Niigata: Kikusui Sake Brewery Guided Tour with Tasting

Explore Kikusui Sake Brewery on a guided tour with a sake tasting session and take home a complimentary ochoko sake cup and original tenugui.

Getting started

Arrive at Kikusui Sake Brewery in Niigata and check in for your scheduled session. After a brief introduction to the facility and safety guidelines, your guide starts the visit inside the production area. From here, you move into the brewing spaces where the process is explained step by step.

What to expect

Kikusui Sake Brewery

This guided visit focuses on how Kikusui creates its sake, from raw ingredients to finished product, with time inside both production and research spaces. The experience concludes with a structured tasting session that helps you understand flavor differences in context.

Features

• During the guided tour of Kikusui Sake Brewery, you follow the brewing process from rice preparation through fermentation and maturation, observing how each stage shapes the final character of the sake.
• The route includes a stop at the brewery's research lab, where you learn how new ideas are tested and taste experimental sake creations that are not part of the regular lineup.
• A focused sake tasting experience introduces professional techniques for evaluating sake, including how Niigata's water and climate influence aroma, texture, and flavor.
• Before you leave, you receive a complimentary ochoko sake cup and an original tenugui so you can remember the brewery and continue enjoying sake at home.