Sake Tour with a Sake Brewer

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.

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.

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.

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.