EXPERIENCE
BECAME A SAKE BREWER
Enter the brewery as a sake brewer, crafting sake using time-honored techniques under the guidance of the brewery owner for an authentic, one-of-a-kind sake experience.
Immerse yourself
in the life of a sake brewer
in the heart of Japan
In the Saku area of Nagano Prefecture sits a sake brewery with over 300 years of history.
Here, you can stay overnight, brew sake for yourself, and experience a day in the life of a sake brewer (kurabito in Japanese).
This is the one-of-a-kind experience provided by Kurabito Stay.
In our brewery is a large chamber (hiroshiki) where sake brewers used to sleep in the days of old. We’ve breathed new life into the historic architecture to create living quarters for our guests.
Go for a stroll outside the brewery, and you’ll find the town and its people waiting to welcome you as a sake brewer.
Open for booking
1-night 2-day Kurabito Experience (“Koji” making) Jun. 2026
Sat. Jun.6th - Sun. Jun.7th, 2026【Confirmed】
Sat. Jun.13th - Sun. Jun.14th, 2026 Pending confirmation
Open for booking
Limited-time program! 1-night 2-day Kurabito Experience (“Koji” making plus special lesson) Apr. to May. 2026
Sat. Apr.18th - Sun. Apr.19th, 2026 Pending confirmation
Sat. May.9th - Sun. May.10th, 2026 Pending confirmation
Sat. May.30th - Sun. May.31st, 2026 Pending confirmation
Open for booking
Feb. to Mar. 2026 2-night, 3-day Kurabito Experience (Sake Brewing Experience / “Koji”and“Shubo” making )
Fri. Feb.13th - Sun. Feb.15th, 2026【Confirmed（FULL）】
Fri. Feb.27th - Sun.Mar.1st, 2026【Confirmed(6 rooms left)】
Fri. Mar.13th - Sun.Mar.15th, 2026【Confirmed（FULL）】
Fri. Mar.20th - Sun.Mar.22nd, 2026【Confirmed (2 rooms left ※single room only)】
Fri. Mar.27th - Sun.Mar.29th, 2026【Confirmed (1 room left ※single room only)】
Open for booking
For returning kurabito only! Saku Toji Experience (3 days, 2 nights): Go Beyond the Kurabito Experience and See How Toji Manage the Moromi!
Sat. Feb.21st - Mon. Feb.23rd, 2026【Confirmed (1 room left)】
Fri. Mar.6th - Sun. Mar.8th, 2026【Confirmed (1 room left)】
Finished
1-night 2-day Kurabito Experience (“Koji” making) Sep. to Dec. 2025
Sat. Sep. 13th ~ Sun. Sep. 14th 2025 【Cancel】
Sat. Sep. 27th ~ Sun. Sep. 28th 2025【Confirmed (FULL)】
Sat.Oct. 4th ~ Sun. Oct. 5th 2025【Confirmed (5 rooms left)】
Sat. Dec. 6th ~ Sun. Dec. 7th 2025【Confirmed (5 rooms left)】
CYCLING TOUR
THE SAKE RICE FIELDS TRAIL
Let our ebikes take you on a deep dive through the rice fields of the Saku area. Immerse yourself in the region's history and culture, while experiencing the air and soil with your own senses on one of our cycling tours. Encounter the many different faces of Saku's natural beauty: starting in April as spring starts to turn the landscape green, followed by the lush colors and scents of summer, through to the golden fall harvests in October. And then when you drink Saku sake, you’ll recall the scenery of Saku.
BOOK NOW
Open for booking
The Sake Rice Fields Trail: Cycle through the sake rice fields (On-request private tour)
Ask us for your preferred date
Finished
The Sake Rice Fields Trail: Cycle through the sake rice fields – Autumn 2025
Sat.September.6th - Sun.September.7th, 2025【Carry out】
Sat.October.11th - Sun.October.12th, 2025【Carry out】
Finished
The Sake Rice Fields Trail: Cycle through the sake rice fields – Summer 2025
Sat.July.5th - Sun.July.6th, 2025【Carry out】
Sat.July.12th - Sun.July.13th, 2025
Finished
The Sake Rice Fields Trail: Cycle through the sake rice fields – Early Summer 2025
Sat. May.3rd- Sun. May.4th, 2025【Carry out】
Sat. May.24th - Sun. May.25th, 2025【Carry out】
Sat. May.31st - Sun. Jun.1st, 2025【Carry out】
Sat. Jun.7th - Sun. Jun.8th, 2025【Carry out】
Finished
The Sake Rice Fields Trail: Cycle through the sake rice fields – Special Dates for Golden Week 2024
Saturday April 27–Sunday April 28, 2024 【Carry out (2rooms left)】
Monday April 29 (bank holiday)–Tuesday April 30, 2024 【Carry out (3rooms left)】
Friday May 3 (bank holiday)–Saturday May 4, 2024【Carry out (3rooms left)】
FACILITIES
A Century-Old Space
Where Brewers Once Slept
A hundred-year old building where brewers once slept during the long and demanding brewing season has been renovated into comfortable, atmospheric sleeping quarters for guests taking part in our sake brewing experience.
READ MORE
KURABITO STAY
623-2, Usuda, Saku Shi, Nagano, 384-0301, Japan
LINK
Skagura Hotel KIREI
Welcome to the historic Yanagimachi area of Ueda City in Nagano Prefecture. Part of the once bustling Hokkoku Kaido route that brought travelers and goods from the northwestern coast of Japan across to the eastern Kanto region, this lovingly preserved street looks almost the same today as it did in the Edo Period. The Okazaki Brewery has been making sake here for over 300 years, and local artisans have given an old store across the street a new lease of life by transforming it into the Sakagura Hotel KIREI. This exclusive private space decorated with handcrafted fittings, tableware, and works by local artists serves as a showcase for the Ueda area and its seasonal delicacies. Every sip of sake and every moment you enjoy here at the Sakagura Hotel KIREI is designed to reflect the geography and culture of the local Shinshu area.
Saku Brewery Agritourism Promotion Council
n organization devoted to spreading information on the Saku region’s sake, food culture, and the daily lives of the people of Saku who live nearby and have supported its 13 breweries, with a particular focus on traditional industries such as sake brewing and farming that have arisen from and make use of the region’s abundant water sources and rich natural environment.
Saku 13 Breweries
In the Saku region, there are thirteen breweries producing the miracle beverage we call sake. This page introduces the faces behind each of Saku’s thirteen sake breweries. In addition to their own products, every year, all thirteen join forces to produce a single sake called SAKU 13.