In case you missed it, last week we kicked off a new mini-series in Osaka. This week, together with hosts John Gauntner, Rebekah Wilson-Lye, and Chris Hughes, we’re off to Nagano!

Despite being Japan’s only entirely landlocked prefecture, sharing a border with 8 different prefectures gives the region with 2nd most breweries in Japan some wild diversity. Being a rather short and easy trip from Tokyo gives it some great accessibility. Together, the newly-minted Geographical Indication of Nagano makes for a no-brainer when it comes to sake travel.

Despite this being a travel-centric episode, this week’s show is additionally packed with regional sake facts and is a fantastic primer on the region as a whole. From a breakdown on regional rice varieties and yeast types to local styles, an examination of local regional differences to unique food culture, the group’s combined sake knowledge and clear love for Nagano makes this episode a resource worth bookmarking for future reference.

Beautiful (and dangerous) festivals, massive sake events, excellent museums, favorite sake picks, great brewery visits, world-class lodging and dining, sake therapy, and more, this week the crew goes over this gorgeous region with a fine-tooth comb, demonstrating exactly why Nagano deserves its place near the top of the sake pyramid and a significant chunk of time on your next Japan itinerary.

For more info on Nagano and other regional adventures, follow along with us at @sakeonair on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, or if you’d like to share your thoughts or questions with the hosts, please reach out to us at [email protected].

We’ll be off to a new destination next week.
Until then, kampai!

Sake On Air is made possible with the generous support of the Japan Sake & Shochu Makers Association and is recorded and broadcast from the Japan Sake & Shochu Information Center in Tokyo. The show is brought to you by Potts.K Productions with audio production by Frank Walter. Our theme, “Younger Today Than Tomorrow” was composed by forSomethingNew for Sake On Air.