Musubi: Curating unique Japan experiences for sophisticated travellers

Private Guided Tour Itinerary

Day 1

• 18:00 You will be met at JR Koga Station by your guide and escorted to Hotel Sansui.

• 19:00 Gokeiji Bar at a very nice Japanese room with garden view – Welcome dinner for 2 hours

This traditional, elegant kaiseki meal is paired with five Aoki sakes by Chisa Aoki, the brewery’s senior managing director, who will expertly guide your tasting experience. Their Gokeiji sakes, named in celebration of the Taisho Emperor’s accession to the throne in 1912, have recently won multiple awards.

Day 2

• 7:30 You will be met at hotel lobby by your guide and escorted to Aoki Sake Brewery.

• 7:45 Exclusive Sake Brewing Experience

We meet early at Aoki Sake Brewery to experience the morning work of processing the brewery’s freshly steamed rice. Joining the brewery staff, we learn the technique of cooling and separating the highly polished rice grains to create the day’s Gokeiji sake. Our exclusive access includes a peek inside the koji muro, the large temperature- and humidity-controlled room where the rice is inoculated with koji, and the fermentation process begins.

• 9:00 Brewery Visit and Guided Sake Tasting

Learn about the sake brewing process during an intimate guided tour of the historic Aoki Sake Brewery before trying three seasonal Gokeiji sakes in a bespoke tasting experience.

A tasting of three specially selected sakes led by Chisa Aoki, the brewery’s senior managing director and an eighth-generation member of the Aoki family.The Aoki Brewery relies on locally grown rice, which is one of many factors that affect the flavor of each sake. Several Gokeiji sakes have recently won international and national awards, and we will have the unique opportunity to try some of these in the brewery’s atmospheric tasting room.

• 10:30 End of the tour

You will be escorted to Koga Station. If you would like to see more and experience more, we have many options prepared for you. Please ask Musubi for lunch and activities options in the afternoon.

• Sample Options

11:00 – 15:30 Farm and Dining

• *Sake brewing is a seasonal process. Musubi Travel is delighted to be able to offer these tours during the brewing season from January to March.
• *Sake is easily contaminated by outside yeasts. If you choose to join this program after breakfast, we require that you abstain from eating or drinking any fermented foods before coming to the brewery.

How to book

Inquiries  :  megumi@musubi-travel.jp

The Aoki Sake Brewery Tour is by reservation only.

We are happy to respond to individual requests concerning your desired date, the content of the tour, your transportation needs, and any other details, so please feel free to inquire. Please send us an e-mail with following information.

1. Name
2. Number of guests
3. Tour date
4. E-mail address
5. Mobile number
6. Transportation needs
7. Dietary requirement

Please read our  Terms and Condition of a travel agency authorized by the Governor of Ibaraki Prefecture (No. 656, Type 2)