![[Held on Saturday, June 8 and Sunday, June 9] 4th Enjoy Bitchu Jizake Fes SAKEbe!! ~ Bitchu’s sake breweries gather in one place. A local sake event that we especially want local people to experience.](https://media.kuratoco.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/23003743/IMG_2674.jpg)
The Bitchu region is a sake-producing area with many historic breweries.
I’m from the Kanto region, and it was only after moving to Kurashiki that I discovered Bitchu’s local sake—and learned that the Bitchu region is a sake-producing area. There is such a wide variety of Bitchu sake that I never tire of it, and there are always new discoveries to be made.
An event called “Enjoy Bitchu Jizake Fes SAKEbe!!,” bringing together breweries with such distinctive character, will be held over two days, Saturday, June 8 and Sunday, June 9. This popular event will be held for the fourth time in 2024.
I went to find out more about this unmissable event for sake lovers.
The information provided was current when this article was published in May 2024. Please note that it may differ from the current information.
What is “Enjoy Bitchu Jizake Fes SAKEbe!!”?
Enjoy Bitchu Jizake Fes SAKEbe!! is an event held on Saturday, June 8 and Sunday, June 9, 2024.
A total of 17 businesses will gather: 15 breweries from the Bitchu region and two local beer breweries, with the makers themselves serving their local sake. You can sample a variety of local sake for a few hundred yen per glass, and if you find one you like, you can also buy it by the bottle.
Local restaurants with ties to each sake brewery and local beer brewery will also gather, giving you the chance to enjoy the food of the Bitchu region.
Although sake is the main focus, there will also be sweets and coffee, sake vessels for sale, and live music performances. We hear that many families with children attended the previous event. There is plenty to enjoy even if you don’t drink alcohol, so many people come every year.
Check the image below for details of the vendors.
The event was planned by Nakahara Kazuo, who runs an izakaya in Kurashiki. Nakahara serves as the representative of the Enjoy Bitchu Jizake Fes SAKEbe!! Executive Committee.
In conversations with customers who visited his restaurant and the brewers he sourced from, Nakahara felt it was a shame that “people in Okayama hardly drink local sake.” The event Enjoy Bitchu Jizake Fes SAKEbe!! was created with the theme “Get people to drink it. Let them know about it,” so that local people could discover the delicious taste and appeal of local sake, he says.
We spoke with Nakahara about this year’s event, now in its fourth edition.
Interview with the Organizer
What inspired you to start Enjoy Bitchu Jizake Fes SAKEbe!!?
Nakahara (surname only)
“I wanted people in Okayama to drink local sake and discover its appeal.” That was the original inspiration.
Okayama Prefecture is a sake-producing area with the eighth-largest number of breweries in Japan, but local people don’t actually drink much local sake.
Even when I talked with customers at my restaurant and people at sake breweries, it seemed that locals didn’t have many opportunities to drink local sake. When I looked into it, I found that prefecture-produced sake accounts for only 20% of the sake consumed in Okayama Prefecture.
It seemed such a waste that people weren’t drinking the delicious sake made right here in their own region! That’s what led me to plan “Enjoy Bitchu Jizake Fes SAKEbe!!,” bringing together breweries from Bitchu.
I hope it will give people a chance to discover how delicious local sake is.
Also, Okayama Prefecture has three major rivers, and ranks among Japan’s top producers of sake rice, including Omachi and Yamada Nishiki, which are essential for brewing sake. It has all the climate and natural conditions needed for sake brewing.
Furthermore, the master brewers, known as toji, are called “Bitchu Toji,” and their tradition is the second oldest in Japan.
A place of water, rice, and master brewers… Okayama is truly a sake-producing area, but I think many people don’t know that. I want people to learn through this event that Okayama is a sake-producing area.
What are the characteristics of Bitchu’s local sake?
Nakahara
The Bitchu region stretches a long way from north to south within Okayama Prefecture, and the southern and northern parts have completely different climates and natural environments.
Sake is brewed to suit the climate of each place, so even within the Bitchu region, sake from breweries in the north tastes completely different from sake from breweries in the south. Sake from the north tends to have a crisp taste, while sake from the south is a little richer.
