Nagano: Suwa Five Sake Breweries Walk & Tasting Tour
- 2 hours
- Free cancellation up to 24h before
- Guided in English
- Instant confirmation
Highlights
This tour takes you through one of Japan’s rare sake districts, where five breweries stand within a short walking distance of one another. Instead of visiting just one brewery, you can compare different styles of sake while walking along the historic old Koshu Kaido road in Suwa. With your guide, you will learn why this area became known for sake brewing, from the cool climate and clear water from the Kirigamine highlands to its location along an important travel route. At each stop, you will enjoy tastings and discover how each brewery has its own character, history, and approach to sake. This experience is ideal for travelers who want more than a simple drink. It is a compact but rich journey into local brewing culture, regional history, and the unique atmosphere of Suwa’s five sake breweries.
Inclusions
What's included
- Guide fee
- Sake tasting ticket for the five Suwa breweries
What's not
- Food and drinks not included in the tasting ticket
- Transportation to and from the meeting point
Itinerary
Maihime is a sake brewery founded in 1894 and known for brands such as Shinshu Maihime and Suiro. Its sake is described as rich and well-balanced, bringing together sweetness, dryness, acidity, bitterness, and astringency. As the first stop on the walk, Maihime introduces guests to Suwa’s brewing culture, where tradition and new approaches to sake continue side by side.
Reijin is one of Suwa’s long-established breweries, with roots dating back to 1789. Using carefully selected Nagano-grown rice and underground water from the Kirigamine highlands, the brewery pursues a clean and refined style of sake. Reijin also produces Suwa Roman craft beer, making this stop a good place to see how a historic brewery continues to expand its range.
Honkin is a small family-run brewery founded in 1756. The name “Honkin” reflects a wish to make honest, genuine sake that connects people and brings smiles. Its sake is often appreciated for its warm, gentle character and its ability to support food without overpowering it, offering a more intimate contrast to the larger breweries on the route.
Yokobue is a brewery that emphasizes handcraft and the natural blessings of Suwa, including local water, rice, hot springs, and the surrounding environment. Rather than mass production, Yokobue focuses on making only what can be carefully produced by hand. Its sake highlights aroma, texture, and the honest flavor of traditional Japanese brewing.
Masumi is one of Suwa’s most famous breweries and is known as the birthplace of Association No. 7 yeast, an important sake yeast used across Japan. Founded in 1662, its name comes from the “Masumi no Kagami” mirror associated with Suwa Taisha. As the final stop, Masumi gives guests a memorable look at Suwa’s influence on the wider world of sake.
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Know before you go
- Meeting point
- The meeting point is in front of the Suwa City Tourist Information Center. Your guide will be waiting for you with a yellow panel. Please check the meeting location before the tour starts.
- Pickup
- Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Operated by
- DeepExperience
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
How it compares in Nagano
- Its from-price is 28% below the median of the 179 experiences we list in Nagano.
- It is shorter than most of them.
- The operator lists free cancellation on it.
About Nagano
Nagano is a mountain city in central Japan, centred on the old Zenko-ji temple and ringed by ski slopes, hot springs and alpine valleys.
Nagano sits in a basin among the mountains of central Honshu, and Zenko-ji, a temple traditionally founded in the seventh century, is the heart of the city. Pilgrims have come to it for more than a thousand years, up a long approach lined with shops and lodgings to a great wooden hall. The city hosted the Winter Olympics in 1998.
Top-ranked sights in Nagano: Jigokudani Monkey Park (Jigokudani Yaen-Koen), Zenkoji Temple, Yudanaka Onsen.
Special offers in Nagano
Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.
