{"id":34900,"date":"2018-03-18T20:00:11","date_gmt":"2018-03-18T11:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/?p=34900"},"modified":"2020-03-27T10:54:35","modified_gmt":"2020-03-27T01:54:35","slug":"yonezawa-toko-sake-brewery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/yonezawa-toko-sake-brewery\/","title":{"rendered":"Check Out Toko Sake Brewery in Yonezawa"},"content":{"rendered":"
Sponsored by Yonezawa City<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n While many foreigners know and love sake<\/strong>, Japan\u2019s world-famous rice wine<\/strong>, few know about the deep traditions and complexity of sake brewing<\/strong>. In Japan, the multi-step process of crafting sake is considered an art form<\/strong>, and the tools and methods are considered part of the country\u2019s cultural heritage<\/strong>. Converted from a traditional brewery warehouse, the Toko Sake Brewery Museum<\/strong> is Yonezawa City<\/strong> was established in 1985 with the goal of educating visitors on the fascinating history of traditional breweries.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n One of the largest warehouses in the Tohoku<\/strong> (northern Honshu Island) region, Toko Sake was founded at this site in 1597. Its nearly three hundred-year old history<\/strong> saw the brewery become the exclusive supplier of sake to the Uesugi clan, the famous feudal lords of the area now known as Yonezawa<\/strong>. The brewery has been in operation since it was founded, even during the Edo government Law of Sake Prohibition, during which it was granted a formal exception. But after ceasing operations at its historic home in 1984, the company, known official as Kojima So-honten, moved to a new site just a few blocks away.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n While this current brewery is not open to the public, Toko Sake converted their 7,000 square-meter former warehouse space<\/strong> into a museum.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For a 310 yen entrance fee, visitors can tour the facilities, view the numerous sake brewing utensils and tools on display<\/strong>, and see first-hand what sake brewing looked like for hundreds of years.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When you enter the museum, the first room you will encounter is a traditional office space<\/strong>. The tatami-floored rooms<\/strong> once housed the breweries accounting and management offices. The Showa-era typewriter and rotary phone are featured front and center. After moving through an entrance you will find yourself in the main portion of the museum, the large brewery warehouse.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The warehouse<\/strong> holds many of the traditional machinery and tools that the Toko Sake Brewery would use during sake brewing season in the cold winter months<\/strong>. Some of the highlights include a rice-polishing machine<\/strong>, used to mill away the outer part of brown rice and expose the inner grain. Rice polishing is a fundamental step in sake brewering, since the amount of milling is one of the key components in determining the taste, type and quality of the sake.<\/strong> An extraction machine is also housed in the warehouse, which squeezes the rice in order to develop some of the more refined sake types.<\/p>\n In addition to these more mechanical tools, the warehouse is also home to a small shrine to a sake brewing god. The museum was visited by the Crown Prince<\/strong> and Crown Princess of Japan in 2003, and both prayed here at the shrine.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Koji<\/strong><\/em> is one of the most important ingredients in sake. The fungus is used in all sake brewing (as well as soy sauce<\/strong> and miso<\/strong> production) to begin the process of fermentation. Developing koji<\/em> in the rice, however, is a difficult process that requires very particular environmental conditions. The museum has a koji<\/em> making room<\/strong>, where this step occurs, open for visitors to see. Following the complicated fermentation process, one of the final steps of sake brewing is storage<\/strong>. Toko Sake Brewery\u2019s warehouse includes a massive wooden barrel that is said to hold up to 2,800 bottles of sake.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve completed the warehouse tour and learned, in detail, the dozens of steps and intense manual labor once required to produce a single bottle of sake, you will have the opportunity to taste the product yourself<\/strong>. The museum\u2019s shop doubles as a store for Kojima So-honten\u2019s current brewing operations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n You can also taste ten different sake brews<\/strong> in the store to help you distinguish between different types and learn what you like best, before choosing a bottle to bring home as a souvenir. Even the brand\u2019s highest-quality sake can be tried for free<\/strong> in the shop. Alongside the many sake bottles on display, the shop sells umeshu<\/em> (Japanese plum wine)<\/strong>. The Toko brand umeshu has take the top award at three national competitions<\/strong>, and is the perfect choice for those looking for a sweeter or lighter alternative to sake. After an umeshu<\/em> tasting, I had to bring a bottle home with me.<\/p>\n Whether you\u2019re a complete sake novice or a connoisseur, the Toko Sake Brewery Museum<\/strong> has something to offer.<\/p>\n[cft format=0]\n Need more information? You can find up to date information about Yonezawa\u2019s history, sightseeing locations, accommodations, food, and search for some experiences\u00a0here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sponsored by Yonezawa City While many foreigners know and love sake, Japan\u2019s world-famous rice wine, few know about the deep…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":93,"featured_media":34903,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"pgc_meta":"","_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":""},"categories":[21,1,1407],"tags":[1353,1712,1367,1239],"class_list":{"0":"post-34900","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-food","8":"category-sponsored","9":"category-tohoku","10":"tag-brewery","11":"tag-local-specialities","12":"tag-sake","13":"tag-yamagata"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThree Hundred Years of Sake <\/strong><\/h2>\n
See Sake Brewing Up-Close, Then Taste it Yourself
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nAs soon as I entered the shop I was greeted by a clerk who handed me a warm glass of amazake<\/em><\/strong>, a sweet, non-alcoholic drink made from rice and served in the winter months and around New Year\u2019s.<\/p>\nYonezawa official tourist infomation<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n