Sake Tour with a Sommelier
Head west from Shinjuku on the Ome Line.
A five-and-a-half-hour journey into the history and flavors of sake at the Sawanoi brewery.
The Journey
START
Meet in Shinjuku
Meet your sommelier
TRAIN
JR Ome Line
Watch the city give way
to mountains
BREWERY
Walk the brewery
300 years of sake making
TASTING
Tasting
Junmai, ginjo, daiginjo
RIVERSIDE
By the Tama River
Gazing at the clear stream
KANPAI
Toast with your favorite
About 5 hrs 30 min in total
01
Walk the Brewery
Sawanoi, run by Ozawa Shuzo, was founded in 1702.
A cave tunnel where the brewing water springs, giant tanks, a sugidama cedar ball.
With your sommelier, trace the process and the history of sake making.
02
Taste & Learn
Junmai, ginjo, daiginjo. Taste several side by side,
and use a tasting chart to put your preferences into words.
With snacks to pair, too.
03
By the River
Looking out over the Tama River that gave birth to the sake,
raise a toast with the glass you liked best.
What You'll Learn
History
The 300-year story of the brewery, and how Japan's sake culture came to be.
Craft
Rice, water, koji. What actually makes junmai, ginjo and daiginjo different?
Taste
Discover your own taste with a tasting chart — so you can choose sake with confidence back home.
Your Guide
Certified sake sommelier.
Reviews
Ratings from guests of our Airbnb Experience.
Details
Yes — we run a sake retreat on Tokyo's nature side, right by Ikusabata Station, the next stop. About the stay
Stay the Night
Rent an entire 100-year-old house. Talk late in the private sauna,
and open the sake you discovered that day with your friends.