Highlights
- Sake tour from Kyoto
- Visit the Fushimi Inari Shrine dedicated to the god of rice
- See the thousands of brightly painted red torii (gates)
- Tour the Gekkeikan Okura Memorial Hall for a look at the history of sake
- Enjoy sake tastings at a boutique sake shop
- Browse the stores at a local shopping arcade
Useful Information
Red Torri at Fushimi Inari Shrine
Next, make your way by train to a sake brewery to learn the secrets of this popular Japanese drink. In traditional Japanese life, sake has an important place at festivals, ceremonies and rituals. Depending upon the combination of water, malt, yeast and steamed rice, sake has a very distinctive aroma and a fruity sweet taste. Just as it takes a special kind of grape to produce a good wine, making excellent sake requires the use of a special type of rice, usually with high starch content.
Tour the Gekkeikan Okura Memorial Hall and learn the history of sake. Wander the museum and see the tools used in sake production, before sampling three different kinds of sake from sweet to dry. Then walk a short distance to a small liquor store specializing in over 80 kinds of sake. Take a seat at the bar to enjoy a special sake tasting.
Finish your tour with a wander through the local shopping arcade before boarding the train to Kyoto, where you tour concludes.
Reviewed by Jonathan M, March 2013
My guide was amazing, friendly, and a lot of fun to hang out with. I was the only person on the tour, so we became fast friends,
Reviewed by Chrystle W, February 2013
I was a little concerned with booking a tour online with a website I hadn't used before. But the guide was amazing, the tour was everything it said it was and I LOVED IT. My guide even taught me some Japanese words. Don't worry and just book it - you'll have a fabulous day.
