Nagano Sake Tasting Walking Tour
Recommended by 97% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Nagano, Japan
- 2 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Sample Menu
Starter
Japanese sake
What's Included
- Sake tasting
- English-speaking guide
- Miso soup
- Amazake(sweet no alcoholic drink)
- Nibbles like soy source beans
- Extra drinks and food (available to purchase)
- Transportation fee to meeting point
- There are no mandatory in-destination costs.
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Starbucks Coffee - MIDORI Nagano1-chōme-22-6 Minamichitose, Nagano, 380-8543, Japan
Your guide will meet you at infront of Starbucks Nagano station
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
Nagano Station (Pass By)
1
Zenko-ji Temple
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
Nishinomon-Yoshinoya Sake Brewery
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
Nishinomon-Yoshinoya Sake Brewery
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Nagano Station (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- Walking shoes are recommended
- Minimum alcahol drinking age is 20 years. So we offer another drink for under 20
- In case of late arrival, the tour cannot be extended.
- o8Experience is a locally based tour company offering private and small-group experiences across Nagano and surrounding regions. From food and culture to nature and history, we create meaningful journeys tailored to curious travelers. Visit o8Experience to discover more.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.9
based on 34 reviews
Kimberly_K, Feb 2026
The tour was awesome and the guide was great. Super relaxed and fun. And we learned a lot of really cool facts. Overall just a really fun afternoon. Def loved the guide, nice guy and good humor.
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Thank you very much for your kind review and for joining us.
We’re truly happy to hear you had such a fun, relaxed afternoon and that you enjoyed the guide’s humor and style. It also means a lot to know you felt you learned many interesting local facts along the way.
Thank you again for choosing o8Experience, and we hope to welcome you back to Nagano in the future.
Warm regards,
o8Experience
Paigan_A, Feb 2026
Me and my partner had a wonderful tour with Masa-san this morning around Nagano. We saw some lovely sights around town, with in depth questions and answers from Masa-san. We also had a chance to stop off in a traditional oyaki shop, before exploring the stunning Zenjōji temple. The sake tasting after the fact was simply a huge bonus! Learning about the different types of Sake and then tasting them was an insightful experience. Overall it was a great time, with an excellent tour guide, who even dropped us off at his favourite soba restaurant per our request! Thank you Masa-san!
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Thank you very much for your wonderful review and for joining us this morning in Nagano.
We’re truly delighted to hear you enjoyed exploring the city with Masashi, especially the stop at the traditional oyaki shop and your visit to Zenkoji Temple. It’s also great to know the sake tasting felt like a “huge bonus” and that learning about different styles of sake made the experience even more memorable.
We also appreciate your kind words about the in-depth Q&A during the tour, and we’re glad we could help with your request to be dropped off at a soba restaurant to finish the day in a local way.
Thank you again for choosing o8Experience, and we hope to welcome you back to Nagano in the future.
Warm regards,
o8Experience
Shawn_F, Apr 2025
We had a fantastic time. Our tour guide Kazumi was great. She was very knowledgable about sake. During the walking tour we also visited a pepper shop and a temple.
Response from Host, Apr 2025
Thank you so much for your kind words! We're thrilled to hear you had a fantastic time. Kazumi will be so happy to know that you enjoyed the tour and found her sake knowledge helpful. It sounds like the pepper shop and temple added an extra special touch to the experience as well! We hope to welcome you again on another tour with o8Experience soon.
Edward_M, Feb 2025
My wife and daughter booked The Sake tasting tour in Nagano thru Viator and enjoyed every part of the tour.
We met Masa, our guide, at the Nagano station and begin walking toward the Zenkoji temple (which is part of the tour).
Masa, who is a native person from Nagano but spent several years living in UK (which is why his English was perfect), explain to us the in and out of the Zenkoji temple which only local knows.
We spent about 1 hour at the temple before we headed out to the Sake Brewery (Yoshinoya Brewery).
At the brewery, we tasted all kinds of Sake and the ingredients that affect the taste. How the rice is polish, the yeast, etc.
We tried at least 10 small cup of sake ranging from the most basic up to the top shelf, even a non-alcoholic Sake which is very interesting (taste exactly like the real thing).
During this time, Masa explain to us all the procedure and highlight. We bought 3 amazing Sakes to take home.
All and all we are very happy with the Sake Walking Tour and top it is Masa's easy going and knowledgable insight of the subject.
Very highly recommeded and if possible ask for Masa to be the guide
Response from Host, Feb 2025
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We're thrilled to hear that your wife and daughter had such an enjoyable experience on our Nagano Sake Tasting & Walking Tour.
It’s great to know that Masa’s insights into Zenkoji Temple’s hidden details and the art of sake brewing at Yoshinoya Brewery made the tour both educational and memorable. We’re especially happy to hear that you enjoyed the wide variety of sake tastings, including the unique non-alcoholic option!
Your kind words about Masa’s guiding style and expertise mean a lot to us. We strive to create authentic and immersive experiences, and we’re delighted that this tour lived up to your expectations.
Thank you for recommending us! We’d love to welcome you or your family again for another o8Experience tour in Nagano. Cheers! 🍶✨
Mate_H, Dec 2024
Masa is an easy going nice guide, with a natural born understanding of Japan culture that we were able discuss with him during our tour around Zenko-ji. The sake tasting was just the cherry on the cake <3
Response from Host, Jan 2025
Thank you so much for your kind words!
We’re delighted to hear you enjoyed your time with Masa and appreciated his deep understanding of Japanese culture. It’s wonderful that you had meaningful discussions during your Zenko-ji tour, and we’re thrilled the sake tasting was the perfect finishing touch!
We hope to welcome you back for more amazing experiences in the future!
