Self-guided tour
Afternoon on arrival: Daigahara post town and a sake brewery in the rice fields
Lunch at a restaurant built around a brewery's koji, then walk a post town of the Edo-period Koshu Kaido highway. Next, head to a sake brewery among rice fields facing Mt. Kaikoma for a tour and tasting, and finish by filling a bottle with Southern Alps spring water on your way to the inn.
- Duration
- Half day (12:15–16:25)
- Area
- Clear Streams & Mt. Kaikoma Area
- Start
- Nagasaka Station
- Getting around
- Train + taxi
- Best days
- Some stops close Tue; go Wed–Mon
What you can do
city-h19che0002.webpA Koshu Kaido post town
Old houses and white storehouses on the Edo travelers' road.
place-8014-hero.webpA brewery in the rice fields
Tour a Meiji-era storehouse brewery, then taste.
place-8015-hero.webpSouthern Alps water
Fill a bottle at the roadside station.
Itinerary
12:15
Start at Nagasaka Station (taxi, about 10 min)12:25
A lunch set made with the brewery's koji and sake lees, with the brewery's own sake.
- Time there
- 60 min
- Hours
- Lunch 11:30–14:30 (last order 14:00), counter 10:00–17:00
- Closed
- Tuesdays (next day if a holiday), New Year
- Price guide
- About ¥1,800
- Booking
- Book externally
- About 15 min on foot (approx.)Route on Google Maps
13:40
A post town of the Koshu Kaido, one of the five Edo-period highways linking Nihonbashi and Shinshu. Old houses, white storehouses, and a sake brewery and sweet shops dating from the Edo period line the old road. One street back from the modern highway, it is a quiet road where you walk the same route as Edo-period travelers. The old Koshu Kaido was named one of Japan's 100 best roads in 1986.
- Time there
- 35 min
- Hours
- Open all day
- Closed
- Open all year
- Price guide
- Free
- Booking
- No booking needed
- Taxi, about 10 min (approx.)Route on Google Maps
14:25
A sake brewery among rice fields, facing Mt. Kaikoma. A brewer shows you the Meiji-era storehouse brewery and its well (booking required), then you taste at the shop and choose a bottle.
- Time there
- 60 min
- Hours
- Shop 9:00–17:00 (tasting 9:00–16:30)
- Closed
- 31 Dec–3 Jan
- Price guide
- About ¥500
- Booking
- Booking in Japanese — ask us
- Taxi, about 15 min (approx.)Route on Google Maps
15:40
A tap where you can fill bottles with Southern Alps spring water, 24 hours a day (bring an empty bottle). Pick local vegetables at the shop and rest with a coffee made with spring water.
- Time there
- 30 min
- Hours
- 9:00–18:00 (water tap, parking and toilets 24 hours)
- Closed
- New Year (closed Wednesdays, Dec to Feb)
- Price guide
- Free
- Booking
- No booking needed
16:25 · Where the day ends
Choose to head home or stay the night. If you stay, you can add another route the next day.
Stay the night
- Kuraya Post-town InnSample Hakushu
- Hoshimi Highland Onsen HotelSample Oizumi
Go home
Hinoharu Station
Taxi, about 15 min. About 2 h 20 min to Shinjuku with a change.
Tips
The brewery tour needs a booking by 17:00 the day before. Book the slot that matches this route.
This route includes sake, so travel by train and taxi rather than car.
Days and bookings
Closed days. Taru-no-Ma Brewery Dining (sample): Tuesdays (next day if a holiday), New Year. Komasumi Brewery (sample) needs a booking. Go Wed–Mon.
Approximate cost
From about ¥9,200 per person (for two people)
- Entry, food and activities (per person)
- About ¥2,300
- Local transport (per car)
- Taxi, booked leg by leg: about ¥13,700
- Train from Tokyo (per person, return)
- Limited express Azusa, about ¥11,000 (not included)
Estimates only. Excludes accommodation and travel from Tokyo. Getting around locally
Guides and drivers
We can arrange a guide or a chartered taxi.