Sake Brewery Tour in San-in featuring a lecture by John Gauntner

5 days - March 12th through 16th, 2012

Cost:

220,000 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 Two special tours and tasting at sake breweries. In addition, private visits to a Japanese sweets producer and local soy sauce maker are planned.

l Accommodations for 4 nights based on double occupancy. 2 nights are at Western style hotels and 2 nights are at traditional style Japanese inns.

l 4 breakfasts, 2 lunches and 3 dinners. Dinners include selected sake from the breweries we visit and from other breweries in the region. Shojin Ryori and spe-cial home style lunch at Abe-ke are included.

l Admissions to museums in the tour.l All transportation during the tour starting March 12th through 16th, excluding

the flights from Haneda, Tokyo and retuning transportation by Shinkansen bullet train.

l A qualified tour leader who is an Advanced Sake Specialist and a certified English Bilingual Interpretive Guide provides translation and informative commentary 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 area to visit two breweries. Each brewery in-troduces you to different aspects of the brewing tradition.FoodSimply for foodies: Shojin Ryori vegetarian lunch at renowned Kiyomizu Temple, Matsuba-gani crab dinner in season, simple home-style lunch at beautifully restored historical samurai resi-dence, and more!Immerse yourself in tea culture in the region. A tour of a traditional sweets maker and a private tea ceremony is the best introduction to Matsue, a refined tea cultural center.In Matsue, meet artisans who produce local foods using traditional methods. Try some very special soy sauce brewed in wooden bar-rels.CultureAnd the tour is not only about sake and food. Learn and feel the cultural heritage of Japan by tour-ing this least-traveled region. Start with the myth of the nation's creation, remnants of thriving me-dieval period, modern Japanese arts, and even some of the best of modern-day manga, or com-ics culture.Cultural highlights are: Adachi Museum of Art with award winning gardens, Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Matsue Castle, Izumo Grand Shrine, Iwami Silver Mines and the film of the restoration work of a Edo-era samurai residence there.OnsenSoak in hot springs to fully open yourself up to San-In. Next, soak up local culture at the sleepy, coastal onsen town of Yunotsu. This last night in Yunotsu is going to be the complete opposite of any big city experience.

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

Itinerary

March 12, 2012 (Monday) Sakaiminato and Yonago, TottoriFly from Haneda Airport to Yonago Airport in the morning. Begin the journey with a sake lecture by John Gauntner and special brewery tour of Chiyomusubi Shuzo, known for their Kitaro label. See the popular Mizuki Shigeru Road where statues of spooky yet very comi-cal Gegege no Kitaro characters welcome you. Enjoy Matsuba-gani crab in different styles: BBQ, boiled, and in soup. We'll be just in time to catch the end of the crab season. Hotel: ANA Yonago Hotel Meals: Dinner

March 13, 2012 (Tuesday) (Tuesday) Yasugi and Matsue, ShimaneDrive through the country side and visit Kiyomizu-dera Temple that served as a spiritual center since the dawn of Buddhism in Japan. Enjoy the tranquil woods and elaborate vegetarian lunch of Shojin Ryori, which originated as monk's food. Then, stroll in the beautiful Japanese gardens of the Adachi Museum of Art and appreciate their collection of Japanese paintings and pottery from renowned artists. After transferring to Matsue, visit Matsue Castle, one of the few remaining original castles from Edo period. Enjoy leisure time in the evening. Hotel: Route-Inn Hotel or equivalent Meals: Breakfast; Shojin Ryori lunch

March 14, 2012 (Wednesday) Matsue, ShimaneEnjoy Matsue: a cultural center surrounded by water. Start the day by visiting Rihaku Shuzo, the producer of Wandering Poet. After our interview with the brewer at Rihaku, continue the quest on foot and visit a nearby artisanal soy sauce producer. In the afternoon, learn how tea culture de-veloped; a private tea ceremony will show how people enjoy sweets with tea today in this graceful city. Learn the art of "wa-gashi" sweets making from a local expert. Savory banquet-style dinner served with local sake at a historical Japanese-style inn that once hosted Lafcadio Hearn.Hotel: Oohashi-kan (Japanese style inn by Lake Shinjiko)Meals: Breakfast; banquet-style dinner

March 15, 2012 (Thursday) Matsue, Izumo and Yunotsu, ShimaneEnjoy the beautiful city on your own or join the optional tour to one more sake brewery, Toyo no Aki. In addition to nihonshu, they brew local traditional cooking ingredients, jidenshu, or sweet cooking sake with a super dose of umami, and prized mirin. Then, wander the Izumo Grand Shrine, one of Japan's most ancient and important shrines. A visit to the Shimane Museum of Ancient Izumo to browse through the stunning collection of historical discoveries gives you insight into the prehistoric myth, religion, and history of this ancient crossroads. In the evening, stay at the quaint, tiny coastal onsen town of Yunotsu and enjoy a quiet, relaxing evening. Banquet style dinner and sake are served at the ryokan.Hotel: Kiunso (Japanese style inn at the heart of Yunotsu Onsen) Meals: Breakfast, banquet style dinner

March 16, 2012 (Friday) ) Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine, Shimane and HiroshimaAt leisure, explore the town of Yunotsu on foot and tramp along a rocky coastal beach or visit a pottery studio where you can see a traditional kiln. Then, visit UNESCO World Heritage Site, Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine, where you explore the old mining town accessible only on foot at leisurely pace. Enjoy a very simple local home style lunch with the film taken during the res-toration work of the 230 year old samurai residence, Abe-ke. A private car takes you JR Hiroshima Station to continue your trip on your own.Meal: Breakfast, lunch

Note: No single occupancy supplement at hotels for first two nights. Single rooms are extremely difficult Japanese ryokan in Matsue and Yunotsu. Single supplement for two nights is 20,000 JPY based on availability. 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.

San-in Tour Domestic TransportationYour tour begins with a flight from Haneda, Tokyo to Yonago on ANA and ends at JR Hiroshima Station with options to fly to Haneda or continue your travel by Shinkansen bullet train. These are not included in the tour cost. In most cases, the best option 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 Optional Tours for San-in for transportation and additional accommodation packages.

Optional Tours for San-inWe hope to make it easy for you to travel with us to San-in. With the optional tours, you do not have to worry about any arrangements other than your international flights! You can simply enjoy stress-free vacation without compli-cated 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.

Two optional packages are available.l Tokyo & Hiroshima Package for San-inl Kyoto Free Time Package for San-in

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 Sake Advanced specialist 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.