Every day from January 18 through March 2, sake breweries in the city of Takayama are having special open-house events for their storerooms.

This event is sure to be a big hit for sake-lovers. Japanese cuisine and sake have been enjoying a big boom in recent years, and all the breweries have become popular destinations for visitors from abroad!

When you visit a brewery you're usually not allowed inside, but during just this special period, six breweries are taking turns to host open-house events week by week. I visited and toured Kawashiri Sake Brewery, which has been in operation since around 180 years ago. The happi-wearing guides explain how sake is made in English and Japanese while you actually getting a look into the brewery -- a greatly appreciated service!!

The processes of sake-making

1. Polishing the sake rice to close to 60%
2. Steaming the rice
3. Koji
4. Yeast mash
5. Fermentation
6. Extracting the sake

After these steps, each brewery allows the sake to mature into the final product, I was told. There are actually a lot more steps that I don't have room to write about here...but if you're interested in the details, be sure to ask at one of the breweries in Hida Takayama! And of course, you can also try samples of the sake for free! Please go and enjoy some delicious kinds of sake. Just be careful not to drink too much!

Another brewery I'd like to tell you about is Funasaka Sake Brewery (open-house is February 8 through 14). I was able to speak directly with sake-making masters and toji (chief brewer).

The toji at Funasaka Sake Brewery has won many awards, even in the UK and France. He told me that in sake-making, such factors as the quality of rice and weather have a big effect, and being a good toji requires many years of intuition and experience, with no respite until sake making has finished.

While listening to these serious words I happened to glance at the toji's hands, and was surprised at how white and soft they looked, considering that he's a man, and unthinkingly blurted out, "your hands are beautiful!" He then told me that sake is held to have beautifying effects.

I was told that many visitors from overseas are delighted to get not just sake but also beauty-care products as souvenirs to take home.

Applying just a tiny amount keeps the skin moist, so you can enjoy soft, smooth skin even during this dry season of the year! This is available in the gift shop at the Takayama Nohi Bus Center, so be sure to pick some up when your there to transfer buses.

Kawashiri Sake Brewery open house: Friday, January 18, 2019 through Thursday, January 24, 2019

Niki Sake Brewery open house: Friday, January 25, 2019 through Thursday, January 31, 2019

Hirase Sake Brewery open house: Friday, February 1,2019 through Thursday, February 7, 2019

Funasaka Sake Brewery open house: Friday, February 8, 2019 through Thursday, February 14, 2019

Hirata Sake Brewery open house: Friday, February 15, 2019 through Thursday, February 21, 2019

Harada Sake Brewery open house: Friday, February 22, 2019 through Saturday, March 2, 2019