
2024年2月17日
We visited Otone Sake Brewery, Okutone Winery, and Yoshida Daruma Shop.
On February 17, we were commissioned by the National Tax Agency to organize a one-day sake brewery and industry experience tour for ALTs (English teachers living in Japan).
This project is led by the National Tax Agency and is implemented for ALTs in one region of each prefecture, and this time the Tone-Numata region of Gunma Prefecture has been selected as the target area.
This time, the trip was targeted at 14 ALTs who have come to Gunma from the US, Canada, etc., and included visits to Otone Sake Brewery, Okutone Winery, and Yoshida Daruma Shop.
At Otone Sake Brewery, we observed the steaming of rice and the drawing in of koji, after which President Abe gave us a basic explanation about sake, after which we had the opportunity to try tasting and warming the sake. While most of the participants had tried sake before but were not very knowledgeable about it, some were excited to try the warm sake and the unpasteurized sake, saying they had never tasted anything like it before!
At Okutone Winery, we had a winery tour after a pairing lunch with red and white wine. Some of the participants were from wine-producing regions and seemed very interested in the differences in climate and taste compared to their home countries.
Finally, at Yoshida Daruma Shop, we had the chance to try painting a daruma doll. Some participants carefully drew while following the example, while others drew their own original faces, and everyone seemed to be having fun, as if they were children again. It was my first time trying out painting, and I was excited.
We have received many positive feedback, such as "I realized that even though I've lived in Japan for many years, there was still a lot I didn't know," "I was surprised at the depth of the world of sake and I want to know more," and we feel that it is a great honor to be a guide. We will continue to work hard to convey Japan's traditional culture to as many people as possible.