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    Jim Stewart's Japan: Sake Breweries of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Kobe: Japan Travel Guide and Sake Breweries of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Kobe
    Jim Stewart's Japan: Sake Breweries of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Kobe: Japan Travel Guide and Sake Breweries of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Kobe
    Jim Stewart's Japan: Sake Breweries of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Kobe: Japan Travel Guide and Sake Breweries of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Kobe
    Ebook226 pages1 hour

    Jim Stewart's Japan: Sake Breweries of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Kobe: Japan Travel Guide and Sake Breweries of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Kobe

    By Jim Stewart

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    About this ebook

    Jim Stewart's Sake Breweries of Japan: Tokyo, Kyoto, and Kobe is the ultimate travel guide for those visiting Japan and who want to experience Japan’s national drink. It guides you from airport or train station right to sake breweries in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Kobe. With detailed information about the best neighborhoods to use as a home base while visiting these cities, as well as Japanese dining and culture, Sake Breweries of Japan: Tokyo, Kyoto, and Kobe will help you make the most of your trip to Japan.

    Sake Breweries in Japan are still well off the beaten path - some are tucked away and difficult to find without help from a local. No longer – with painstakingly prepared maps and walking directions, travel expert and certified sake professional Jim Stewart shows you how to experience sake where it tastes best: right at the source.

    “When you next visit Japan, try to visit as many of the sake breweries in this guidebook as possible! Your efforts will be rewarded. Tell the owners you’re visiting and that your friend Jim sent you. You’ll be welcomed into the international family of sake drinkers – with a warm smile and more than a few glasses of delicious sake. You might also, as I have, make many new life-long friends along the way. The world of sake breweries in Japan is still that kind of place. To make a friend. To communicate. These are the souvenirs you’ll bring home from a sake brewery in Japan, and those you will treasure for the rest of your life.”
    – Jim Stewart, author Sake Breweries of Japan: Tokyo, Kyoto, Kobe

    Detailed maps and up-to-date listings ensure you have the information you need to plan the most efficient itinerary.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherEquity Press
    Release dateMar 23, 2018
    ISBN9781603321501
    Jim Stewart's Japan: Sake Breweries of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Kobe: Japan Travel Guide and Sake Breweries of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Kobe
    Author

    Jim Stewart

    Jim Stewart, PMP®, has facilitated dozens of project meetings, from kickoffs to planning meetings to Scrum events. As an independent project consultant and Agile coach, he advises on best practices, teaches project management, and strategizes and executes on Agile transformations.

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      Book preview

      Jim Stewart's Japan - Jim Stewart

      Visiting Sake Breweries in Japan

      This book is about travel in Japan and one of my favorite things to do in there: drink sake and visit the places where it’s made. Like visiting a winery when you’re in California, Italy, France, or Australia – if you’re like me, your visit to a sake brewery in Japan will be the highlight of your trip, and the experience you’ll tell your friends about when you return home.

      Some travelers, despite having been everywhere, manage to skip Japan. This is a big mistake. Japan is the land of sumo, sake, sushi, samurai, kabuki, and geisha – and is also a land overflowing with graciousness, decency, and an attention to detail in all things that will delight the jaded and cynical world traveler. Remarkably, it’s also a budget travel destination. When approached with the right mindset, you can travel well in Japan for far less than you might spend in Europe. Japan is also filled with things familiar to the West: baseball, light beer (if that’s your thing), fried chicken, and … the English language. Don’t be intimidated: when you visit Japan, you’ll be able to travel well without learning how to read Japanese characters.

      Many of the comforts and necessities of life will be familiar. But I promise you will also be surprised by a few things.

      Take a moment to contemplate a common scene: An airport shuttle bus pulls alongside the curb at a busy airport, and the ticket-taker doesn’t smack her gum or yell at you for standing in the wrong place. After punching your ticket and helping you with your bags (which you’ll get a receipt for), she bows deeply to the bus as it comes to rest. Is she honoring the machinery? After you board the bus, she then bows for you … and everyone else on the bus before you depart. This isn’t a joke. Things are different in Japan. So please take a quiet moment and make a personal commitment that on this trip, you’ll open your mind and try to acknowledge the decency so often on display in Japan and promise yourself that you’ll reciprocate.

      Japanese people are honestly dedicated to the idea that cooperation and harmony in all things is something to be honored. And now you’ve just read a word that you don’t see much in the West. Honor. It means something in Japan.

      Just smaller than the state of California in size, Japan’s 128 million people have found a way to live in harmony – and Tokyoites with more than 13 million fellow residents live in the largest metropolitan city in the world. And they live well. Be prepared to be delighted by the small things that are done well in Japan. From the vending machines that serve hot and cold beverages – and are all in perfect working order – to the food in the corner convenience stores. It’s fresh and cleverly packaged. The trains run on time.

