Day 1
Experience Kyoto's food culture and traditions through Fushimi's sake and celebrated water
Leave the hustle and bustle of Kyoto behind and head to Fushimi. Firstly, stop by Fushimi Inari Taisha, a shrine famous for its thousand red torii gates. Next, visit a farm and try your hand at harvesting and tasting sake rice and Kyoyasai, Kyoto’s heirloom vegetables, both part of the local culture for generations. Experience the tastiness of vegetables grown with Fushimi's pure water and without the use of pesticides or chemical fertilizer. Enjoy a lunch rich in Fushimi vegetables and sake lees. A byproduct of sake brewing that is usually discarded, sake lees are often used in cooking in Kyoto, where there is a deep-rooted culture of avoiding waste and making full use of all ingredients.
After lunch, it’s finally time to visit the sake brewery, which has been privately reserved for your tour. Observe the traditional sake brewing process and visit areas of the brewery that are usually off-limits to the public. Spend time in the evening strolling through Fushimi's quaint sake brewing district, which is characterized by its wooden and whitewashed walls. At night, return to your hotel and participate in a special sake event in which choice sake is paired with fine Italian cuisine. The sake comes from various Fushimi breweries and the cooking makes full use of sake rice and Kyoyasai, promising a very special dinner. Savor the various characteristics of the different sake and think about which ones may go well with your favorite foods back home.
Day 2
Experience Kyoto’s traditional sake-related crafts
Having drunk a lot the evening before, leave the hotel a little later than usual and visit a workshop that is keeping alive the long tradition of Kyoto crafts. After a demonstration and brief talk on traditional crafts, try your hand at making a sake cup under the guidance of a skilled craftsman. Once completed, fill your handmade cup with your favorite sake and enjoy the taste, cementing memories that will last a lifetime.
Fushimi in Kyoto has a long history as both a town and a sake-brewing district. Today, it is one of Japan’s three most important sake-producing centers. Fushimi sake is deeply entwined with the people, nature and culture of Kyoto. It encompasses Fushimi’s rich natural resources, which produce high-quality water and rice, the use of sake lees that embodies a culture that values frugality and food, and craftsmanship that produces fine sake utensils. As the town of Fushimi developed, so its sake culture was passed down from one generation to the next.