Okayama
HIGHLIGHTS
Sake
Explore the area and visit four breweries during the brewing season. The brewers will share their philosophies and approaches with the group during the tours and at the meals.
Taste sake just-pressed daiginjo for the season right at the source and with meals.
Food
Sample the best of both seafood from the rich Seto Inland Sea and winter delicacies of the mountainous region of Okayama.
You will sample different styles of seafood: casual self-served oysters in a shack, elegant sushi served with works of Bizen artists, and perfect slices of fish prepared as part of a solemn ritual once performed only for Emperors.
Learn how to make tofu from soybean at a farm.
The closing meal of the tour is at the Japanese-style inn on a riverside deep in the mountains–simple rice and fish cooked over firewood in an open kitchen.
Culture & Onsen
Explore the historic and artsy towns of Kurashiki and Katsuyama.
Take in a special opportunity to learn about sword making and Bizen pottery. Make your own guinomi sake cup with an artist who will guide you through how to work the clay and the wheel in his studio.
Immerse yourself in the cultural aspects usually only open to very small audience and enjoy a private Kagura dance and Shiki-Hocho knife ceremony.
Visit the sword center where you witness the art of sword making. On the last day, soak in the open-air bath by the river deep in the snowy mountains far away from the city.
This tour is not scheduled to run in 2024. The itinerary below is a previous example of this tour.
Contact us today info@saketours.com to reserve your place.
Tour Destination: Okayama
Dates & Duration: TBA
Group size: Minimum 10 guests/Maximum 14 guests
Tour Cost: TBA
Itinerary 5 days / 4 nights
Day 1 - Takahashi
Travel on your own to Okayama via JR or fly from Haneda to Okayama with the group in the morning. The flight is not included in the tour cost.
Visit the first sake brewery, Shiragiku. Here at the brewery, the brewer shares his story about Omachi sake rice known for its deep savory flavor and grown only in Okayama. Shiragiku Brewery is located in Takahashi, which is by the river and once prospered as a center of commerce and transport. Today, the area still remains a center for Kagura dance troupes who dedicate their depictions of the legends of creation of Japan to gods. Finish the day with a private performance of Kagura dance by Bichu Kagura Dance Troupes and dinner with sake.
Hotel: Hotel Granvia Okayama
Meals: Lunch; banquet-style dinner with sake and Kagura dance
Day 2 - Bizen, Okayama
Today is dedicated to learning about local art and craftsmanship of Okayama. First stop is at the Bizen Osafune Japanese Sword Museum to see the actual art of swordsmith and sword decoration. The area continues to thrive as one of the five leading sword making regions since Heian Period (8th century~). Even today, each craftsman dedicates over one year to create one sword.
Then, you will immerse yourself with Bizen pottery through an introduction to the style by a potter. Savor sake lunch with Bizen-ware. Try your hands at making your own guinomi sake cup with potters. Your piece will be shipped to your home after firing. Of course, you will have time to explore the streets dotted with galleries. In the evening, we will take it easy and you will have time to explore the town of Okayama on your own.
Hotel: Hotel Granvia Okayama
Meals: Breakfast; lunch;
Day 3 -Kurashiki
Today is filled with rare treats. Visit Marumoto Brewery, the producer of Chikurin, for a tour and a tasting. The old, traditional kura (brewery building) was designated as a Tangible Cultural Asset and is stunning example of traditional white stucco and black tile roof architecture. The owner and master brewer, Mr. Marumoto, grows his own rice on several dozen small rice fields in front of the brewery, which is very rare in the sake world. Today’s lunch is at a local pop-up oyster shop.
In the afternoon, visit the old merchant quarter of Kurashiki with fine examples of 17th century black-and-white walled houses, along a canal framed with weeping willows and filled with koi. Ohara Museum of Art is one of the first museums in Japan dedicated to Western art, but also with a great collection of Mingei and contemporary Japanese art.
After exploring the beautiful town and the museum on your own, dinner is a rare treat at a local restaurant. We observe the Shiki-Hocho knife ceremony before the dinner. Shiki-Hocho started as a special imperial fish preparation in the 8th century with the knife and chopsticks without touching the fish. Today, only a few specially trained chefs are allowed to perform this ritual.
Hotel: Hotel Granvia Okayama
Meals: Breakfast; lunch; banquet-style dinner with sake and Shiki-Hocho knife ceremony
Day 4 - Miyamoto Brewery, Yubara Onsen
Visit Miyamoto Brewery, producer of Kiwami Hijiri and who brew sake, beer and make shochu. Meet the young brewers who work very hard to keep the brewing tradition. After the visit, head out to snowy mountains to meet local farmers and to make your own tofu lunch. After simple but savory lunch, you will be ready to relax at Yubara Onsen hot springs deep in the snow-covered mountains by the river.
Hotel: Hakkei Japanese style inn and onsen hot springs
Meals: Breakfast; lunch, dinner with sake
Day 5 - Katsuyama
Visit a beautiful Edo period town of Katsuyama for the last brewery on the tour, Tsuji Honten. Meet the first woman toji master brewer in Okayama who takes a new approach to her family business with her brother. At this historic brewery, you will glimpse a brewery who has supported art from the past until today. After lunch at the brewery, explore the quaint town with locally designed noren cloths hanging in front of historic houses with stucco walls and red tiles. Return to Okayama Airport or JR Okayama Station in the late afternoon to continue your own onward travel plans.
Meals: Breakfast; lunch