Warm regards,
The o8Experience Team
Ellis_C, Dec 2024
Our guide was super knowledgeable about all things temple and sake related. He took fun photos for us. It was clear he kept good relationships with the vendors he took us to, which made us feel special and welcomed. We learned so much! And had plenty of sake to taste. Everyone in our group went back to buy bottles of sake after the tour. You're in good hands here!
Response from Host, Dec 2024
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We’re thrilled to hear you had such a memorable experience. It’s great to know our guide’s knowledge, photography skills, and connections with local vendors made you feel welcomed and special. We aim to create those authentic, behind-the-scenes moments, and it sounds like you experienced just that! We’re also happy to hear you enjoyed the sake so much that you took some home with you. Cheers to many more delicious sips and fond memories of your time in Nagano. We hope to welcome you back on another adventure soon!
erwandessailly, Nov 2024
Really interesting tour we got to see a lot. We really discovered Nagano and had a really good time, good advice and good sake. Would definitely recommend this tour !
Response from Host, Nov 2024
Thank you so much for your kind words! It’s fantastic to hear that you enjoyed discovering Nagano and had a great time on the tour. I’m glad the advice, sake, and sights made your experience memorable. We’d love to welcome you back anytime, and thank you for the recommendation!
Amy_B, Sep 2024
Mass was an incredible tour guide! Since it was just my husband and me on the tour, he customized everything to ensure we saw, ate, and drank everything we wanted.
Response from Host, Oct 2024
Thank you very much for joining our tour ! So glad to hear that you enjoyed the experience and walking around the town. Always happy to have fantastic guests like you guys !! Thank you very much!
Elspeth_J, May 2024
Our local guide Masa was great, he showed us places we wouldn't have discovered on our own. The Sake tasting was very interesting and we learnt a lot about the process, different grades and tastes.
Response from Host, May 2024
Thank you so much for joining the tour! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed the sake tasting and places I took you to! Hope I will see you guys again in Nagano!
Brian_T, Mar 2024
So much fun even with a small group. I would fo it again! The walk was nice and the temple was a cool sight.
Response from Host, Mar 2024
Thank you so much for coming to Nagano for your short time stay in Japan. I am ao happy to let you know about Nagano and which makes you wanna come to Nagano again !! Hope see you and next time with your wife too in Nagano again!!
Fiona_L, Feb 2024
Had a fantastic time! The guide Masashi was wonderful, took the time to show me many cool stores and temples. Truly a beautiful city! And the sake tasting was delicious! I was surprised at the amount of different kinds, so delicious. And the miso was very yummy as well😊
Response from Host, Mar 2024
So lovely solo traveler who joined the tour of o8Experience. I am so glad to hear that now you have much deeper knowledge of Sake now and hope you will enjoy Sake in your home !! Thank you!!
AlissaMichelin_N, Jan 2024
Our family did not love this experience. We thought we would be trying more sake at a brewery and it was just a big warehouse.
Response from Host, Jan 2024
Dear Guest,
Thank you very much for your recent comments. We always appreciate guests who take the time to provide feedback and help make the o8experience even better. It must be said that we are quite disappointed to receive this review. On the whole, our ratings are rather high in this market and to say that we are very disappointed that your experience with our tour wasn't all it could be is, well, an understatement.
We have taken your criticism to heart and have discussed the problems that seemed to have occured. We started by first checking the published information about the tour. Below is an overview of what we feel happened that day.
The tour group, through no fault of its own, was late arriving at the meeting point. New Year's is a difficult time to travel and a 30-minute delay is not a terribly bad problem but it did mean re-scheduling later appointments for the guide that afternoon. It also impacted the schedule making it difficult to visit the old sake factory. The timing of each tour does affect subsequent tours.
However on the factory premises, the guests each had more than 10 different kinds of sake
(4 standard Sake, 2 hand-made sake, 2 sparkling sake and 2 unprocessed sake ). Later, plum wine and 3 "amazake" were tasted. Along with that, miso soup and award-winning miso paste itself was presented. This compares well to other sake tasting experiences available.
After the sake tasting, the tour group visited the local shops in front of Zenkoji Temple where they did purchase sweets and small gifts to take back home. There were street stalls and a traditional Japanese hearth ("irori") restaurant introduced but the tour members were not interested in staying there for long. The guide feeling that this tour was not developing well, decided to work longer than his contract, for an extra 45 minutes, to see if he could make it a better success for his group.
There were some mis-communication problems during the tour. One member wanted to end the walking tour and hire a taxi. And some expletives were spoken to passerbys on the street. This made the guide anxious and later the sake staff mentioned they were upset by the guest's attitude.
o8experience would like to sincerely apologize for not meeting your expectations as a guest on your tour date and thank you for your earnest review of our tour, as we will take your feedback into consideration to give others an experience that meets their expectations.
With kind regards,
Masa
Laura_E, Nov 2023
This is a great tour! We loved learning more about Nagano and tasting a little sake. Highly recommend!
Response from Host, Nov 2023
Great lovely couple!! thank you so much for booking with us for your last tour of your jorney!! Hope you enjoyed all the trip in Japan!
Biancesca_R, Nov 2023
My sister and I did this walking tour on our last day in Nagano. Masa, provided us with an amazing tour around the city. We learned about the culture of Nagano and explore part if the city we didn’t get to enjoy. This sake tasting tour was better than expected. Recommending to anyone who’s looking for a great time and company of an experienced and friendly local!
Response from Host, Nov 2023
Great, wonderful and beautiful guests !! I was so happy to see that you 2 really enjoyed the each shops and places, like sake brewery, incense shop and local shrine I brought. Thank you very much for visiting Nagano!!!
From $62.79
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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