Sake Tasting Tokyo—Sake Brewery Tour & Tasting in Ome, Tokyo

Overview

With over 300 years of history, Sawanoi Ozawa Shuzo is a traditional brewery in Ome, Tokyo. Learn about the brewing process and how to enjoy sake. Tour the brewery, sample varieties, and take home a gift. Add on a kaiseki lunch at nearby Mamagotoya.

Highlights

Key Information

Description

Sake, or 'nihonshu' (Japanese alcohol), is an alcoholic beverage made from rice polished to remove the bran, yeast, koji spores, and copious amounts of fresh water. Sake brewers sprinkle koji over some of the rice, and the koji spores convert the rice starches into sugars for the yeast to consume in the fermentation process that produces the alcohol. In this experience, you will visit the Sawanoi Ozawa Shuzo sake brewery, located in verdant Ome City, Tokyo, just a few minutes walk from Sawai Station on the JR Ome Line. In Ome, you'll find spectacular views of the surrounding mountains of Okutama and the lush Mitake Gorge. Make your way to the Sawanoi Ozawa Shuzo brewery. Near the brewery, you'll also find a restaurant, several small shops, a garden, and two art museums. While Sawanoi Ozawa Shuzo regularly hosts tours of its facilities and conducts sake tastings, the brewery usually conducts these tours in Japanese, passing out English brochures to non-Japanese speakers. This experience, however, features an exclusive tour led wholly in English, and thus represents a rare opportunity to soak up Japanese sake culture first hand without information getting lost in translations. Initially established in 1702, the brewery's founders built Sawanoi Ozawa Shuzo in an area blessed with abundant natural resources, including—most importantly—pure and delicious natural spring water. As the water in this area (formerly known as Sawai) has been an essential ingredient in sake production from the earliest days, the company has incorporated the name Sawai into the brand name. Sawanoi Ozawa Shuzo is the oldest sake brewery in Tokyo. The brewery's history dates back more than 300 years, and locals have loved the company's sake since its earliest days. Add-On Lunch Enjoy Kisetsu no Gozen (seasonal kaiseki meal) at the nearby restaurant, Sawanoi Mamagotoya. ('Kaiseki' is a Japanese traditional multi-course meal.) Relish freshly made tofu and yuba dishes made using fresh and delicious Sawanoi water—the same water used to brew Sawanoi sake—and select domestic soybeans. Sawanoi Mamagotoya is closed on Fridays, so the lunch add-on is only available to guests booking this activity on a Tuesday or a Wednesday. Please take note of this fact when booking this activity.