‘Authentic experience’ is what foreigners seek in Japan

On a recent morning, when the temperature was near zero, Rebeca Sanchez, a traveler from Spain, donned a white “samue” (work outfit) to enter a sake brewery in Saku, eastern Nagano Prefecture. 

Sanchez, 45, and eight other Japanese guests were then purified by a Shinto priest before entering Kitsukura Shuzou, which has been in business for about 300 years. 

After listening to the brewer’s explanation, Sanchez scooped the rice into a steamer about two meters in diameter. Once it had steamed, she carried the rice in a wooden bucket, and spread it out to cool. She also helped with the difficult work of mixing water, koji and steamed rice, all the while looking nervous but happy.

This was the eighth time that Sanchez, an admitted Japanophile, had visited this country. She had been to other breweries before and was familiar with the sake-making process, but this was her first time actually working with her hands.

“It’s completely different from what I’ve seen and heard. I now know how hard it is to make sake,” she said on Nov. 11.

Sanchez is among the surging number of foreign visitors to Japan, which has exceeded the pre-pandemic level for the first time in a single month.

As cities are flooded with inbound tourists, and business is booming at hotels and railroads, more than ever, it seems that “local specialties” and “hands-on experiences” hold the keys to future growth in the tourism sector.

The brewery in Saku has become a hotspot for foreign visitors who are excited to stay at the on-site inn Kurabito Stay and experience authentic sake brewing.

The inn is managed by Marika Tazawa, 37, who grew up in the neighboring city of Komoro. After working at a travel company in Tokyo, Tazawa returned to her hometown and met Taira Ide, 50, the president of the brewery.

An old building that had once been a brewer’s quarters and used as a warehouse caught Tazawa’s eye. She and Ide, who wanted to make the brewery “open to the public,” hit it off. She raised the funds to renovate the building herself and opened the inn in 2020.

The inn’s eight rooms range from two-and-a-half to five-and-a-half tatami mats, and are simple enough to sleep in.

The inn opens only on weekends, and offers a 3-day/2-night program and sake brewing experience for 88,000 yen ($580). The rooms are completely booked until next March and 40 percent of these reservations are from foreigners.