      When you visit Japan, try to visit as many of the sake breweries in this guidebook as possible. Your efforts will be rewarded. Tell the owners you’re visiting and that your friend Jim sent you. You’ll be welcomed into the international family of sake drinkers – with a warm smile and more than a few glasses of delicious sake. You might also, as I have, make many new life-long friends along the way. The world of sake, and Japan in general is still that kind of place.

      A Quick Note on Brewery Selection

      This is a travel guidebook first. My goal is to make it easier for you to visit a sake brewery or two when you visit Japan. But are these the only breweries in Japan? Are they the best? To say far from it is an understatement. I’ve selected these breweries personally, and each for different reasons. Perhaps they have a very nice museum, or they may be global brands with which you should be familiar as you start drinking more sake. It’s fun to return home and see familiar names on the menu.

      But in the end, the breweries in this book have been carefully chosen so that when you’re visiting Tokyo, Kyoto, or Osaka, you should find that visiting a brewery or two fits quite easily into your travel itinerary.

      You may also find that the number of breweries covered in this book is quite modest. My aim here, of course, is to help narrow your choices and provide detailed information about how to get where you’re going. I’ve visited each of these places personally, and have painstakingly made maps and written directions so that none of your precious travel time is wasted. You may plan and travel with confidence, knowing your brewery visit will deliver maximum delight for the time you allocate to a visit.

      Finally, by some estimates, Japan supports 1200 working sake breweries. Inclusion in this book should in no way diminish the work being done by those left out – there are some very historical, secretive, wonderful and culturally rich places that are simply not included here. I encourage you to seek these out. If you visit a brewery and have a splendid experience, please drop me a line and let me know what you found! I’ll try to visit myself and perhaps include your favorite place in the next edition of this book.

      Reservations, Please

      I often talk about how different Japan is from the West in terms of honor and decency. And these days, in terms of personal saftey, Japan is second to none. You are very unlikely to be the victim of any sort of crime while in Japan. There are many theories behind how and why Japan is so safe and how Japan has developed such a cohesive society -- Japan is not without its own problems, of course, but one of the things that keeps floating to the surface is, frankly, manners. Saying please, thank you, that was a nice meal -- all of these things are a part of Japanese society and I hope you will consider yourself an ambassador of sorts from your own country when you visit Japan, remembering to show them your best manners when visiting.

      More than most place you may visit, good behavior in Japan means announcing your arrival in advance of your visit. Many of the breweries in this book are big companies that are set up with museums and tasting rooms and can accommodate visitors unannounced, but I have found that a tiny bit of effort goes a long way in Japan. Reservations are customary, and a courtesy I hope you can extend, so that we don’t wear out our welcome visiting these generous brewers who are so happy to serve as our hosts in Japan.

      If you can make a reservation on the brewer’s website, or drop them a simple email letting them know about your plans to visit, you may be thrilled by their response-- we’ll pick you up at the train station is not infrequent, or we’ll have a special tour ready for you, or yes, we are so happy for you to come taste our sake.

      Also important to note is that sake brewing is a tough business in Japan, and you may find that they would rather have you come on one day rather than another -- sake tourism is really in its infancy, so for all breweries in this book, your experience will be that much more meaningful and wonderful (and perhaps more convenient for our hosts) if you can reach out to the brewers before your arrival and make some plans. Writing ahead for a reservation will also help avoid disappointment - it is one simple thing we can do to be the best ambassadors possible for our home countries and to really increase the chances of us having a wonderful sake brewery tour while we’re in Japan. Write the brewery a quick note expressing your interest in visiting – and prepare to be amazed at what happens next.

      A General Note on Sake and Japanese Culture

      As you start planning your trip to Japan, you’ll notice layers of meaning and depth associated with just about everything. History and tradition are rich in Japan and they’re everywhere you look. Names and their meanings are delightfully ambiguous. As you try to find answers, many are readily available – others remain elusive.

      It is one of those things that will keep you returning to Japan year after year – curiosity and study are richly rewarded.

      Sake is no exception. It’s a big topic. Sake has played a central role in Japanese life and cuisine for the past 2000 years. Therefore, the study of sake means the study of Japanese history, culture, society, cuisine, as well as the social environment of Japan today.

      Therefore, I cannot claim to do the subject of sake justice in the few pages provided here. There are many authors and books on the topic, and I would encourage you to pursue titles such as:

      The Sake Handbook by John Gauntner

      Sake’s Hidden Stories by John Gauntner

      Sake Confidential: A Beyond-the-Basics Guide to Understanding, Tasting, Selection, and Enjoyment also by John Gauntner

      My focus is to provide you with the tools needed to facilitate visiting sake breweries while on a trip to

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