I would highly recommend anyone who would like to explore off-the-beaten track experiences in Japan to join Sake Tours. This is not only for sake lovers (though you would have an incredible learning experience into the world of sake if you do), but also for those that love Japanese food, culture, scenery, and who would like to get into the 'inner workings' of this world. My husband and I first joined their Niigata tour in 2016, and have since become addicted to their fantastic tours, joining them subsequently for Okayama in 2017 and Akita in 2018. We also love the small tour group size, giving us lots of personal attention from Etsuko and her team, and allowing us to forge unforgettable friendships with like-minded people from all over the world. These friendships have lasted beyond the tours and we meet up whenever we are in one another's home countries! Etsuko is a very knowledgeable sake samurai who loves to introduce foreigners to great, small sake breweries which are not accessible otherwise to the public, and her humility, warmth, care and attention to details makes all on the tour feel so well taken care of. We love the hands-on experiences which are different in each tour, from learning to play the Kodo drums, to making soba/tofu/potteries, not to mention experiencing remote onsens in mountains and eating local specialities in small local restaurants. I can't praise this tour enough, and can only recommend that you join one to experience it for yourself!

“I spent quite some time living in Japan and thought I knew something about sake. But during the tour I quickly realized that I’d only taken a tiny sip from the cup of sake knowledge. So much learning, so many sakes, and some fantastic new friends in just the course of a few days. I was a wonderful experience and wonderfully photogenic trip for a photographer to be on. It’s surely made me a sake lover for life.”

I was on the Niigata sake breweries tour in March 2017. It was a most enjoyable tour. The tour was very well organised. We visited four sake breweries and were given extensive tours of the breweries, on two occasions by the owner. I learnt a lot about making sake from the tour. In addition, there were some other unique experiences, like the picnic in the snow and the Japanese drum exercises and visiting and having lunch with a Japanese farmer. The tour leaders were very fun and friendly. I highly recommend the sake brewery tours.