Enjoy Oita’s Sake Culture With Brewery Tours, Sake-Making, Tastings, and More【Explore Oita Japan】

Enjoy Oita’s Sake Culture With Brewery Tours, Sake-Making, Tastings, and More【Explore Oita Japan】

Are you ready for one of the best places to make craft beer and sake in Japan? Hi, my name is Jacqueline and I’m a navigator for Explore Oita Japan Behind me there’s a Hinohikari rice field which is dominantly grown in Oita Prefecture [Explore Oita Japan]

In Oita Prefecture there are currently 36 sake and shochu breweries In Usa City, we utilize rice and barley cultivated in Oita Prefecture to craft Japanese sake and shochu Additionally, we expand our offerings to include liqueurs using fruits such as kabosu

Here, there are longstanding traditional sake breweries cherished by locals for generations as well as many young breweries that are gaining new fans by showcasing creativity and individuality The city is famous for rice and barley production which gives it the advantage when making sake and shochu

Here, I am at Karashima Kokunokura in Kyushu, Japan Here, not only can you learn about all the secrets in making sake but you can also pair them with food made from koji (malted rice) and fermented seasonings Isn’t that exciting? The brewery can be easily accessed from Hakata Station

Just 1 hour and 30 minutes by the Limited Express Sonic Train to Yanagigaura Station in Usa City From there, it’s a 10-minute taxi ride to the brewery Yanagigaura Station is also easy to access from Beppu Station or Oita Station if you are already staying in Oita Karashima Kokunokura offers various unique programs

Like sake brewery tours which we will be trying out today Wow, look at this place It’s a lot of alcohol Before you enter the lab and see the magic in action the staff will teach you a little about the brewing process First, rice is polished to remove the outer layers

And this polished rice is used as the raw material And wash and soak the polished rice to absorb water The rice is then steamed to propagate koji mold Koji mold is then spread onto the rice Before heading inside let’s get dressed The fermentation starter is prepared in a small tank

Then it’s transferred to the fermentation tank for brewing where steamed rice, koji and water are added Afterwards, it’s fermented for over 20 days Then it’s pressed, separating it into sake and sake lees After all that sake is filtered and then filled into bottles

We seal the product with the capping machine located here and finally we attach the label on each bottle one by one by hand I’m trying 3 different types of sake All these sakes are made from rice grown in Oita Prefecture This sake actually has a very fruity smell

The alcohol taste is not strong and the sake itself is very mild with a soft flavor from the koji Compared to the other two this one has a more refreshing smell We have a side dish here to pair up with the last sake The chicken itself is very salty

The sake no longer has a very strong alcoholic taste when you pair it up with the chicken Actually this chicken would be a very good side dish when you’re drinking sake Now, we’re going to go to a café Wow We stopped at the café I talked to the staff and they told us about the specialties of the café This menu features dishes made with locally sourced ingredients from Oita Prefecture and sake crafted at this brewery After browsing the menu I decided to order

Miso koji grilled 5 items assorted Amazake cheesecake with miso vanilla ice cream and a glass of amazake Miso koji grilled 5 items assorted offered a platter of squid, chicken, pork, yellow tail and mushrooms These ingredients are seasoned with a blend of miso and koji, then grilled

You’ve got a recipe for an amazing platter Here at Karashima Kokunokura visitors can learn how Japanese sake is brewed on our brewing tours offered in this facility Through the tour we aim to share with visitors our use of high-quality ingredients top-notch processing, brewing expertise the sincerity of our producers

And the emotions we experience while making sake among other things One of our brewery workers here provide explanations during the tour What would you like to say to international visitors? This region has a rich history of thriving fermentation culture So if we can share such Japanese fermentation culture

With visitors from overseas that would be great Thank you for letting us enjoy this wonderful experience in Oita Prefecture – Thank you so much – Thank you so much That’s a wrap for our sake brewing tour Thank you so much for following our journey learning about different types of sake and enjoying food with us

Thank you so much and hope to see you again at our channel Like, comment and subscribe [Explore Oita Japan]

*Subtitles are available in Japanese and English. Please enjoy the video with subtitles on.

In this video, we’ll introduce Karashima Kokunokura, an interactive sake brewing facility in Usa City, Oita Prefecture.

【Contents】
0:21 About Sake in Oita Prefecture
0:59 Karashima Kokunokura
1:45 Komenokura
2:13 Visit to the Brewery
2:52 Ikkaku Bar
3:55 Muginokura

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Karashima Kokunokura, just a 10-minute drive from Yanagigaura Station in Usa City, Oita Prefecture, hosts authentic sake-making experiences and serves dishes made with local Oita ingredients, letting you relish delicious sake and gourmet food unavailable anywhere else.

This time, our host spent the day enjoying Japanese sake at Karashima Kokunokura!

First up, she checked out the Komenokura sake brewery, where you can see the sake-brewing process up close for free and join a real sake-making experience. Usa City has long been a hub of fermentation using “koji” (malted rice) cultivated in the rich local environment, and the brewers at Karashima Kokunokura are more than happy to share their knowledge. Our host was deeply impressed at the amazing process of turning rice into sake.

They then stopped by Ikkaku Bar, next to Komenokura, where both sake-lovers and beginners alike can enjoy sake tasting. Our host was blown away by the pairing course, which lets you compare limited-edition sake with light dishes carefully selected by brewers and made using local ingredients. You can also purchase the sake and food you tasted to take home as tasty souvenirs.

Muginokura, a low-malt beer (craft beer) brewery, uses Usa City’s own “nishinohoshi” barley. It also has a cafe serving foods and alcohol pairings unique to the region. The menu includes a variety of high-quality dishes making full use of Oita’s natural blessings, like the “Miso Koji Grilled 5 Items Assorted.”

Finally, our host was able to chat with the Karashima Kokunokura manager Mr.Fujita. By actually visiting the brewery, she got to know the wonderful ingredients used to make sake, the amazing brewing process, and the techniques and thoughts of the brewers.

So, whether you love sake, or don’t drink alcohol, Karashima Kokunokura is a great place to experience the wonders of Usa City!

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Usa City Tourist Navigation▶︎https://www.city.usa.oita.jp/tourist/selectlanguage/English/index.html
Karashima Kokunokura▶︎https://www.sanwa-shurui.co.jp/factory/karashima/
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