Nara: A journey through the myths of sake

Enjoy the history of sake and ancient football on a guided tour. First, you will visit a very important place in the history of sake. In Nara, the site of Japan's oldest capital, there is a shrine called ‘Ohmiwa Jinja Shrine’, which is worshipped by artisans involved in sake brewing all over Japan. Once a year, craftsmen from all over Japan gather at this shrine to pray for the safe brewing of sake during the year. The venue is lined with bottles and barrels of typical sake from the breweries to which the artisans belong. The sight is breathtaking and allows visitors to experience the diversity of sake culture. For the first time, public visitors are allowed to attend this special festival, ”Jyozo Anzen Kigansai”. The festivals, you can also see four miko (shrine maidens) performing a ‘dance’ dedicated to the gods. Furthermore, only during the festival period, a special cedar ball is hung in the precincts of the brewery with the wish that the brewery will produce delicious sake. Sake breweries across the country have cedar balls of 30-50 cm in diameter decorating their entrances, but the one at Ohmiwa Jinja Shrine is incredibly huge, with a diameter of 1.5 metres and a weight of 200 kg. This size cedar ball can only be seen at this time of year at the Ohmiwa Jinja Shrine. The cedar balls start out dark green, but gradually change to brown. This is an effect of the four seasons in Japan, and people have used the colour of these cedar balls as a marker to know what sake is in season from time to time. As the seasons change, the cedar balls tell us when the sake is ready to drink. At the Ohmiwa Jinja Shrine , you can enjoy the smell of cedar balls and the history of sake with all your senses. Afterwards, the bus will take you to a dining venue for a ‘Gastronomy Lunch of Nara's Local Sake and Local Cuisine’. After lunch, you will visit ‘Tanzan Jinja Shrine’, famous for its autumn foliage. This is an important place for learning about Japanese history, as it is where a strategy meeting was held 1,300 years ago in an incident that shook the nation of Japan, in which a person in power at the time was assassinated in front of the Emperor. Furthermore, the ringleaders of the incident met through the ancient football ‘kemari’ association. Based on this legend, the Kemari Festival is held at Tanzan Jinja Shrine in spring and autumn, and the Kemari Preservation Association dedicates the ‘kemari’ ritual to the shrine. 09：15 AM Meet at Nara Park Bus Terminal 09：30 AM Depart from Nara Park Bus Terminal 10：30 AM Arrive at Ohmiwa Jinja Shrine, You will attend a special festival “Jyozo Anzen Kigansai” 12：00 PM Depart from Ohmiwa Jinja Shrine 12：30 PM Arrive at Tanzan Jinja Shrine, lunch at Tounomine Kanko Hotel 02：00 PM Kemari experience at temple/Tasting of local sake and a gastronomy lunch 04：00 PM Depart from Tanzan Jinja Shrine 05：00 PM Arrive at Nara Park Bus Terminal (dismiss on site)