A Priceless Sake Expedition to the Tottori Prefecture

With its diverse agricultural produce and lip-smacking delicacies, Tottori Prefecture is rightly called the food capital of Japan. The name of the prefecture itself means “taking the bird”, believably for its early residents catching waterfowl for a living.

Tottori is also well known for its Sake, given the blessing of soft water that flows from the melting snow of the region’s prominent landmark Mount Daisen, an optimal climatic system for Sake brewing, and its indigenous rice varieties like Goriki and Tamasakae.

In February 2023, Team SCI (Sake Club India) was invited to tour seven Sake breweries under the aegis of Team Tottori– a group promoting their Sake proactively in India through SCI. The expedition started with Ravi flying from New Delhi to Tokyo and thereafter to Yonago, a town situated towards the far west of the Tottori prefecture.

A well-planned Sake itinerary

Travelling from West to East by road, we visited Team Tottori Sake breweries, participating hands-on in the different aspects of Sake production. It goes to the credit of Team Tottori to incorporate everything within a breakneck schedule that saw us staying in different hotels/cities each day. All the hard work surely bore fruit in terms of developing an in-depth knowledge of Sake by the end of the expedition.

But the entire proceedings were not just limited to Sake production, as various other experiences allowed us to imbibe the various cultural aspects of the Japanese lifestyle and its historical connection with Sake.

Some other highlights of the expedition

While the gains of an expedition like this cannot be summed up in a few paragraphs, there were some other milestones that just cannot be missed out. These were:

• Meeting the Tottori Prefecture Governor and the Town Mayors of Kotoura and Chizu.
• Participating in the iconic Snow Festival of Chizu.
• Partaking innumerable meals with the brewers/ local people.
• Interacting with the Japanese Print and Television media that covered the trip widely.
• Visiting the prefectural landmarks like Mt Daisen and Tottori dunes.

On the sidelines of this visit, Ravi also conducted a tasting of Indian wines with Japanese food to showcase their prowess to the Japanese brewers.

Breweries Visited