Do you know how sake is made? Many people have seen photos and videos of sake brewing, but have you ever experienced it for yourself? The aroma and steam as the steamed rice is cooked, the weight of the paddle to encourage the sake to ferment, the popping sound of the yeast rising from the fermentation tank. Let us introduce you to the Sake Brewery Hotel® [KURABITO STAY], where you can experience sake brewing up close.

I spoke to this person

Marika Tazawa, CEO of KURABITO STAY Co., Ltd.

Profile

Born in Komoro City, Nagano Prefecture. Graduated from Aoyama Gakuin University. After working for a major travel agency, he returned to his hometown of Komoro City. While involved in local tourism, he came up with the idea for "Sake Brewery Hotel®", which won the grand prize at the national business contest "Minna no Yume AWARD". In 2020, he opened [KURABITO STAY]. In October last year, he was appointed as the Cabinet Office Cool Japan Producer.

What is KURABITO STAY?

The sake brewery hotel® "KURABITO STAY" opened in 9 in a corner of Tachibanakura Sake Brewery, which was founded in 1696 in Usuda, Saku City. In addition to brewing sake at the brewery, various experiences are offered according to the season, such as making koji and cycling around the sake rice fields. Although it is only open on weekends, more than 2 people have stayed here so far, including people from 2020 countries around the world.

For example, in a three-day, two-night sake brewing experience, in addition to washing the rice, steaming it, and putting it into the koji room with the support of the sake brewers, the experience menu also includes other activities depending on the time of production, such as sorting the koji, taking temperatures, making the yeast starter (rough paddle), and putting in the paddle. It is a valuable experience to be able to get involved in the various processes of how sake is made by seeing them up close.

Other activities include a purification ritual performed by a Shinto priest at the beginning of the sake brewery's brewing process, tours of the brewery in between work, a sake tasting seminar, and a koji seminar that provides a detailed explanation of the health benefits of koji. The varied and efficient curriculum ensures that you will never get bored.

In addition to the brewing experience that runs from autumn to winter, there is also a two-day, one-night koji-making experience that is open to upper elementary school students, and since last year, there has also been an e-bike cycling tour around the rural landscapes of the Saku region, which could be considered the "terroir" of sake. There are now a variety of sake-related experiences available all year round.

What led to the creation of KURABITO STAY?

-- I think that touring sake breweries during the off-season is common in the world, but the Sake Brewery Hotel® is a unique idea. What was the trigger?

Tazawa-san: When I returned to my hometown to start a tourism business, it was very deserted. Also, when I talked to people I met at work, they told me that in the summer, Karuizawa is nearby, so there are tourists coming and going, but in the winter, it's cold and there's no snow, so no one comes. I remember feeling sad when I heard locals say, "There's nothing here in the winter."

So, when I looked around to see if there was anything there in the winter, I saw that there were 13 sake breweries in the Saku region of Nagano Prefecture operating in the winter brewing season, and I thought that this could be something that would attract people to this area in the winter. Then, when I was being shown around the brewery by Tachibanakura Brewery's then Managing Director Ide Taira (now President), I happened to come across a building on the premises that had previously been used as a place for the brewers and brewers to stay during sake brewing, but which was not in use at the time.

"If customers stayed overnight, they would be satisfied with the intensive curriculum of the sake experience that is not available on a conventional sake brewery tour." This may have been unfounded confidence on the part of the founder, but after presenting it as a business plan and winning the national grand prize at the "Minna no Yume Award," he began to move towards making it a reality.

KURABITO STAY style customer service

--If the brewer experience involves staying overnight, does that mean there must be some real sake lovers out there?

Tazawa-san: Of course, there are people who like sake, but there are also many other people. For example, there are people who can't drink sake but are interested in koji, so they came with their children, and there are also people from overseas who own wineries and came to experience making sake with the equipment, and were surprised by the delicate process of making sake. There are many different ways in which people are interested.

Since the period is limited to one night and two days or two nights and three days, we plan the curriculum so that guests can go home feeling highly satisfied. When I worked at a travel agency, I had doubts about the method of producing a large number of things that would satisfy many people in a short period of time, so rather than chasing the satisfaction of 1 people who stay for one hour, I want to fully satisfy the one person who stays for 2 hours, and I manage the experiences of guests with this in mind.

Since last year, we have also been running cycling tours with the aim of encouraging people to "visualize the scenery of Saku the moment they take a sip of Saku sake."

The potential of tourism seen through sake

--Mr. Tazawa, you are also involved in the management of the Sake Brewery Hotel® KIREI, which will open in front of Shinshu Kirei Okazaki Sake Brewery in Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture in May of this year. Please tell us about your future activities.

Tazawa-san: What I want to do is to create a tourist area that makes use of the traditional industries of the area. I think there are many people in the area who are humble and say, "There's nothing here," but I want to do activities that will help them regain confidence and pride in their area and culture.

I'm currently the representative of KURABITO STAY, but if the Saku region was famous for tofu production, I might have started "Tofu Stay" (laughs). The Sake Brewery Hotel® was started because this area is famous for sake brewing, and I feel that having people experience being brewers walking around the town has given the local people confidence that their town is "a place people visit."

I hope that the experience here will not simply lead to increased consumption of sake, but will also encourage more and more people to spread the word about sake. This will in turn deepen interest and understanding of the surrounding area, rather than limiting the relationship to that between brewer and consumer. I hope that the sake of this region, the people who cultivate it, the land, and the culture will be widely loved, leading to our goal as those involved in the project: "preserving and passing on a hometown that we can be proud of even 100 years from now." That's what I hope.

Written by Kunie
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, he trained his palate at sake parties held in Tokyo at various prefectural sake brewers' associations, such as "Younger Dawn," "Sake En Kawashima," "Sendagi Inageya," and "Ogikubo Ichibee," as well as at liquor stores in Okachimachi and Nishi-Ogikubo. He took the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to move to Nagano Prefecture. He still makes time to imitate the work of a sake brewer, help out at a winery, and visit brewery taprooms and distilleries, bringing you the latest information from the "sake swamp" in which he is deeply immersed.