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Takuya Yanagisawa - Your Expert Private Tour Guide In Japan

Sake Brewery and Japanese Whisky Distilleries

two locals enjoying holding up big bottles of sake and looking surprised

Do you think you know sake? Do you believe the expensive bottles are the best? Even if you tell me that you love sake and drink the most expensive bottle in your country, be prepared to be blown away by the variety of fresh sake on offer in Japan. There are about 1,500 sake breweries in Japan and the price of a bottle does not necessarily mean that it is the best sake with the best flavor. You have to explore more!

Sake was born in Nara, and purified clear sake was created in Itami, which is near Osaka, just across state lines. Historically, sake has been shipped from Kansai to Edo, today’s Tokyo, for hundreds of years. There are many sake breweries still producing good quality sake especially around Kobe and Kyoto. Sake is a traditional commodity of Kansai.

Japan isn’t just about sake when it comes to alcoholic beverages. There are whisky distilleries too. In fact, the first Japanese whisky was distilled in Osaka and is still bottled with locally sourced purified water. You can even drop by for the private distiller tour at a small whisky producer in Akashi near Kobe.

Additionally, there are a number of sake and other alcohol beverage producers in Western Japan and you are guaranteed a unique experience as the taste of the beverages here are always different from what you drink back home. So whatever you’re looking for, I will take you around the local sake breweries or any other alcohol-related destination to buzz you up in Japan!!

a female bartender pours a huge bottle of sake into a glass
a couple toast their glasses of sake with host
barrels of sake
two guests pose inside a sake bar
visitors pose for a photo next to a barrel
a couple sit outside a sake bar toasting
a man raises his sake glass
a couple drink their sake from cups still on the table
two woman pose outside a distillery
a typical Japanese sake bar
a woman drinks sake from a cup on the table
host in bar serving sake
guests in a restaurant standing up
man poses with wine by table
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a female bartender pours a huge bottle of sake into a glass
a couple toast their glasses of sake with host
barrels of sake
two guests pose inside a sake bar
visitors pose for a photo next to a barrel
a couple sit outside a sake bar toasting
a man raises his sake glass
a couple drink their sake from cups still on the table
two woman pose outside a distillery
a typical Japanese sake bar
a woman drinks sake from a cup on the table
host in bar serving sake
guests in a restaurant standing up
man poses with wine by table
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