Sake Brewery Tour in Akita featuring a lecture by John Gauntner5 days - February 27 through March 2, 2012

Cost:

230,000 JPY per person based on double occupancy.

Price includes:

l Sake lecture by renowned sake expert, John Gauntner and a tour with him for the first brewery visit.

l Four special private tours and tastings at sake brewer-ies. These companies are not open to the general public.

l Activities and entertainments: soba making experience at a brewery, private cooking lesson, private minyo folk song performance

l 4 nights accommodation.l 4 breakfasts, 2 lunches and 3 dinners. Dinners include

selected sake from the breweries we visit and from other breweries in the region.

l All transportation costs during the tour for February 27 through March 2, exclud-ing the flight to Akita and retuning transportation by Shinkansen bullet train.

l A qualified tour leader who is an Advanced Sake Professional and a Government Certified Bilingual English Guide provides translation and informative commen-tary throughout the trip.

HighlightsSakeLearn about sake from the world's leading expert, John Gauntner, in an intimate class setting. Maximum group size is twelve people. Explore the snow country and visit four breweries. Each brewery introduces you to different aspects of the brewing tradition.FoodSoba noodles provided a staple food in this extremely cold region. Find out for yourself about the local style of soba by trying your hand at making noodles in a beautifully maintained historical kura, or storehouse, at the sake brewery. Learn about Akita cusine from a local expert.TraditionAnd the tour is not only about sake. First, a special visit to the brewer's private estate takes you through several centuries of the family's history as a landlord and a brewer.Explore Kakunodate and get a glimpse of the life of a samurai general in the well-preserved Edo-era quarter. View special exhibi-tion of Hinamatsuri (Girl's Day) dolls from the same period displayed in historical residences as you walk the area.Visit Masuda: this area once flourished as a center of commerce in the Tohoku region. Enjoy the finest kura, built in an architectural style unique to this area.OnsenSoak in hot springs to fully enjoy Akita. On the last night, a milky open air bath in deep snow at rustic Nyuto Onsen will take you back to different era.

S A K E - W O R L D P R E S E N T S

Itinerary

February 27, 2012 (Monday) Yuri Honjo and Yokote, AkitaFly from Tokyo Haneda Airport and arrive in Akita in the morning. Start your journey with a sake lecture by John Gauntner. A special interview with the legendary veteran Yuki no Bosha toji, or master brewer, enlightens any sake fan. Relax and enjoy a luxurious pri-vate open-air bath with panoramic view, or try different types of hot springs at this scenic hotel before dinner. At dinner, private performance of minyo folksongs is scheduled to finish the day with the sound of Akita.Hotel: Yokote Plaza Annex with onsen, YokoteMeals: Banquet-style dinner with sake and minyo

February 28, 2012 (Tuesday) Yokote, AkitaVisit Ama no To in the morning to discover their philosophy and individual approach to local sake brewing. In the afternoon, tour the Masuda area which flourished as center of commerce centu-ries ago. Historical storehouses decorated with glossy lacquer and built inside the house is a special feature of this area. Enjoy a special viewing of the finest examples of historical kura at a local merchant and at Hinomaru Jozo, which produce Mansaku no Hana and Manabito. Dinner features Akita delights paired with sake at one of the beautifully restored kura.Hotel: Yokote Plaza Annex with onsen, Yokote Meals: Breakfast; lunch; dinner

February 29, 2012 (Wednesday) Daisen, AkitaVisit Akita Seishu's private family residence passed down for generations for centuries. The historical estate amazes visitors with its beautifully maintained thatched roof and original struc-tures. A short drive to Akita Seishu's brewery, Kariho, takes you to a culinary experience. Learn about the local style soba through your hard work, by actually kneading the dough and enjoying the fresh soba and sake tasting at Kariho's historical kura. In the afternoon, explore Kakunodate Edo-period quarter at leisure. Enjoy the local craft galleries and visits to samurai residence such as Aoyagi Samurai Manor Museum or Ishiguro-ke.Hotel: Bukeyashiki Hotel, Kakunodate, Akita Meals: Breakfast; soba lunch

March 1, 2012 (Thursday) Kakunodate and Nyuto Onsen, AkitaIn the morning, learn about traditional Akita cuisine at a cooking lesson by a local expert. In the afternoon, trek further into deep snow country to Nyuto Onsen via Tazawako. Simply enjoy the tranquil rustic onsen and very simple inaka country style foodHotel: Tsurunoyu or similar at Nyuto Onsen (Japanese style inn)Meals: Breakfast; lunch; dinner

March 2, 2012 (Friday) Nyuto Onsen, Akita to TokyoIn the morning, continue to relax at ryokan or hop on a shuttle bus to try out different baths in the area. In the afternoon, travel to Tokyo on the Shinkansen bullet train in comfort or continue your exploration in the snow coun-try at a leisurely pace.Meal: Breakfast,

Note: 220,000 JPY per person for single occupancy at different type of rooms at Yokote Plaza Annex and Tsurunoyu. Sin-gle occupancy at Bukeyashiki Hotel is very limited. If not available, you may be asked to share a room with a fellow traveler of the same sex.The tour price is based on a group of 8 and may change for a smaller group size.

Domestic Transportation After Your Arrival in JapanYour tour begins with a flight from Haneda, Tokyo to Akita on ANA and ends with a return by Shinkansen bullet train from Tazawako to Tokyo. These are not included in the tour cost. In most cases, the best op-tion is purchasing your onward tickets together with your international ticket. This is usually cheaper and simpler. If you choose to book the flight in conjunction with your international tickets, please see ANA Airlines' Visit JAPAN Fare or Star Alliance Japan Airpass for special domestic airfares.

Please see Tokyo Optional Package for Akita for a transportation and additional accommodation pack-age.

Optional Tour for AkitaWe hope to make it easy for you to travel with us to Akita. With the optional tour, you do not have to worry about any arrangements other than your international flights! You can simply enjoy stress-free va-cation without complicated travel planning or worried about getting to places. You may choose one or more components listed in the package to design your own travel itinerary.

l Tokyo Optional Package for Akita includes 3 nights accommodation in Tokyo, Tsukiji Tour, and Akita tour transportation

Additional Travel ArrangementsAdditional domestic travel arrangements and consulting are available by Michi Travel Japan. The Taza-wako area is known as one of the best ski resort in Akita. Please contact us at info@saketours.com for more information.

About John GaunterJohn Gauntner, known as the “Sake Guy” in Japan, is the world's leading sake expert. He has published five books and written hundreds of articles on sake. He teaches a series of intensive educational sake courses in Japan and in the US. He is also the only non-Japanese to function as an advisor and consultant for the Japanese government on sake promotion and the worldwide sake market. Learn more at http://www.sake-world.com

About Tour Leader: Etsuko Nakamura Etsuko Nakamura is a Advanced Sake Professional and a certified English Bilingual Interpretive Guide [Registration Number: EN02400]. She shares her passion for sake and food on her blog – Tokyofoodcast.com and has toured more than 60 sake breweries around Japan. She creates and leads customized tours for special interest groups.

Sake World Sake Brewery Tour is offered by Michi Travel Japan and the Terms and Conditions in addition to the cancellation policies at Michi Travel are applicable. http://www.michitravel.com/terms

Please visit http://saketours.com for more information or contact us at info@saketours.com for registration.