Ever heard of Nadagogo? This sake-filled slice of Kansai was unknown to this writer until it appeared in a random Reddit comment, and further research made it the top choice on the trip list. If you’re a major sake fan, or just looking to dip your toe into what the sake world has to offer, Nadagogo is the place to go(go). Here's a two-day itinerary for you. Pro tip: Want someone to show you around the sake? Consider a walking tour of Kobe's best breweries. Just right outside of Osaka, Nadagogo is an historic sake area with many, many breweries located throughout the cities of Kobe and Nishinomiya. Nadagogo roughly translates to “The Five Villages of Nada”, and is named for Nada-ku, one of the nine wards of Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture. Sake production in the area started around 1330, meaning there’s nearly 700 years of history housed there. If you’re coming from Tokyo and decide to stay in Osaka, it’s recommended to stay near Namba or Umeda stations so you can easily get a Hanshin train to Nishinomiya and Kobe. Just hop on an early Tōkaidō Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka Station, drop off your bags at the hotel, and head on out to start your Nadagogo day. Pro tip: Looking for somewhere to stay in Osaka? Check out our Ultimate Osaka Accommodation Guide. Day one: Nishinomiya Hakutaka Rokusuien Get your day started here with Hakutaka Sake. Opened in 2001 to serve as a cultural center, the building was made to replicate the house of Tatsuuma Etsuzō, Hakutaka’s founder. Here, you’ll find a distinctly vintage ambiance, and a small yet packed museum. It is full of historical artifacts that not only include sake-making tools, but also household goods used by the Tatsuuma family, giving you a sense of what daily life looked like back in the 1800s and early 1900s. Once you’re done perusing, head to the little bar inside to try a sampler of three Hakutaka sakes and a seasonal dish. While the menu is in Japanese, it has photos -- so you can point and order with ease. Hakushika Memorial Museum of Sake and Hakushika Sake Brewery Museum A five-minute walk down the street from Hakutaka is the Hakushika Memorial Museum of Sake. Here, you'll find a carefully curated selection of sake-related artifacts including paintings, historical documents, account books, photos, tools and more. There is also an exhibition dedicated to Japanese sakura trees. You can see Nadagogo’s history through the eyes of those who were recording it at the time, and also walk through the different kinds of vessels that were used to craft the alcohol back in the day. At one point, you’ll be deep in a pot, staring up at statues of the koji-makers. Once you’re finished with the brewery museum, you can taste a few types of sake in the gift shop. Note: photos are not allowed within the Memorial Museum, and only some things are translated into English, but it will not diminish your enjoyment. A single admission fee of will get you into both museums. Osawa Honke Shuzo This is a bit of a trek from the Hakushika museums, but worth the journey. Founded in 1770, they’re now the last-standing wooden sake-brewing plant. I was unable to find information on tours, although the Hanshin site says that they’re available. If you’re interested in seeing how the sake gets made, you might need to ask. That said, these sakes are not sold in stores, only directly to customers. So a pit-stop here allows you to try sake you won’t find anywhere else. There’s a three-cup sampler for only ; the day I visited, I received a tasting of two unpasteurized sakes and a nigori sake, which is a cloudy, unfiltered sake still containing miniscule remnants of unfermented rice. Note: Another direct-to-customer sake brewery is right next door, called Mandai Osawa Jozo, but they were closed when I went. Nihonsakari Sakaguradori Rengakan This place, being open later than the others, is a good place to end your first Nadagogo day. You can schedule a dinner reservation here to wind down with a kaiseki course meal before heading back. Before leaving, check out the attached glass factory and the sake shop. The latter offers tastings including genshu, which is sake before water is added -- a rare opportunity for sake lovers. Notably, this is a pretty quick run-through of the first day. If you would prefer, you can finish your day early to go back and have dinner in Osaka. Alternatively, you can spend more time at the other places (I traveled solo, which does speed things up a bit). Day two: Kobe Sawanotsuru Museum Kick off day two with the Sawanotsuru Museum, which leads you through the sake-brewing process with extremely detailed information. You can see all the tools used -- of which there are a mind-boggling amount. Plus, you can see some of the structures ancient sake breweries actually used in the past. More than that, they have miniature models of the ships used to move sake around Japan, and a large collection of old sake labels and advertising. It's a great look into the sake process from start to finish, brewing to selling. Note: You’ll likely want to hop back on the train to get to the next stop, as it is roughly a 26-minute walk. Kobe Shushinkan Break for lunch on this sake brewery’s campus, at a restaurant called Sakabayashi. Sakabayashi is another word for sugidama, the sphere of pine branches that is always seen in front of sake breweries. The restaurant serves up traditional Japanese fare that pairs perfectly with the brewery’s sake. The set menus are a decent amount of food, but you can also reserve a kaiseki for really old-school flair. After lunch, head to the brewery’s store to check out bottles of what you just consumed with lunch. Take photos in front of the big wall of sake barrels, wearing the brewery’s happi, a traditional jacket often worn by brewers. You can also tour the facility, if you make a reservation at least two days in advance. English-speaking staff is available. Hakutsuru Museum Unlike the other museums, which were largely built for that purpose, the Hakutsuru Museum exists within a converted sake brewery that was originally constructed in the early 1900s. The sake-brewing process comes to life here, with life-sized, colorful figures demonstrating each step. Videos offer further detail, with an English translation available on many. Once the tour’s done, there’s a photo zone where you can wear another branded happi and pose with larger-than-life cutouts of various products the brand makes. Kiku-Masamune Sake Brewery Museum If you’re into Japanese beauty products, you may recognize the name from the lotion or moisturizer. But it is a sake brewery, first and foremost. At the museum here, you can once again walk through the sake-brewing process, seeing some of the tools the brewery uses, up close and personal. That said, there is some overlap, so you may decide to breeze through -- but do check out the beautiful collection of sake sets and the chair on which Emperor Showa sat! Afterwards, head to the gift shop-slash-tasting room. Here, you can find ample Kiku-Masamune souvenirs, including skincare, amazake, and even ice cream. Is a trip to Nadagogo worth it? Simply put, if you like sake, yes it absolutely is! Whether you’re into the making, the tasting or the history -- you’ll be able to experience it all in two walkable areas. Most tours are free, tastings are cheap, and there are high-end restaurants connected to some of the breweries. Therefore, it super simple to grab a bite, a cup of sake, and the bottle of your favorite to take home. Not to mention that because of the ease of transit, you can easily make it a weekend trip from Tokyo. Alternatively, if you’re already in Osaka, you can take a day or two to drop by. My itinerary was roughly inspired by one created by the good people at Hanshin Electric Railway. This is the train you’ll be riding in order to get to the area from Osaka. This itinerary by no means includes a visit to all Nadagogo sake breweries. Firstly, they’re open somewhat limited hours, and secondly, there’s a decent amount of walking involved. Four breweries/museums in each main area, for a total of eight throughout Kobe and Nishinomiya, is a big journey -- but entirely doable if you’re able to get the steps in. Skip any sake brewery that ends up not working within your schedule. Another option is to skip the museums and go straight for the tastings, since there’s some overlapping information regarding the sake-making process. The days can also be swapped easily -- just make sure that the breweries you want to visit will be open. While we do our best to ensure it’s correct, information is subject to change.
The ultimate guide to Japan travel
The ultimate guide to Japan travel
The ultimate guide to Japan travel
