If you like Japanese sake, the best way to learn about sake and to taste is to visit a sake brewery. There are many sake breweries in Japan and each has its own version of sake. In Tokyo, there are nine sake breweries, which are mostly located in the west of Tokyo.
I went for a short day trip to Sawanoi Ozawa Sake Brewery in Ome city (http://www.sawanoi-sake.com/en), in the western part of Tokyo.
In about eighty minutes, the train takes you to the deep mountain area along the river. When you get off the train, you feel a very different atmosphere from the busy central Tokyo. It's a quiet charming rural village surrounded by the mountains.
I strongly recommend the guided tour of the brewery. It's very informative and helpful to learn about Japanese sake. The guide from the brewery explains the history of the place and how to make sake, then walks you through the the brewery. You see the three hundred year old warehouse, enormous sake tanks (8,000 liters!), different kinds of rice grains for sake, aged bottles, and at the end of the tour, you can taste a complimentary cup of fresh sake!
There is a restaurant adjacent to the brewery. It's in the small riverside park and the outside table is so wonderful.
Across the river from the brewery, there is a small temple called Kanzanji (https://goo.gl/maps/Z33JLDikXRDpAimMA). Amazingly, you can strike the bell by yourself, for free, here! The sound of the bell lingering in the mountain is so beautiful, serene.
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