Gekkeikan Ōkura Sake Museum

Strongly advise everyone to reserve a place before coming, try avoiding walk-in, otherwise you may have to wait until the next batch of tour (if there’s any vacancy). Online reservation is available, and it’s easy to fill in the information. You are going to get a sake cup as souvenir, together with 3 coins for tasting sake by the end of tour, this 600yen entrance fee really worth it. If you need extra coin, it just cost 100yen for one. Tasting is only available during the tour, so if you are interested to buy a sake, remember to try it before proceeding to the shop area.

Great deal, 600 yen per person gets you a video on sake production, a walk through the museum and 3 tastes of your choice of sake with a sake glass. We booked a reservation in advance as time slots do fill up. Everyone watches the video first and then you move through 3 rooms of information at your own pace. There is free wifi and signs are in Japanese and English. You can also use QR codes for more info and additional languages. The final room is the same tasting, where they have 10 options to try and you get 3 coins. Additional coins are 100 yen. We tried 4. We stayed for about an hour and 15 minutes.

It was shorter than we expected but worth going out of our way for. There are good English translations for the exhibits. By far the least expensive sake tasting we did, but it was a great price, and we got to sample a good selection. Most of the sake isn't unique to the location, but that's more of a plus since you can also buy it at other stores later (although they do have a shop where they sell all the sake available in the tasting).

If you’ve ever wanted a crash course in sake without the crash, get yourself to here in Kyoto. It costs you 600 yen...which in travel math is roughly the price of a coffee back home, but way more intoxicating (literally and spiritually). After entering what looks like a perfectly preserved Edo-period brewery meets samurai Airbnb, you’re greeted by a short but expertly made film. It’s the kind of video that makes you whisper, “Who edited this and how can I hire them to do my wedding slideshow?” Narrated in that gentle Japanese cadence that feels like a bow made of sound, it gives just enough context to make you feel worldly without frying your brain. The museum itself is self-guided — in other words, no one’s watching you awkwardly mispronounce “junmai daiginjo.” You’re free to wander among the barrels (which are roughly the size of a studio apartment in Tokyo), admire century-old tools, and nod sagely as if you understand how koji mold works. But let’s be honest...we’re here for the tasting. You’re handed a small, clear plastic square of a cup (yours to keep...mine’s now a desk ornament / emergency shot glass) and three tasting tokens. Think of them as Willy Wonka’s golden tickets for grown-ups who appreciate rice alcohol. The tasting bar offers a spread from dry, delicate sake that whispers “pair me with sashimi” to rich, fruity numbers that say “I’ll go with yakitori or your regrets.” But the star of the show for me? The Plum Wine: labeled as “Mindfully Brewed, Deliciously Sweet.” Which is basically what I hope they write on my tombstone. This plum wine doesn’t mess around. It’s full-bodied, unapologetically sweet, and dangerously drinkable. You taste it, smile, then wonder how many bottles you can fit in your suitcase without violating customs or physics. I left with one...then promptly shared it with locals at an izakaya that evening. Because nothing forges international friendship faster than a plum-scented buzz and broken English. Bonus points: The water fountain outside the tasting room is borderline divine. If reincarnation exists, I want to come back as a plum soaking in that water. If you’re even sake-curious, this museum is a must. Educational, low-key beautiful, and you leave tipsy, hydrated, and holding a cup you didn’t know you needed. Also: who knew 600 yen could buy knowledge, friendship, and a solid pre-lunch buzz?

Highly recommend if you want to learn how sake is made...both historically and today as well as learn the history of the Gekkeikan company. We showed up early for our reserved time and they were able to have us join an earlier group. (You might be able to walk in, but reserving a time is recommended) The portions for sake tasting were not large (you're not going to get drunk), but big enough to really taste each sake. The souvenir cup was a nice bonus too.

A very interesting museum and former sake brewery with more than three hundred years of history, and one of the largest of its kind in this region of Japan. Inside, the museum presents a clear and engaging historical timeline, showing how the craft and traditions evolved under each new generation of owners. There is also a complete static display of the entire brewing process, presented through preserved equipment and detailed exhibits from the old production site. In the exhibition area, a guide who speaks several languages fluently will walk you through everything, explain the history and techniques, and answer your questions. After the tour, you will be taken to a tasting session, which is a wonderful way to finish the visit. A great place to learn about Japanese heritage and craftsmanship. Highly recommended!

this is the most worth it museum i’ve been to so far! For only Y 600, you have the exhibit itself, a free sake glass, and 3 chances to taste test a sake of ur choosing! Or u can just exchange those 3 coins to a small sake bottle! Or if you’re short on coins then u can just buy 1 coin for Y 100. All in all, for Y 600 ticket, I brought home a sake glass & a small sake bottle!

Fun and educational museum for sake! After paying the admission fee you get to keep a sake cup as a souvenir and use it for tasting at the end of the tour. Their gift shop has lots of different sake. A nice museum if you are in the area. It closes a bit early and it is based on time slots so don’t plan to go too late in the afternoon.

