[Adults Only] Alcoholic beverages are served.

About the Tour

A day centered on fermentation culture, beginning with a stroll through the streets of Sawara, a town brimming with Edo-period charm. After visiting merchant houses and storehouses along the Onogawa River to experience the atmosphere of this historic merchant town, enjoy a pairing lunch of fermented French cuisine and sake at Restaurant “Le Un.” To conclude the tour, visit Nabeya Shuzo for a brewery tour and tasting, gaining insight into the background of sake brewing.

- Sawara Shokamachi Hotel NIPPONIA Restaurant LE UN -

Sake Pairing Lunch

Sawara is a town that has flourished thanks to its brewing and fermentation culture, including soy sauce, mirin, and sake.

Restaurant LE UN is a restaurant that conveys the region’s food culture, housed in a renovated sake brewery that remains in Sawara.

For this lunch, we offer fermented French cuisine inspired by Sawara’s fermentation culture, paired with sake selected to complement each dish.

We serve dishes made with traditional Japanese fermented ingredients—such as mirin, soy sauce, koji, and sake lees—paired with sake of varying aromas and flavors for each course.

By savoring the food and sake together, you can naturally experience the depth of umami and the breadth of flavors created by fermentation.

The menu is designed so that even those unfamiliar with sake can enjoy it with confidence.

We primarily use seasonal, locally sourced ingredients from the Sawara area and Chiba Prefecture.

We also place great importance on sustainable practices, such as utilizing irregularly shaped vegetables and turning less commonly used parts into sauces or broths, to minimize food waste.

Please enjoy a lunch experience where you can savor Sawara’s fermentation culture, sake, and cuisine together in a tranquil, historic setting.

-Stroll Through Sawara’s Townscape-

Walking Through an Ancient Japanese Merchant Town

Sawara has flourished as a commercial hub since the Edo period and is an area where historic Japanese townscapes remain preserved.

During the town stroll, you’ll walk along riverside streets that date back to the Edo period, passing merchant houses and traditional storehouse-style buildings.

The quintessentially Japanese scenery—with white walls, black wooden siding, and timber-framed buildings—still remains today, allowing you to feel the atmosphere of Japan’s past, particularly the Edo period, simply by walking through the streets.

The area along the Ono River, in particular, was once a bustling waterway where boats carrying goods came and went. Today, it offers a beautiful landscape where the waterfront and townscape blend harmoniously, making it a popular spot for photography.

You can enjoy a leisurely stroll, gazing at the river from the bridge or admiring the buildings lining the streets.

Even today, cafes, small shops, and local stores dot the area, allowing you to sense how modern life has naturally intertwined with the town’s history as a merchant town.

It is highly recommended for first-time visitors to Japan or those who want to experience a quintessentially Japanese townscape and the atmosphere of the Edo period in a short amount of time.

A stroll through the streets of Sawara is a sightseeing experience that allows you to get a close-up feel for Japan’s traditional way of life and culture.

-Nabedana Sake Brewery-

Brewery Tour & Tasting Experience

Located in Kanzaki Town, Chiba Prefecture, Nabedana is a historic sake brewery with a tradition of sake brewing spanning over 300 years.

During the brewery tour, you’ll explore the actual brewery facilities and learn about the brewing processes and philosophies that have been passed down over the centuries.

Seeing the traditional tools and equipment up close allows you to gain a more tangible sense of how sake is created.

At the heart of sake brewing are the natural blessings of water, rice, and koji.

The approach of carefully crafting sake without sparing any effort, while harnessing the power of fermentation,

embodies the very essence of Japanese food culture.

After the tour, you can enjoy a tasting of Nabedana’s sake, deepening your understanding of the beverage by experiencing the differences in aroma and flavor firsthand.

The tour is designed to be accessible and enjoyable, even for those new to sake.

It is an educational experience where you can explore the background of sake brewing and fermentation culture in the serene atmosphere of a historic brewery.