(February 4, 2017)Sake Brewing Tour: Encountering Water and Rice through Sake

This is a tour to experience making sake by hand from scratch. You will learn about the connection between rice and water, and talk with the brewers to create your own sake.

Supported by water, rice, and traditional techniques
Experience the current state of Japan's brewing industry

This is a one-day tour to visit a sake brewery in Ichinomiya-machi, Chiba Prefecture, and experience sake brewing from rice. Through sake, you can feel the connection between rice and water and the profound appeal of sake. You will be able to experience koji brewing and paddling, which you cannot normally do, as well as the process of bottling and labeling. A key point of the tour is that you can enjoy an evening drink with the brewer after your experiences. You will also receive a complimentary bottle of sake that you made yourself.

Planners and Participants

Eriko Furuya (Fine Arts) / Shusaku Takahashi (Environmental Education) / Kyoko Inamura (Home Economics) / Tomoko Koizumi (Fine Arts) / Ren Kudo (Environmental Education) / Shimpei Takae (Environmental Education)

photos

Impressions

The production of sake begins with delicious water and rice. The connection between water and rice and the feelings of the brewers. I felt that the charm of the waterside is the food culture that comes from the relationship with the people who live there. I would like to take on the challenge of creating a place that brings people closer to the waterside by conducting fieldwork at water source and in rice paddies, and by holding events like sake bars. (E.F)

The most fulfilling time for me was the discussion among the participants about how to make more people aware of what we felt was the appeal of sake, what foods go well with sake, and how they are related to the waterside. (S.T)