As part of a personal guided tour we visited this sake museum. The museum was nice - it indeed is small but admission is inexpensive. The museum focuses on the history of this particular company as well as the basics of sake brewing. If you know nothing about sake it could be informative, but if you're basically familiar then there's nothing new. The facility is very nice though. I liked the displays as they were very well laid out with great signage and enjoyed how bright every room was. At the end we received three free micro samples and for a small fee could order more. For a small fee I did order more because I wanted to try more. Their sake is extraordinarily good - I'm not a huge sake fan and felt I could happily drink theirs. Outside is a small spring where visitors, cupping their hands, can take a drink and then there's a great shop selling their sake. Everyone was super nice here and helped package the bottles for safe airplane travel.

While getting here was a significant pain in the rear, I found this sake-producing neighborhood worth the hassle. The museum was fine, but I was more interested in the tasting. That was fun. A customer is handed a few coins to place into machines that provide a controlled pour into your included sake cup. A numbered sheet correlating with the numbered machines describes the ten sakes offered. A client is restricted to three tastes. With my wife and I, that was six tastes. Good enough. After tasting, the shop allowed me to purchase a small bottle of my favorite. That was fun, too.

This is a corporate museum and historical structure. It's such a cool visit and worth your effort to get here. You'll learn about the corporate history a lot but then more about sake production in general. You get three free samples at the end and can take home a porcelain cup for free. There's also a small gift shop selling bottles and merch. Some flavors are only available at this location. Tickets can't be bought in advance.

This sake museum is pretty small. You can finish a self guided tour in about 15 minutes. I'm glad the admission was inexpensive otherwise I'd be pretty bummed about traveling out of my way to visit. Each adult ticket includes a free sake bottle and three tastings at the end. Not much to do in the area. Nishiki Market is a 30 minute train ride away if you are looking to plan an itinerary.

Small but educational museum to learn about the history and process of brewing sake. For the ¥300 entrance fee, you can take a self-guided tour through the museum, including a few exhibits to walk through, a chance to drink the natural spring water used to brew Gekkeikan's sake, and a sample tasting at the end of the tour. You'll also be given a small sake bottle as part of the entrance fee, and you check out the museum shop to buy popular Gekkeikan sake bottles as well as limited edition ones that aren't sold elsewhere. Since there isn't much else to see in the neighborhood, I wouldn't go too far out of my way to visit unless you have some free time or if you're a huge sake lover. Nonetheless, it was a short and fun experience.

Had a great time here today at this impressive 12th generation sake brewery. English explanation on most of the exhibits which made the experience so much better than the other breweries we visited in the area. We were able to learn the sake making process from the exhibits. The staff was all very friendly and spoke English as well. A staff in the museum approached us and took the time to show us a few items we would not have caught ourselves. The entrance fee of 400yen includes two small souvenir bottles of sake, entrance to the museum, and 3 tastings at the end. Very happy with the experience! I recommend this place to anyone who has an interest in sake.

This was a last minute trip before we left Kyoto and I'm glad my friend found it! It is a museum, and for ¥400, you get a small bottle of sake (that sells for ¥300 in the gift shop) and three sake samples, so I'd say the it's very worth the trip! There are full on tours you can take, but again, we visited last minute, so it was all booked. I really enjoyed my visit here and recommend other people go out and find this place - it's located in a not so touristy area, so you feel like you discovered an unknown

" Great Place to Learn the History of Japanese Sake " We stopped on our tour at the Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum and had a great time walking through the museum and learning about the history of Japanese Sake. It only cost $3.00 to enter the museum, and the tour and Sake samples that you try at the end of the tour are worth it. This museum highlights Gekkeikan, a famous Japanese brand of Sake. They show you the Rice it is made from, and how it is processed. We had a great time at the Museum, and we bought several bottles of Sake to take back to the USA with us.

Gekkeikan isn't the most amazing sake though it has a wider reach than most brands, so it's one that most people are familiar with. It's located in Fushimi which is a famous water source for sake production. If you want to see some tools of sake production and learn about how it is made, this is a pretty accessible place to do that for only a few hundred yen. The museum itself is very small. I think we spent longer than most people as we took our time and really looked at everything. Keep in mind that this is not a brewery you are touring, but a museum. It will take you about 30-45 minutes if you really look at everything but only 10-15 if you just run through. The old bottles and posters are also pretty interesting though. At the end you get to taste a couple varieties. You don't really go here for amazing flavors though. The most interesting thing was a bottle that was created in the early 1900's for people on the train to drink it easily where the lid becomes a cup. It is a sweet style and tastes fine, but yes I admittedly did buy it for the bottle. The gift shop has some interesting products. The taffy made from sake lees is seriously good. I wish I would have bought more food. The lady in the gift shop misused my credit card. She swiped it first instead of using the chip which resulted in my card being frozen. It's the first time this has ever happened to me in Japan, but it was a pain because I had to use cash for the rest of the day until I got it sorted out.

