Sake Experience in Fushimi

Meet outside the Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum in Fushimi (about 25 minutes from Kyoto Station, and a 10-minute walk). Arrive 10 minutes early to check in with your guide and review the experience plan. 

Enter one of Kyoto’s emblematic breweries for a close look at craft and control: rice polishing, steaming, koji making, fermentation, and bottling. Learn why Fushimi’s terroir matters and how small adjustments shape aroma and finish. Conclude with a first pour straight from the producer, accompanied by the brewery’s introduction. 

Following the brewery tour, your guide will lead you through the charming Fushimi district to the private bar.  

Stroll past red-brick warehouses and willow-lined canals on the way to the private tasting venue. Your guide shares how merchants, waterways, and climate made Fushimi a sake powerhouse. 

For the final stop of the tour, led by a qualified sake sommelier you will enjoy a curated tasting experience with paired snacks. In a reserved tasting room, your certified sake expert leads a comparative flight of 10 sakes - from crisp, aromatic ginjo to richer junmai and a rare, fresh unpasteurised pour, which is very rare outside of Japan. 

Learn serving temperatures, glassware, and how to read key kanji on labels. Taste with curated snacks (vegetarian on request) to see how salt, umami, spice, and sweetness transform the sake in your glass. Take away a concise cheat sheet and personalised notes. 

From the private bar, it’s a relaxed 5-minute walk to Chushojima Station for easy trains back to central Kyoto, Gion, or Fushimi Inari Shrine.