the most important sake regions in Japan.

Continue the journey: take the Shinkansen to Fukushima 1 hour 10 minutes.

There are more than 60 breweries in Fukushima Prefecture.

Without Fukushima Prefecture, the darling of Japanese sake industry, Japan's sake trip would be incomplete. In recent years, Fukushima sake has occupied a leading position in the prestigious "Japan Sake Award of the Year". Starting from 20 13, sake in Fukushima won the most gold medals in all counties.

Although the overall assessment of the overall situation of sake in Fukushima will be soft and subtle, it has three distinct climates, which means that you can expect to find various flavors.

There are more than 60 breweries in this county, many of which are open to the public to taste and visit, so that you can personally taste the faces of Fukushima sake.

Continue the journey: take the Shinkansen to Akita in less than 2 hours, passing through Sendai (Miyagi Prefecture).

Getty picture of enamel sake storage tank in a brewery in Akita Prefecture.

Akita Prefecture is nicknamed "the hometown of sake" and follows the simple formula of good rice+good water = good sake. There is an incredible natural environment and the "cold extraction" technology of Sanneidong Temple winemaker, and you have excellent products built in.

Akita Prefecture has developed its own local sake rice, which is called Akita Sake Town. It not only fits perfectly with local conditions and Akita Sake Temple, but also has a high glucose content, producing elegant, sweet and aromatic beer with various fruit flavors.

Although it is a relatively new rice in the field of sake, it soon became the most popular high-quality sake rice in this county.

Continue the journey: Take the Shinkansen for 3.5 to 4 hours, and pass through Sendai (Miyagi Prefecture) to Utsunomiya (Tochigi Prefecture). It takes about 45 minutes from Utsunomiya JR Daylight to Daylight.

Stone Lantern in Toshogu is located in an area with an ancient and pleasant connection with Sakaigeti Photo Agency.

Tochigi Prefecture may be known to international tourists for its Toshogu, and Toshogu is listed in the UNESCO World Heritage List in Nikko. Sake lovers can visit this historical site and taste local sake in 37 wineries and numerous local puddles in the county.

Adjacent to Toshogu complex is the older Erbarren Mountain Shrine, which is well worth visiting and has a pleasant connection with sake. Behind the main building (this hall), you must see a small pond with natural springs. It is called the double original spiritual spring. People think that this kind of water not only has the characteristics of treating eye diseases, but also is very suitable for brewing rice wine, so it is nicknamed "Qing Jiuquan".

In the teahouse, you can try to use drinks made from spiritual spring water, including Ganjiu, a sweet and thick sake made from sake distiller's grains or rice kji, which is usually heated in colder months. This is a good way to immerse your toes in various methods of drinking sake-room temperature, cold storage, warm drink or hot drink.

Tochigi sake has always been sweet in history, but in recent years, the flavor characteristics are diversified, including lighter and drier beer, to meet various taste preferences.

For those who want to continue to enjoy sake after returning home, you can consider buying a beautiful glass-burning suit. This local style pottery from Yoshiko, the most famous hometown of pottery in Japan, is the perfect souvenir to take home.

Return trip: It takes less than 1 hour to take the Shinkansen from Utsunomiya to Tokyo.