Crimson Screens and Crystal-Clear Brews:
Discovering Rural Japan's Hidden Culture
Art, history, beautiful food and drink. This tour brings you in contact with the traditions of Akaoka in Kochi Japan. One might assume this quiet town has little to offer, but you will learn that even in deepest rural Japan there is a great depth of culture.
Meeting Time
10:00
Meeting Place
Akaoka Station
*For an additional fee transport can be arranged from Kochi New Port.
Access to the meeting place
45 min by train from Kochi Station via Gomen-Nahari Line
Details of Tour / Activity
Meet your English-speaking guide at the Akaoka station and start with a walk through town to the Ekingura museum. Bold scenes of lurid violence splash across byobu. Traditional Japanese screen paintings are elegant and refined, but not those of Hirose Kinzo, also known as Ekin. Showing bold red blood in nearly every scene, this 19th century artist is sure to draw the interest of serious art lovers and anyone interested in human drama.
Now it’s time to learn about the food of Akaoka. We will have lunch at Shoku Kuraichi. This elegant Japanese eatery celebrates the local cuisine with bold simple flavors and seasonal specialties.
With our artistic and gastronomic needs fulfilled, we move on to the Matsuo Sake Brewery. A short taxi-ride brings us to this small-run brewery founded in 1873. It is now run by the seventh generation of the same family. You will meet the brewers and get a personal tour of the brewery with a full explanation of the processes involved in making some of the finest sake in Japan. Of course you want to drink some, too! A lovely taste of the various varieties of sake rounds out this tour.
Sated in body and mind, make your way to the Tosa-Yamada station to return to Kochi city.
Details
Availability
All year around
Regular holidays
Undecided
Required time
4 hours
Price
26,000 yen per person
Included
Guide fee
Entrance fee to Ekingura Museum
Lunch
Entrance fee and sake tasting fee for Matsuo Sake Brewery
Taxi from Akaoka to Matsuo Brewery
Min./Max. participants
Min. 2 people
Max. 8 people
Cancellation Policy
-Up to 7 days before the start of the trip: 20%
-6 days before, to the day before: 50%
-Cancellation on the day of the trip or after the trip has started or no contact or non-participation: 100%