Hidden Gem for Sake Fans, Japan's Sake Mecca
Saijo, the sake district that symbolizes Hiroshima as the "Sake Town," is a mecca of sorts for Japanese sake connoisseurs. Saijo has eight breweries, seven of which are concentrated along Sakagura-dori (Sake Brewery Street). It's enticing because you can take a light stroll through a historic district while walking from brewery to brewery to delight in samples of sake.
You should visit the annual Sake Festival held in October, where you'll experience the real Saijo, the world-class town of sake. Could there be any other celebration of sake that overflows with such passion and love for Japanese rice wine? If you can make it to the Sake Festival, you're sure to have an unforgettable experience. But if you can't get to the Sake Festival, well that's all right. The Saijo district always happily welcomes tourists. And there are sakes to savor in different seasons, with shinshu (new brews) in spring, hiyaoroshi (sake pasteurized only once, rather than the usual two times) in fall, and shikomi (preparing sake for fermentation in a tank) in winter.
While Saijo spreads sake culture around the world with tours and samplings at breweries with tasty offerings, the National Research Institute of Brewing, Japan's only such institution for studying sake, is also here in this district. If you can experience the local character and history, sake will no doubt taste even richer. Let's start with a sake brewery tour. The charming townscape is also full of flavor.The scenery made of sake breweries with the red-brick chimneys, roofs, and white-wall and namako-wall (traditional Japanese wall pattern) are photogenic no matter where you take it.
You should visit the annual Sake Festival held in October, where you'll experience the real Saijo, the world-class town of sake. Could there be any other celebration of sake that overflows with such passion and love for Japanese rice wine? If you can make it to the Sake Festival, you're sure to have an unforgettable experience. But if you can't get to the Sake Festival, well that's all right. The Saijo district always happily welcomes tourists. And there are sakes to savor in different seasons, with shinshu (new brews) in spring, hiyaoroshi (sake pasteurized only once, rather than the usual two times) in fall, and shikomi (preparing sake for fermentation in a tank) in winter.
While Saijo spreads sake culture around the world with tours and samplings at breweries with tasty offerings, the National Research Institute of Brewing, Japan's only such institution for studying sake, is also here in this district. If you can experience the local character and history, sake will no doubt taste even richer. Let's start with a sake brewery tour. The charming townscape is also full of flavor.The scenery made of sake breweries with the red-brick chimneys, roofs, and white-wall and namako-wall (traditional Japanese wall pattern) are photogenic no matter where you take it.
