The 15 Brewery Visits in Japan That Earn Their Price

1.3-Hour Kyoto Insider Sake Brewery Tour with Tastings & Pairings

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 917 reviews · from $84Our pick

Learn how sake is brewed, taste 10 styles with Japanese snacks, and visit Kyoto's Gekkeikan Okura Museum in a practical 3-hour tour.

“We learned quite a bit about the history of sake, the families and businesses known for making it, and the process of making sake before diving into the delicious tasting! Both leaders of our group were engaging, informative, and witty. My group would have loved to try the advanced tasting option if we were around, we had a blast!”

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2.Arashiyama Bamboo, Temple, Monkeys, or Secret Sake Brewery

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 886 reviews · 5 hours - 330 minutes · from $87

Walk Kyoto’s bamboo grove, gardens, temple, river bridge, and monkey park, with a choice of shopping or local sake tasting.

“Our guide, Karim, has been perfect. Informative, friendly and fun! He kept a good pace during the tour and we never felt rushed, he gave us free time for pictures/eating/facilities. The tour covered some very famous sites but Karim has been also able to bring us “off the beaten path” letting us visit gardens and spots that we would have missed otherwise. The group was of just 5 people so we have been extremely lucky, usually it’s max 12 people but maybe off season helped! We highly recommend the tour and thank you again Karim!”

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3.Insider Sake Brewery Tour with Sake and Food Pairing

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 704 reviews · 3 hours · from $87

Explore Kyoto’s Fushimi sake district, tour a historic brewery, taste 10 or more sakes, and learn smart food-pairing and ordering tips.

“The guide was amazing! She is a gem. Had a great time. Thank you!”

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4.Kyoto Sake Brewery & Tasting Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 623 reviews · from $98

Explore Kyoto’s Fushimi sake district, visit the Gekkeikan museum, and taste 18 Kyoto sakes with a small-group guide.

“Great guide & wonderful tour that gives you an understanding of how significant Sake is to this area in particular. Awesome tour for both the beginner & experienced Sake fan.”

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5.KOBE Sake Tasting Tour at Breweries (tasting fee included)

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 154 reviews · from $109

Walk Kobe’s Nada sake district, visit historic breweries, taste premium sake, and learn brewing traditions with an English-speaking guide.

“Our guide, Hiroko (Hiro) was very knowledgeable, funny and kept the walking tour fun! Only visited 3 breweries this time. Will definitely do this tour again to visit the other sake breweries next time with Hiro again!”

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6.Hiroshima Saijo Sake Tasting Tour with visit to 7 Breweries

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 104 reviews · from $50Best value

Taste eight sakes at seven Saijo breweries, learn Hiroshima’s brewing traditions, and walk 1.5 km with an English-speaking guide.

“We had a great time with the brilliant Ione as a guide. Learnt a lot about the Saijo area and the history and brewing techniques for sake. I would recommend this tour over those that visit only a couple of locations, much more complete and more fun!”

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7.Guided Sake Breweries Tour with Tastings

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 55 reviews · 3h 30m · from $106

Walk Kobe’s Nada sake district, visit three to four breweries, taste local sake, sample tofu, and learn Japan’s brewing traditions with an English guide.

“Kamai Sake Tour was very interesting and you can enjoy the famous, historical Sake brewery and tasting. We visit few historical sake breweries and could taste so many best quality Sake! Amazing Tour”

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8.Sake Brewery and Japanese Life Experience Tour in Kobe

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 39 reviews · from $83

Explore Kobe’s Nada sake district, taste Fukuju and Hakutsuru sake, visit a local market, and learn about mirin and pickles with a private guide.

“Not fun and not really as described. Admit the Sake Brewery museum was interesting. We thought tour would be more like a food tour only with sake stops instead of food stops. Turned out our guide doesn’t even like sake. So that lack of enthusiasm on guide’s part surely contributed to the blah experience.”

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9.Fushimi Sake Brewery Tour – 18 Tastings in 2.5 Hours

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 36 reviews · 2h 30m · from $93

Taste 18 sakes in Kyoto’s Fushimi district, visit Gekkeikan and Kizakura, and learn how Japan’s favorite drink is made.

“Together with my partner we selected private sake tasting for a little extra charge and I must say it was worth it! Mr Yoshi our guide was punctual, very professional, knowledgable about the process of making sake, as well as history of Japan - adding few historical facts made this tour very immersive, allowing us to appreciate Japanese culture even more. This tour was entertaining and educational - taught us about differences between sake types which allowed us to choose the perfect gifts for our friends and family. Mr Yoshi's professionalism is truly outstanding, his approach was very respectful, always making sure our needs are accomodated and our questions answered.…”

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10.Yufuin & Beppu Day Tour (Dazaifu / Brewery Options)

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 31 reviews · 570 minutes - 10 hours · from $55

Visit Beppu’s hot springs, Yufuin, Hita, and Dazaifu or a beer museum on a full-day Kyushu tour from Fukuoka.

“En general todo bien, quizás únicamente comentaría que el guía estuvo un poco más enfocado en explicar en idioma coreano, en lugar de inglés. Por otro lado, su voz no alcanzaba a llegar hasta la parte de atrás del autobús. Pero en general buen trato por parte del guía”

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11.Saijo Sake Tasting at 7 Breweries Guided Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 29 reviews · 2 hours · from $90

Taste Saijo sake at seven breweries with an English-speaking guide, learn local brewing history, and find your favorite pour near Hiroshima.

“We had a great experience and Kiyoshi had adapted our program to the festival going on in the city that day. Thank you for some wonderful hours together!”

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12.3-Hour Sake Breweries Tour with Special Tasting

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 25 reviews · from $94

Visit three Nada Gogo sake breweries in Kobe, learn old and modern brewing methods, and taste regional sake with an English or Japanese guide.

“Our guide, Kaito was amazing!! He was so sweet and very knowledgable. We really enjoyed tasting all of the sake from the 3 different breweries. Kaito also had note cards and taught us some Japanese sayings and history! Our daughter couldnt make the trip because of illness and when we first met Kaito at the train station, he gave us a bag of medicine to bring back to her! He was so thoughtful, I highly recommend this tour especially with our guide-Kaito!”

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13.Exploring Nada Sake Breweries Kobe Private Tour with Government-Licensed Guide

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 17 reviews · from $154

Explore Kobe’s Nada sake district with a private licensed guide, visiting historic breweries, tasting rooms, and museums at your own pace.

“Great walking tour of the Kobe area to several breweries. Got a solid history behind the process of making sake, and also some great views of downtown Kobe. Andy was a great host and super accommodating to the many last minute changes that I had made to the original booking. Highly recommend!”

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14.KYOTO Sake Tasting Tour at Local Breweries(tasting fee included)

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 16 reviews · from $104

Taste more than 30 sakes in Kyoto’s Fushimi district, visit breweries, and learn how soft water shapes the area’s sweet sake.

“What a great time. Our guides TaM and Aya were very friendly and made the experience so much fun. Definitely would recommend them.”

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15.Kanazawa Historic Brewery: Fermentation Tour, Tasting, Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 15 reviews · 2h 30m · from $77

Tour Kanazawa’s 1911 Yamato brewery, learn about koji, make miso soup, eat a fermented-food lunch, and taste two doburoku drinks.

“We really enjoyed our tour! It was informative, friendly and very tasty! Every part of the tour was timed to perfection and our hosts gave us an insight into Japanese lives and culture which was a real bonus! If you’re thinking of something a bit different to a shrine visit I would recommend this trip 100%! The sauces, soy sauce ice cream and cheesecakes were exceptional! Please book! You won’t be disappointed!”

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