JAPONISME Tour Offers in Depth Look at Sake Production
Japonisme’s tour of Nanbu Bijin, an award-winning sake brewery in Ninohe, Japan, kicks off with a toast. Led by Mika, Japonisme’s government-licensed tour guide, Zoom guests raise a glass to their screen and call out in unison: “Kanpai!” — cheers! Mika introduces us to Hirano, an employee of Nanbu Bijin, who guides us through the brewery and the various stages of sake production, starting with the beverage’s origin as a polished grain of rice and ending with a demonstration of how to pour, drink, and pair it with food.
Mika translates for the audience as Hirano shows us the brewery’s koshiki, a large metal tub that steams up to one ton of rice daily during the November - May production season. He explains that this timeframe and a cold climate such as Ninohe’s are key for preventing the development of bacteria that might occur in warmer weather — a revelation, among others, that was eye-opening for this sake rookie.
He then guides us to a multi-level room where large vats of moromi (a mashed mix of rice, water, yeast and koji, a rice-based mold) are stored as they undergo fermentation. Followed by the cameraperson, Hirano climbs to the upper level and brings us in for an up-close view of the thick, off-white mash. From bedrooms, desks and couches around the world, hundreds of Zoom guests lean in to watch the bubbling moromi ferment in real time.
While Hirano and his team set up their final display, Mika takes over the screen for a presentation on how to select and order sake. She explains which numbers on the label indicate the percent of rice grain remaining after polishing, and how this range affects the sake’s quality and serving temperature once you finally sit down for a drink. Though not as visually immersive as the preceding walk-through, this information-packed segment was just as revealing, in this writer’s opinion.
Sponsored by JR East (East Japan Railway Company), this free and limited-availability tour starts with a video plug for the JR bullet train and ends with some practical advice about how to explore eastern Japan using the company’s exclusive-to-foreigners railway pass. You might not be as rapt during these segments as you are for the meatier parts of the tour, but this writer found they were a fair price to pay for such an illuminating and in depth look at sake production and culture.
