Jump aboard the Hida Sake TourTakayama, Gifu

Any chance to visit a sake brewey in Japan should be jumped at, especially when that brewery is the oldest and biggest brewery in Takayama and also includes sake tasting.

The Hida Sake Brewery Tour located in the Gifu Prefecture offers an in-depth insight into how sake is made and having produced it for more than 400 years you'd expect them to have a pretty decent handle on it...and indeed they do.

Takayama city loves sake so much that 300 years ago there were 56 brewers hawking their wares thanks to the pristine waters and favourable environment. Today there are seven brewers inside a 200 metre area of Takayama. You know what they say, competition is good for business!

The tour starts at Hida-Hagiwara station, where you'll enjoy an easy walk to the sake brewery while a guide explains the history of the town. The brewery you will visit is Tenryo Sake Brewery and the best part about it is you will taste 5 or more different kinds of premium sake, depending on the season.

As your sake expert explains the step by step instructions on how sake is brewed  you will taste various varieties and receive tips on how best to drink and saviour your sake - for instance, it's recommended to only take a small sip, and let it linger in your mouth before you swallow it. For those who prefer warm sake, place the tokkuri (porcelain flask) in a pan of boiling water. And what would the ideal temperature be to enjoy? About 40-45 degrees celsius is the optimum temperature to warm sake.

This is 1.5 hours you will savour...or not...depending on how many sakes you consume; it's also the only tour around Takayama available for foreign travellers where an detailed explanation by a sake brewer of the brewing process inside the sake brewery is possible. Kanpai!

price guide

From US$30.

contact

Hida Takayama
hida.jp/english/localspeciality/food/4000217.html