Sake Tasting and Washi Making - Make Your Own Washi Sake Label

• • Hibiki SanoSOE Tour Guide

    “We will do our best to guide you so that you can have a fun time in Echizen Sabae and want to come again!”
    Born in Sabae City, Fukui Prefecture in 1998. After working as a local government employee, he was in charge of tourism at SOE.

Recommended Points

• 01
  Tour the sake brewery at Symphony Yoshida Brewery, which uses traditional techniques while also being updated to suit modern tastes
• 02
  After the tour, you can enjoy tasting three types of sake.
• 03
  Finally, we eat the sake lees and rice husks that are left over from the sake brewing process.
• 04
  Visit Igarashi Paper, an Echizen washi paper workshop.
• 05
  After the washi paper is made, it is decorated with sake lees and rice husks.
• 06
  Stick a label on it and you're done! You can take the bottle home with you.

About the Tour

• View Spots
• Tour Contents
• Details

• View Spots

  

  Symphony Yoshida Sake Brewery is a sake brewery that makes sake with an awareness of terroir. They use sake rice, such as "Yamada Nishiki" and "Gohyakumangoku", all grown in-house in Eiheiji Town, and brewing water made from the soft melting snow from the foot of Mt. Hakusan that flows underground, to create sake with a unique flavor. Here, we will be taking a tour under the careful guidance of the facility staff.

   

  
  Yoshida Masako was appointed to the position of chief brewer at Yoshida Sake Brewery in 2017 at the young age of 25. At the time, she attracted attention as the youngest female chief brewer in the country. In the world of sake breweries, which is dominated by men, she leads her team as the production manager and steers the sake brewing process. She aims to make sake that can be enjoyed as a meal companion, taking advantage of the flavor of the sake rice grown in-house.

   

  
  Founded in 1919, Igarashi Paper is a long-established washi manufacturer that has evolved traditional techniques to enable a wide range of expressions from two-dimensional to three-dimensional. Food Paper, which uses discarded food ingredients, is also known as a sustainable washi paper.

   

  
  Masayoshi Igarashi is the fourth generation owner of Igarashi Seishi, an Echizen washi paper workshop founded in 1919. He was certified as a traditional craftsman in 2015. Food Paper was created based on the science research that his son did as a student.

• Tour Contents

  

  First, you will visit the Symphony Yoshida Sake Brewery to learn about the terroir-conscious sake-making process that is unique to this region, with detailed explanations from the facility's staff.

   

  
  After the tour, you will be given a tasting of three types of sake. You can enjoy the unique sake made by Yoshida Sake Brewery.

   

  
  After your experience at Symphony Yoshida Sake Brewery is over, you can take the leftover sake lees and rice husks back to Igarashi Paper.

   

  
  At Igarashi Paper, small pieces of washi paper for labels are made under the guidance of craftsmen.

   

  
  Once the paper has been strained, it is decorated with sake lees and rice husks. By adding sake lees and rice husks, the paper takes advantage of the unique characteristics of each ingredient to create a three-dimensional finished product.

   

  
  Once you have finished your bottle, you can attach a label and take it home.

• Details

  • Tour Details

    Code: CIT1007
    Time required: about 8 hours
    Minimum number of participants: 4 people
    Maximum number of people: 8 people
    Tour conductor:Yes, a local guide will be present.

  • Meeting place

    Meeting place	Right outside the east exit of Fukui Station 910-chome Teyori, Fukui City, Fukui Prefecture 0858-XNUMX
    Access	by car Approximately 10 minutes by car from Hokuriku Expressway Fukui IC By train 1 minute walk from JR Fukui Station
    Parking	Available

    View on Google map

  • Scheduled date

    Event time: 9:00~

    This tour is on a request basis.
    After confirming the purchase, we will ask you about 3 possible dates and make adjustments.

  • Course content

    1) Gather at JR Fukui Station East Exit
    2) Tour orientation
    3) Visit to Symphony Yoshida Sake Brewery
    4) Sake tasting at Symphony Yoshida Brewery
    5) Lunch of Echizen soba, a Fukui specialty
    6) Igarashi Paper Factory Tour
    7) Igarashi Paper: Making Japanese paper labels
    8) End of the tour at JR Echizen Takefu Station
    *Please note that the workshop you are guided to may change depending on the situation.

  • Included

    ・Factory tour fee
    ・Workshop experience fee
    ・Guide fee
    ・Lunch fee
    ・Vehicle arrangement fee

  • Cancellation Policy

    ・Cancellation 10 to 8 days before the tour date: 20% of the tour price
    ・Cancellation 7 to 2 days before the tour date: 30% of the tour price
    ・Cancellation on the day before the tour: 40% of the tour price
    ・Cancellation on the day: 50% of the tour price
    ・No contact or cancellation after the tour has started: 100% of the tour fee
    　* If it becomes difficult to participate on the day before or on the day of the experience, please contact the following experience directly.
    　　Contact: SOE TEL 0778-78-9967

  • Precautions

    ・We may guide you together with people from other groups.
    ・Depending on the day, we may not be able to tour the workshop, in which case we may be able to explain the process at another workshop. Thank you for your understanding.
    ・Please note that since the workshop is run by a small number of people, we do not carry out all the processes of sake brewing and washi paper making every day.
    ・The workshop often does not have air conditioning. It's hot in the summer, so please bring water and a towel, and in the winter, it's cold, so please wear warm clothes.
    ・Smoking is completely prohibited within the workshop premises. Please refrain from smoking.
    ・Photography is allowed, but commercial use is prohibited.
    ・Children over 10 years old can participate (accompanied by a guardian).
    ・For minors, the sake tasting experience will be replaced with amazake soft serve ice cream.
    ・If you touch any machines without permission, you may be injured. Please act according to the staff's instructions.
    ・We cannot be held responsible for any accidents or injuries that occur in the workshop due to customer reasons.
    ・You may be walking around the workshop on the day of the event, so please wear comfortable shoes and clothes that are easy to move in.
    ・Please refrain from wearing high-heeled shoes, sandals, or platform shoes inside the workshop.
    ・When participating, please come in clothes that you don't mind getting dirty.

  • Contact

    General Incorporated Association SOE
    Tel: 0778-78-9967
    Email: welcome@soe.or.jp