Looking for a new Japan holiday? Off-beaten town 3 hours from Tokyo offers award-winning sake & scenic views

Singaporeans are known to travel to Japan frequently.

For many of us, this means visiting the usual cities like Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka and indulging in Japanese staples like sushi and tempura.

But if you’ve grown weary of these spots and are looking for something new where you won’t meet fellow Singaporeans, that still offers the beauty of Japan’s nature, it might be time to look further into unexplored regions.

Like Minamiaizu Town, a quaint town nestled in the southwest of Fukushima Prefecture for instance.

Accessible by a three-hour train ride from Tokyo, with a total population of less than 20,000 and a primarily agricultural and forestry economy, it is the perfect retreat from the city life we are used to as Singaporeans.

Sights for all seasons

Surrounded by mountain ranges and situated along the Ina and Agagawa Rivers, at Minamiaizu, you can find everything from rocky cliffs to traditional houses and natural parks, with a landscape boasting the beauty of each changing season.

Among them is the Takashimizu Nature Park, said to be home to the largest colony of Himesayuri flowers in Japan.

The park hosts a million Himesayuri flowers, a near-threatened species that only grows from mid-June to early July in a handful of regions, including Fukushima Prefecture.

There’s also the Maezawa Magariya Village, established at the end of the 16th century, where rows of thatched-roof houses, designed to withstand the region’s heavy snowfall, stand.

In autumn, the Byobuiwa Crags along the Ina River are framed by red autumn leaves contrasted against the bare white rock surface, making them a popular spot for Instagram-worthy pictures.

The town also sports the Takatsue Soba Field which blooms from late August to early September and is located at 1,000 metres above sea level.

Here, you can try the locally grown soba and even indulge in a taste of soba-flavoured ice cream.

Looking for an alternative to a skiing trip on the Hokkaido slopes? The town sports four ski resorts, with slopes for skiers of all levels. These ski resorts are renowned for their excellent snow quality, offering the ultimate powder snow experience.

Locally brewed sake, renowned for its sweetness

And for those who want to take their taste buds up a notch, Minamiaizu is also home to locally-brewed sake renowned for its soft and sweet flavour.

The region has an abundance of fresh and safe spring water, due to its proximity to the watershed of the Ogawa River, which flows into the Pacific Ocean, and the Aga River, which flows into the Sea of Japan.

Because this ultra-soft water contains very little dissolved minerals, the resulting sake has a smooth mouthfeel and an elegant sweetness.

Furthermore, with heavy snowfall in the winter where snow acts as a natural insulator, Minamiaizu is the ideal environment for sake brewing, where delicate temperature control is key.

The town boasts four sake breweries, all of which use traditional methods and locally sourced water and rice to produce their sake.

There’s the Kaitou Otokoyama Brewery which uses traditional methods that take advantage of the town’s cold climate and have been handed down for more than 300 years, since 1716.

Another brewery is Kokken Sake Brewery. Established in 1870, this brewery received the Gold Prize at the Annual Japan Sake Awards for 12 years in a row, from 2008-2019, so you know you are in for a treat.

If you want sake with a twist, there’s Hanaizumi Sake Brewery, which adds glutinous rice – the same kind you find in mochi - during their unique four-stage brewing process, giving it a particular taste of sweetness.

Last but not least, there’s the Aizu sake brewery which is currently being run by its ninth-generation owner.

This brewery preserves a 330-year-old time-tested tradition of drawing water from a well 40 metres below ground, while continuing to take on new challenges in the art of sake brewing.

Each of these four breweries produces sake that has earned the “GI Minamiaizu” designation following strict screening, a title granted only to high-quality sake brewed in the Minamiaizu region.

Sake pairing events in Singapore

Keen for a taste of Minamiaizu’s sake by now? Here’s some good news.

A sake pairing event featuring sake from the four aforementioned breweries will be held at Moss Cross Tokyo Singapore on South Bridge Road from Nov. 21 to Nov. 22.

From 6pm to 8:30pm, it will offer free flow sake with a signature “Shokado” style.

A pairing fair will also be held across eight restaurants in Singapore for two weeks from late November to January.

They are:

• MOSS CROSS TOKYO Singapore
• Whitegrass
• Sake+
• Ootori Club
• Morita UNIGORO
• Ristorante Takada
• Wagyu X
• Teppei Japanese Restaurant

Further information on each restaurant’s schedule of events can be found on their website or social media.

Neat.

This branded article by Minamiaizu Town made this writer want to book her tickets ASAP.

Cover photo courtesy of Minamiaizu Town Tourism and Local Products Association