Let me preface this by noting that we got here 30 minutes before closing, so we had to rush through the museum. This museum is one of a kind in Japan in the small town of Fushimi. It's definitely Gekkan's museum, a museum put together by one company, but they do a good job in one of the main rooms describing sake and sake making generically. The second of the two main rooms is mostly about their own company and its evolution, including in terms of marketing and location. Unfortunately, the three sakes to taste are really not that great or worth purchasing, so I wouldn't come here if you're looking for "free alcohol." (You paid admission, after all.) I'm not sure the museum is worth the stop if you're not planning on exploring the area otherwise.

This was one of my favorite stops in Kyoto. We made the trek there under the rain and left in the rain as well but it was totally worth it. The museum, though small, was full of information and replicas that explained in-depth, the whole sake brewing process. For about $4 US, you get access to the museum, taste the special Kyoto water, and get to taste 3 different sake. You also get 2 small bottles to take home. Talk about a deal!!

This was the first stop of our second full day in Kyoto. Not being a drinker (usually the designated driver), I probably did not have as much of an appreciation of this museum as others in our group. After entering, there is a small counter area to purchase tickets for admission and/or guided tour for the museum. Our tour guide arranged our entrance with a guided tour who took us around the various rooms storing their sake making devices and tools. He talked about the background of the factory and led us to a room that chronicled their history, lined again with artifacts and documents. After the tour, another counter was set up near their gift store where they offered three tastings of their sake... I liked the fruitier one (plum?). The gift store is to the right of the reception area and offers a variety of souvenirs as well as their sake. My friend recognized the name as being sold in our local Asian supermarket. Very informative and, like most of Kyoto, a good reflection of the history behind the city.

Every year for the past two years, around March, Fushimi Area in Kyoto have it's yearly Sake Festival and Gekkeikan is usually our last stop before going home. It's one of the few Sake brewery that has fee to get in. That is because they have a small museum and you get a small bottle of nihonshu too. So basically it's free. Inside they have a small water spring area where you can get a taste of the actual water they used for brewing the Nihonshu and of course, you can also join free tasting before exiting to the shop. The BF loves the Daiginjo here and it comes in a nice bottle too. Unfortunately though the expensive Nihonshu does not have free samples.

Cheap entry considering that they give u a 180ml bottle of sake, and a tiny sake tasting as well (sips of two sakes and a plum wine). I didn't find the museum terribly interesting. If you are in the area it might be worth it, but I didn't feel that it was worth the train ride from Kyoto just for that museum).

300 yen/ person to enter the museum. It has some good exhibitions on the sake making process and some sake sampling. A little disappointing when I couldnt sample of their other sake which I am hoping to buy...

This is more of a company museum than a museum of sake but I still enjoyed it. Plus it is a very good deal! For the $3 entry fee you get a bottle of sake, and you get to taste others at the end of the museum. The displays are very nice and I really think someone needs to do some sort of art exhibit on the art of sake advertising posters. A few are here and interesting. The displays on how to make sake are interesting as well as the artifacts. The main thing I would like to see is some information about the different styles and how flavors and atomas are added/incorporated into sake. I did have a little problem checking in on yelp so I created this entry. You san see this place on the yelp map but no pin or entry that I could find. So this maybe a duplicate entry.

Great museum. The tasting at the end of the tour was worth the trip. We bought a chilled bottle of sake and went out to the pavilion in the back. We recommend taking a light lunch or snacks and having a picnic after wards. Only downside was we weren't able to see the actual brewery.

This was a small but interesting museum. Fair price and includes a small bottle of sake as well as a tasting afterwards. The neighborhood is quiet and pretty and there are small sake bars in the area.

This is a very educational visit for those interested in how sake is made. They have exhibits and TVs showing the process of making sake, as well as a sake tasting area with tables and chairs. It has a very rustic feel to it. They have sake tasting samplers (pick a set of 3) and they bring it out with a set of pickled vegetables to compliment your sake. I enjoyed the one with the gold flakes the most!

Fushimi where the clear stream flows through the town is lined with famous Japanese sake (distilled alcoholic beverage) cellars. The liquor made from mellow water is called woman liquor "Onna Zake" and its mild taste is said to be easy to drink. I suppose that persons who are not good at sake seem to drink a lot. The white wall sake cellar storehouses spread out with the willows. Very tasteful retro town!! I watched brewing tools stored in this memorial museum which introduces sake brewing of Fushimi and the history of the sake. Displayed articles consist of posters, paintings, calligraphies, straw covers for sake bottles, and so on. All of them attract not only the liquor fan but also the general person. I could learn the brewing process by such tools as washing, steeping, steaming and fermenting. I also drank the well water of the courtyard. A rumor said that it was mellow and was delicious. I agreed to that. Admission fee is only 300 yen including a souvenir of the mini-pack liquor. I performed liquor tasting of various kinds, but I did not clarify the taste because I was weak in sake. I purchased sake at 1,600 yen for a gift to my acquaintance of sake enthusiast. Though I did not hear from him, did he taste good?