Central Japan Tokoname Pottery, Sake Brewery, Soy Sauce Tour

In this 2-day tour, you will experience Japan's traditions and techniques producing accessories and recipes for drinks and food items. You won't miss the local food flavored and served by these items.

Day 1

We will meet in the morning at Tokoname Station, which is easily accessible from Chubu Centrair International Airport and Nagoya city.

Pottery Experience

We will guide you to a renowned pottery artisan's workshop located in the historical pottery path. You will be warmly greeted with tea and lunch at the workshop. All drink and food items are served with potteries produced in this workshop. Savor a lunch with carefully selected tableware and local ingredients. Our recommendation is Tokoname chirashi, a traditional sushi dish of sushi rice and marinated fish that's in season.

We will guide you through the studio and see various pottery products for tea and dining. You will watch how the artisan processes clay and shape it to artistic creations using pottery wheels. You will take home for free a pottery sake cup made by the artisan. You can also purchase items and bring them home for daily use.

Enjoy a tea ceremony hosted by the artisan and experience the harmony between pottery teaware and the tea itself expressing the traditional Japanese Zen. Local teapots are often favored by tea experts due to how precisely they are made. However, the artisan aims to create teapots that are not only for experts, but also ones that fit in at a modern dining table. You can also enjoy an excellent cup of tea brewed by him.

Sake Brewery Experience

After the pottery workshop, we will bring you to a tradtional sake brewery of 100 years in history. Watch the full process of producing sake using curated local rice, including rice selection, washing, steaming, fermentation and brewing.

You will have great fun being offered a sake tasting game!

Onsen Hotel & Seafood Dinner

We will drive you back to the hotel, where you will indulge with an authentic onsen ryokan stay including a full course seafood dinner, and Ise ebi lobster!

(Photo source: hotel)

Day 2

MIrin Factory Experience

After breakfast in the hotel, you will be guided to a 100-year old Mirin factory. Types of mirin (Japanese rice wine) found in supermarkets are actually "mirin-style seasoning” or varieties with added sugar. However, this brewery only uses glutinous rice, rice malt, and shochu (traditional Japanese distilled spirit) to create quality mirin. You'll also be charmed by the warm personality of the company's current president, the third in its history.

You will have the opportunity of tasting Mirin. You will be offered a free souvenir. You can purchase mirin products directly at the factory.

Tamari Sauce Factory Experience

After lunch, we will bring you to a Tamari Sauce factory. Tamari is a gluten-free Japanese sauce made by pressing the liquid from miso, a fermented soybean paste of soybeans, water, salt and koji (fermented rice).

The factory produces a type of light soy sauce with wheat, salt and water, Shiro Tamari is a speciality of this brewery. Their Mikawa Shiro Tamari is made from twice the usual amount of wheat malt, using domestic wheat, salt, and delicious spring water from Aichi Prefecture. Boasting a flavor that is deeper and richer than ordinary soy sauces, it is recommended for sashimi and simmered dishes.

(Photo source: the factory)

You will be offered a free souvenir.

The tour will end and we will drive you back to the Tokoname Station.

Included

• Experience and entrance fees of all visits

• Lunch and dinner of Day 1, breakfast and lunch of Day 2

• Hotel accommodation

• Transportation and guide from and back to the pickup point

Excluded

• Travel or accidental insurance

• Extra food and drinks

  
  

• Any commercial item purchased by the guest during this visit