Takayama: Authentic Sake Tasting at a Historic Brewery
- 30 minutes
- Free cancellation up to 24h before
- Guided in English
- Instant confirmation
Highlights
Takayama has a long sake-brewing history. More than 300 years ago, the town had 56 sake breweries, supported by its cold climate, pure mountain water, and craftsmanship. Today, seven breweries remain in the old town area, all within about 200 meters. This rare concentration offers a unique chance to experience Takayama’s sake culture in a short time. On this tour, you will visit one historic brewery and learn about sake-making, local traditions, and the characteristics of Takayama sake. The tour will be held at either Hirase Sake Brewery or Funasaka Sake Brewery, depending on opening hours, business conditions, and production schedules. Some production areas may not be accessible for hygiene and safety reasons. The tour will end at the brewery visited. Tours are conducted in English or Japanese. Alcohol cannot be served to anyone under 20 under Japanese law. This tour generally operates rain or snow, but may be canceled or adjusted if safe operation is difficult.
Inclusions
What's included
- You can see facilities & Kura to make Sake
- Tax
- Guide in English
- Tasting Sake
What's not
- Any other things
Itinerary
You can see inside factory and tasting in this place.
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Reviews
4.8
- 562
- 44
- 33
- 21
- 11
Ratings come from 71 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.
Showing reviews written in English.
5A fun way to spend an afternoon!
This was a really interesting tour with lots of background on how sake is made as well as lots of opportunity for tastings with explanations. Takumi gave us a thorough rundown or the whole process as well as explaining the differences in types of sake and how they affect tastes. Be warned though - you will need an extra bag to take home your supplies after the tasting!
5Great Sake Brewery Tour
We really enjoyed our small group Funasaka Sake Brewery tour. Satoe our friendly and expert guide clearly provided the historic context and explained about the different types of rice used in the production and brewing process, before taking us through our tasty and enjoyable sake tasting session. Would definitely recommend this tour.
5A great experience.
This was such a lot of fun. We learned such a lot about making sake from our wonderful guide, and the tasting was amazing - we had never imagined there could be so many different varieties of depth and taste.
5Great tour and the best guide.
Our guide was so nice and very informative (thanks Sato). The tour went into the back rooms of the brewery. I learnt many new things about the complex process for making quality Sake. Next time I’d book directly with Happy Plus tours for less than half the cost. TripAdvisor is a complete rip off.
5Great experience
We really enjoyed our time and learned a lot. Yama was great. Worth it for the tasting and learning about sake. We also purchased some bottles to bring home
4Detailed review of sake...
Detailed review of sake making process and the tastings were delicious. The host was knowledgeable and patient in answering questions.
Know before you go
- Meeting point
- HappyPlus Tour desk. In front of 'Tours & Activities' sign board. You can search 'Happy plus' in Google map.
- Pickup
- Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Group size
- Up to 15 travellers
- Operated by
- Happy Tour
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
How it compares in Takayama
- Its from-price is 56% below the median of the 142 experiences we list in Takayama.
- It is shorter than most of them.
- By number of reviews it ranks 8 of 142.
- The operator lists free cancellation on it.
About Takayama
Takayama, in the mountains of Gifu Prefecture, is a well-kept Edo-period town of dark wooden merchant houses, sake breweries and a morning market.
Takayama lies in the Hida region of the Japanese Alps, in a high basin ringed by mountains. Its old town, Sanmachi Suji, keeps three streets of dark timber merchant houses from the Edo period, with latticed fronts and sake breweries marked by cedar-ball signs hanging from the eaves. Takayama Jinya, the former magistrate's office, is one of the last of its kind in Japan.
Top-ranked sights in Takayama: Takayama Morning Markets (Asaichi), Sannomachi Street (Sanmachi Suji), Sakurayama Hachimangu Shrine & Festival Floats Exhibition Hall.
Special offers in Takayama
Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.
![Departing from Takayama [Regular sightseeing bus] World Heritage Sites Shirakawago and Gokayama Ainokura](/img/s/720/480/11/22/89/94.jpg)
