Top 5 Best Sake Festivals to Highlight in your Calendar for 2020

Beware some Sake Festival dates in 2020 have not been fixed, so keep checking their websites or social media platforms to stay updated.

Just imagine for a moment, after all your encounters with Sake (Nihonshu) in your country and how many times have you wonder if you could take your knowledge or passion further, well, then your only choice is by attending a Sake festival. Let us introduce you among so many, what would be our favourite Top 5 Sake Festivals to discover some hidden gems that will never reach the overseas market.

Craft Sake Week

Making its first staged in 2016 at Roppongi Hills, Tokyo, this event was made from day one an iconic event within Sake fans from Tokyo, but soon later gained international recognition. Since the creation of it, this event has welcomed over 600,000 sake fans form all over the world, and hold the recognitions of Japan’s largest Sake event.

Event Information 2020

• Estimated crowd: 150,000
• Date: [Undecided date] (Cancelled Coronavirus)
• Time: [Undecided]
• Location: Various – 15 Restaurants in Roppongi Hills
• Tickets: [Undecided]
• Website: https://craftsake.jp/

Sake no Jin

Picture in a matter of moments a place where the most active Sake Breweries of Niigata get together with a selection of the fresher Sake and a crowd willing to drink them all unlimited under one roof, this the sake festival of it.

Up until 2019 the purchase of ticket would have allowed you to drink unlimited, however due to high popularity in 2020 the ticket system will change and will allow to drink up to 20x Sake samples, with additional extension prices to sample further more.

Event Information 2020 (CANCELLED)

• Estimated crowd: 140,000 two days
• Date: Saturday Mar 14 – Sunday Mar 15 (Cancelled)
• Time: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm (rain or shine)
• Location: Toki Messe, 6-1 Bandajima, Chuo Ward, Niigata
• Tickets: 2,000 yen in advance, 2,500 yen same day
• Website: www.niigata-sake.or.jp/sakenojin/

Sake Fair

Once considered rival of famous Niigata Sake No Jin in size and attendance, however instead of focusing in one prefecture, it boasts a selection from north to south of Japan and compresses the experience in a single day only making still a great sake festival.

Event Information 2020

• Estimated crowd: 80,000 one day
• Date: [Undecided date in June] (Cancelled Coronavirus)
• Time: [Undecided]
• Location: Sunshine City, Ikebukuro, Tokyo
• Tickets:: [Undecided]
• Website: www.japansake.or.jp/sake/fair/2019.html

Saijo Sake Matsuri

Hiroshima, one of sacred places for Sake making couldn’t be less without having its own Sake Festival, and there in the town of Saijo, the crib of Sake making in Hiroshima takes place Saijo Matsuri, where eight breweries open doors since 1972 normally a weekend in October, and sure you can see people from all over the world getting together and taste fresh brews directly from the Sake Breweries with plenty of local food too all over the streets.

Event Information 2020

• Estimated crowd: 120,000 one day
• Date: [Undecided date in October](Cancelled Coronavirus)
• Time: [Undecided]
• Location: Shuto, Saijochuo, Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima
• Tickets:: [Undecided]
• Website: www.sakematsuri.com/about/

Sake Spring

If your preferred type of event is a less crowded area, then Sake Spring in Kyoto is the type of event you shouldn’t miss about, where in 2 days, the 20 breweries and 50 Sake brands of them are gathering to Kyoto.

An All-you-can-drink event, and great local music and food are available.

Event Information 2020

• Estimated crowd: 52,000 one day
• Date: [Undecided date in May] (Cancelled Coronavirus)
• Time: [Undecided]
• Location: [Undecided]
• Tickets: [Undecided]
• Website: www.sakesp.com/kyoto/

Remember these our Top 5 Best Sake Festival for us, however with a bit of research you can encounter plenty of choice all across Japan where hopefully you can discover some great local brews while you are travelling in between prefectures, as you can imagine, there is no best sake, it is always yet to be found, so keep on researching and stay wide alert for new festivals.

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SEE YOU ON THE NEXT SAKE FESTIVAL, KANPAI !