One major characteristic is that a wide variety of sake flavors are produced within the Bitchu region.
What are the highlights of this event?
Nakahara
Half of the breweries in Okayama Prefecture are concentrated in the Bitchu region, and almost all of the breweries in the region are taking part in this event. I don’t think there’s any other event where so many Bitchu breweries gather in one place.
The brewers themselves will explain their sake, so I hope you’ll enjoy talking with them, sampling local sake, and discovering something new.
Restaurants with ties to the areas where the breweries are located will also be selling delicious snacks, so be sure to enjoy them with the local sake.
There will also be sweets and coffee, live performances by members of a civic orchestra, and sake vessels made by students at Kurashiki University of Science and the Arts for sale. Although it’s a local sake event, there are lots of ways to enjoy it, so I hope people who don’t drink will come too.
How was the response to the previous event?
Nakahara
More than 5,200 people came to the previous event, and I was surprised by the turnout, which exceeded my expectations. I think many people enjoyed it.
The brewers, who don’t often get the chance to hear directly from customers, were pleased too.
There are other opportunities for brewers to meet the general public, such as kurabiraki (brewery open days) held at individual breweries, but I don’t think there are many chances to have a leisurely conversation.
At an event like this, the brewers can explain their sake to customers in detail, so I think we’re really delivering on the event’s main theme: “Get people to drink it. Let them know about it.”
Also, we often saw guests attending with children.
Some came with three generations of their family. Grandfathers would tell their sons and daughters, “The sake here is delicious,” while the grandchildren ran around the venue having fun or danced along to the music being performed...
The musicians who performed also told us, “It was fun because we don’t usually get the chance to perform outdoors.”
We aim to put on an event that many people can enjoy, so hearing comments like that makes me glad we held it.
What kinds of people would you like to see come?
Nakahara
First of all, I’d love people who haven’t had much local sake to come and learn that Okayama is a sake-producing region.
In particular, I’d like people from the area to try local sake, and I hope they’ll have the new discovery that “there’s such delicious sake right here in my hometown!”
Knowing what kinds of sake are made in the area where you live means that when you go outside the prefecture, you can share the appeal of your hometown through its local sake. And I think it feels great when people praise it and say, “That’s delicious.”
Also, I hope people who don’t drink alcohol will feel welcome to join us.
The most important thing is for everyone to have fun, so it’s perfectly fine if you’re only here for the food, the music, or the sweets! I hope people of all ages will enjoy themselves.
Finally, do you have a message for our readers?
Nakahara
Okayama is a sake-producing region that we can be proud of nationwide. And at this event, breweries representing half of the prefecture’s sake breweries will be taking part.
Whether you’ve tried Bitchu local sake before or don’t know much about it, please take this opportunity to enjoy a drink while chatting with the brewers who make it.
There will also be food, sweets, and wonderful music—not just local sake. Awa Odori dancers will be joining us on the second day.
Above all, let’s laugh, eat, and enjoy a drink. Let’s all get together and have a great time!
Let’s have a party!
From the Writer
When it comes to sake events, I tend to invite people who can drink with me.
However, thanks to its wide variety of vendors, Enjoy Bitchu Jizake Fes SAKEbe!! seemed like an event even people who don’t drink alcohol could enjoy, making it easy to invite all kinds of people.
It might be fun to compare local sake from breweries in the north and south and discover how the flavors differ by region. Since it’s a great opportunity, I’d like to explore local sake from a variety of breweries.
Enjoy Bitchu Jizake Fes SAKEbe!! offers all kinds of ways to have fun. Why not join people close to you and discover a new local sake?
4th Enjoy Bitchu Jizake Fes SAKEbe!! Information
| Name | 4th Enjoy Bitchu Jizake Fes SAKEbe!! |
|---|---|
| Dates | Saturday, June 8: 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Sunday, June 9: 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. |
| Location | 1-18-1 Chuo, Kurashiki City |
| Admission | Free |
| Website | Okayama Tourism WEB “4th Enjoy Bitchu Jizake Fes SAKEbe!!” |
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