Nada Sake Brewery
City : Kobe
There are thousands of sake breweries in Japan and each one develops its unique taste and flavour using the local rice and water. Among them, Nada district of Kobe has about 40 breweries and produce nearly 30 percent of Japanese sake production. Yamada Nishiki, special rice grown for sake and mineral rich water from northern mountain make excellent sake of Nada.
Sake brewing in Nada dates back to the 17th century and their methods have been passed down to the present day. By the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995, breweries' wooden facilities were completely devastated and they rebuilt new one. As a result, breweries got the appearance of concrete wall, but they maintain their traditional method of brewing in new buildings.
Today, many breweries provide us opportunities to learn the process of making sake at an adjacent museum and to look inside a brewery, and also to taste and buy their flesh sake. They say Sake has the unique fermentation process which can't be seen in other fermented alcohole beverages and it needs a skillful manipulation by the experienced brewers. The consumption of Sake in Japan is decreasing as people prefer beer and sho-chu for their evening drink. That's why they promote better understanding of Sake by showing its making process.
Thirty seven breweries are doted in large area extending from west to east along Hanshin Railway line, so you should choose one or two to visit in advance and get off the nearby station. On the right column are two recommended breweries.
Hakutsuru Sake Brewery :
Hakutsuru is Japanese largest sake brewing company and it has a good museum which exhibits many old sake making tools (see the center photo) and videos of explanation (both Japanese and English) in wooden building converted from the old brewhouse. At the end of the exhibition, you can enjoy testing a cup of fresh sake.
Website : http://www.hakutsuru-sake.com/content/08.html
Kobe Shu-shin-kan Brewery :
Shu-shin-kan is located about one kilometer to the west from Hakutsuru. Despite most breweries do not allow the visitors to enter the actual brewhouse, Shu-shin-kan opens their facilities. Brewing is done only in winter, they say between October and March, because it has to keep away from something which affects the fermentation. Therefore, inside-brewery tour is conducted only in winter. In the tour, you watch first the explanation video and walk along the course from rice polishing to filtration. Here also, they offer several different kind of sake at the end of the tour. You can sip them for free and buy if you like. They have only one tour which starts 2 pm and takes about one hour. You must make a reservation by the previous day.
Shu-shin-kan has a restaurant "Sakabayashi" which serve Japanese cuisine and sake. They boast their flesh Tofu made in a part of brewery site. The set menu including tofu, and another set menu of Soba buckwheat noodle is good for lunch. They have also authentic Kaiseki cuisine. Variety of sake served right after pouring out from the tank is their recommendation, and in fact, their dishes go well with their sake. If it's hard to choose your favorite from their sake list, "Kiki-zake" which is three cups (70 ml each) of different types is recommended (Y1,200 see the photo). A reservation is not required but recommended especially on weekends.
Website : http://www.enjoyfukuju.com/index.html select language and go to "Sake Cellar Visit" and "Our Restaurant"
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