Follow the red brick laboratory

Following on from Niigata Prefecture‘s announcement on 1 Oct 2025 that they were going to focus on sake tourism (in the wider sense of “sake” encompassing all alcoholic drinks), the first joint conference for sake breweries and the tourist industry was held as a hybrid event on 29 Oct 2025, online and in person in the beautiful (if slightly dilapidated) red brick building that originally housed the organisation that is now the National Research Institute of Brewing (NRIB).

Speakers came from a range of organisations including universities and research groups, breweries, local government, museums and national tourism, and the discussion focused on the possibility of turning the red brick laboratory into a sake museum that could prime arriving tourists to look for sake tourism opportunities around the country. 

While this is far from the first time there has been a push for sake tourism, either for nihonshu only or all drinks, it is the first I’ve seen with representation from the Japan National Tourist Organisation (JNTO) and a focus on a nationwide strategy rather than individuals or single prefectures.

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日本酒だけではなく“ビールやワインなど『新潟産の酒』のブランド化と観光客呼び込みへ 新潟酒蔵ツーリズム推進協議会の設立まであと1か月 (BSN News, 5 Sep 2025)
「新潟酒蔵ツーリズム推進協議会 発足のご報告」 (Mrs SAKE site, 1 Oct 2025)
第１回酒蔵と観光関係者の協同カンファレンス (online event, 29 Oct 2025)