Japan sake breweries draw foreign visitors with twists on tastings

GIFU, Japan/KYOTO/KOBE, Japan — Sake breweries in Japan’s regional areas are focusing on foreign tourists for growth, pulling in travelers with tours and such gimmicks as a tasting room that takes inspiration from arcades.

Sake brewery tourism has been trending for about a decade. But the COVID-19 pandemic prompted breweries to come up with new ideas after tourism plunged.