Hello, have searched and read many of the old posts in this forum on options for Sake tasting in Kyoto. Have some questions that I didn't see directly answered:
We'll be in Japan visiting Kyoto & Osaka for 5 days each this fall (late Oct/early Nov), and we love Sake so am very much looking forward along exploring all the breweries we can and specifically seeking "unusual" options we can't get in the US. After all of the reading and research, it sounds like the Fushimi district has many breweries with tasting rooms (and restaurants) that we could visit without advanced planning or reservations? Conversely, there are companies offering Sake brewery tours (ex: Kyoto Insider Sake Experience, and Saketours.com) which sounds like good options to actually tour one or more breweries vs. only having a tasting room experience. Based on all this, have the following questions:
1) Brewery tours: Am I thinking about this the correct way, that I would need to book a tour to visit some breweries, or are there some breweries I can/should book tours with directly, or in late Oct is tourism traffic not bad and I could just book tours directly once we are there?
2) Tasting experiences: It sounds like there are so many tasting room options in the Fushimi district that trying to schedule anything in advance isn't needed? (esp in late Oct)
3) Great and/or Unusual experiences: I would love advice and recommendations! What are your favorites in Kyoto?
Thanks in advance. So much great knowledge in this group!
by verytalleric