Akita is heralded as one of Japan’s premiere sake regions, with its clean water and long, cold winters and speciality sake rice Akita Sake Komachi. It’s also regarded as one of the most innovative, with breweries and collectives pushing the boundaries of sake. This even is the perfect chance to sample some of the diverse brews, with 27 brands showcasing their best, including Hideyoshi, Takashimizu, Yamamoto and Yukinobijin.
There are also bento boxes and plenty of Akita food to try, like kiritampo (a hotpot featuring pounded rice cakes), Inaniwa-udon (the local udon variety), and iburigakko (smoked daikon pickles). There will also be plenty of the breweries’ water available as ‘yawaragi mizu’ (softening water), which is said to help refresh you and at the same time ‘soften’ intoxication – meaning you can sample more of the wonderful sake on offer.