The brewery's own shop is the base for a staff-guided brewery tour with tasting, plum liqueur/syrup-making and koji seasoning workshops, and shopping for shop-exclusive products. Guidance is in Japanese only.
What you can do
- Reservation required
- 45 min
- Tasting included
Staff explain the sake brewing process, with exhibits such as real rice and the sound of fermentation, and videos. A tasting follows the tour.
- When
Daily at 10:30, 14:30
Held on shop business days (irregular holidays). You may be guided together with other guests.
- Booking
Book by the day before · By online booking
Bookable until 15:00 the day before. No tasting for drivers.
- Price
- Includes tasting and a souvenir
- Included
- Tasting of 5 sake/liqueurs in total, hand towel. Non-alcoholic drink for under-20s or on request
- Language
- Japanese
- Group size
- Up to 15 people
Book on the brewery's site ↗
Hands-on experience
Plum Making Experience
¥2,200per person
- Reservation required
- 45 min
Choose from several kinds of plums and sugars to make your own plum syrup (non-alcoholic) or plum liqueur. You take the bottle home.
- When
Daily at 11:30, 15:30
Held on shop business days (irregular holidays).
- Booking
Book by the day before · By online booking
Bookable until 15:00 the day before. Takes about 2 weeks to mature. Check airline/country rules before taking it abroad.
- Price
- From 2,200 yen; varies by syrup/liqueur and ingredients
- Language
- Japanese
- Group size
- Up to 15 people
Book on the brewery's site ↗
Hands-on experience
Koji Workshop
¥3,300per person
- Reservation required
- 45 min
A workshop to make salt koji and soy sauce koji with koji made by brewers: a talk on koji, hands-on preparation, and a small tasting of dishes. You take the seasonings home.
- When
Daily at 13:00
Held on shop business days (irregular holidays).
- Booking
Book at least 7 days ahead · By online booking
Bookable up to 7 days before. Cancelled if fewer than 2 people by then. Tell them food allergies when booking.
- Language
- Japanese
- Group size
- 2–6 people
Book on the brewery's site ↗
The shop offers paid and free tastings with a seasonally changing lineup. Non-alcoholic drinks are also available.
- When
Daily 10:00–18:00
Same hours as the shop. Irregular holidays.
- Language
- Japanese
The shop sells shop-exclusive sake and liqueurs, sweets such as sake lees cookies, shaved ice and gelato, and non-alcoholic drinks.
- When
Daily 10:00–18:00
Irregular holidays. Temporary closures are announced on the official site.
- Language
- Japanese
Before you go
- No perfume or strongly scented products.
- Photography is allowed.
- No smoking on the premises.
- Photos only; no video
- Please refrain from visiting if feverish or unwell
- No tasting for drivers
- No outside food or drink
- Tasting is for those aged 20 and over. If you are driving or cycling, you cannot taste.
- A translation app or a Japanese-speaking companion will help.
- Language
- Japanese
Guidance is in Japanese only; non-Japanese speakers are asked to bring an interpreter.
- On site
- Wheelchair accessible
- Good to know
- The shop has irregular holidays; temporary closures are announced on the official site. No alcohol tasting for under 20s.
Getting there
- Address
〒639-2135 奈良県葛城市寺口27-1
Open in Google Maps ↗- Nearest station
- 25 min on foot from Kintetsu Shinjo Station
- Directions
- By car, about 5 minutes from Katsuragi IC.
- Parking
- Available
Free, about 15 cars
About the brewery
Umenoyado Brewery (梅乃宿酒造) is a sake brewery in Katsuragi City, at the foot of Mt. Katsuragi in Nara, the place regarded as the birthplace of sake. It started brewing in 1893 (Meiji 26). In 1991 it became the first in Japan to hire a British brewer, and it has exported overseas since 2002. Besides sake, it makes liqueurs such as the sake-based Umenoyado no Umeshu (梅乃宿の梅酒) and the pulp-rich Aragoshi (あらごし) series. The head office and brewery moved in 2022, and the brewery's own shop now offers brewery tours and plum-making experiences.
Brewery profile, brands and bottles (4 brands, 36 bottles)
Sources: umenoyado.com/inspection, umenoyado.com/store, umenoyado.com/experience, umenoyado.com/experience-koji, umenoyado.com/store-introduction
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