Niigata
You must be 20 or over to drink in Japan. If you are driving, you cannot taste.
Nagaoka, Niigata
The Niigata brewery behind Kubota sake. The 20-minute tour runs all year, free, with no reservation needed for individuals. A 60-minute course (reservation required), available from December to late April, shows the actual production process.
Niigata (Nishikan-ku), Niigata
A daily winery tour of about 60 minutes at 11:00, with tasting included. Booking is online, by the day before.
Minamiuonuma, Niigata
A special tour of the Daini Kowa Kura brewery, normally closed to the public, followed by the Hakkaisan Snow Cellar that stores sake using cold air from snow.
Itoigawa, Niigata
Founded in 1650, the brewery offers tours following the production process from outside the building.
Shibata, Niigata
A paid tour along glass-walled corridors overlooking the Setsugoro Kura brewing floor, plus a guided look at the Sake Culture Institute's archive of sake vessels and over 16,000 documents.
Yuzawa, Minamiuonuma, Niigata
A brewery five minutes' walk from the station, with a brewer-escorted or bilingual guided tour and a tasting of limited-edition sake.
A sake museum on the Yoshinogawa grounds where you can learn about, taste and buy sake. It has a sake bar for tasting flights and a glass-fronted craft beer brewery to look into.
Tsubame, Niigata
A brewery with a taproom near Aouzu Station in Tsubame.
Nishikan-ku, Niigata, Niigata
The brewery of Echigo Beer Co. in Nishikan Ward, Niigata City, which makes its own craft beer.
A guided walk through the vineyard (Albariño and Cabernet Franc) and the winery, followed by tasting four wines.
Joetsu, Niigata
A craft brewery with a taproom, about a 10-minute walk from Joetsu-Myoko Station.
A craft brewery in Nagaoka, opened in 2022 as the in-house brewery of the liquor shop Sakaya Heiseido.
Agano, Niigata
The brewery that makes Swan Lake Beer, with a restaurant on the premises.
Chuo-ku, Niigata, Niigata
Described as the sake brewery closest to Niigata Station, about a 15-minute walk away. Brewery staff guide visitors through the facility with talks on sake making and history.
Takayanagi, Kashiwazaki, Niigata
Staff accompany visitors through the brewery to see traditional sake-making tools, followed by a tasting of about three recommended sakes.
Tokamachi, Niigata
A Tokamachi brewery making craft beer and smoked foods, which runs the taproom Craft Beer Jokun.
Myoko, Niigata
A brewery founded in 1842. Visitors can look around buildings over 100 years old and still-active steaming equipment on a self-guided basis.
Aga, Niigata
A brewery in Aga Town, Niigata, offering reservation-only tours (brewery visit and tasting) from June to early September.
A restaurant inside the Cave d'Occi winery grounds serving house-brewed beer, made by the winery's winemakers, alongside wood-fire grilled dishes.
Mitsuke, Niigata
A micro brewery in Mitsuke attached to Cafe ho.cca, where its beer is served.
A tour with an explanation of each process inside the brewery, followed by tasting five or six sakes. Tasting-only courses are also offered.
Niigata, Niigata
A distillery in Niigata City. The tour of about 60 minutes covers the production process and ends with a tasting of four whiskies.
A brewery in the Nuttari area, about a 15-minute walk from Niigata Station. A tour and tasting experience is listed.
A small-group brewery tour in Nagaoka with a tasting of three sakes.
Sat, March 13, 2027 – Sun, March 14, 2027
Niigata City, Niigata
An event by the Niigata sake brewers' association where visitors can sample sake from breweries across Niigata. The 2027 edition is announced for March 13-14 at Toki Messe.
Usually late October (Oct 25, 2025; Oct 24, 2026)
Nagaoka City, Niigata
A bar-crawl near Nagaoka Station: one ticket buys a drink and a pintxo at a participating shop.
This year's edition has ended
Sake breweries from Nagaoka gather to serve local sake and food. The 2026 edition was held on September 19 and has ended; the next dates are not confirmed.
An event where sake from 28 Niigata breweries is served in a hotel venue. The 2026 edition was held on February 8 and has ended; the next dates are not confirmed.
A summer event by the Niigata sake brewers' association for sampling Niigata sake in the Furumachi district. The 2026 edition was held on July 11-12 and has ended; the next dates are not confirmed.
Niigata City (Nishi and Nishikan wards) and Yahiko Village, Niigata
A joint event along the old Hokkoku Kaido, from Niigata's Nishi ward to Nishikan ward and Yahiko, where sake breweries, wineries, breweries and other fermentation businesses hold events at the same time. In 2026 it ran April 25-26 (spring) and October 3-12 (autumn); the next dates are not confirmed.
A craft beer fest at Aore Nagaoka, connected to Nagaoka Station, with 29 breweries from Japan and abroad. Held September 4-6, 2026.
Niigata's central downtown with many small independent shops, and the Furumachi geisha district around blocks 8 to 9 of Furumachi-dori.
Nagaoka's bar district west of the station, with izakaya, bars and snack bars.
