The local breweries are surrounded by majestic mountains,
pure streams and clear skies.
Each local sake producing area has its own special cuisine
and its own traditional ceramics.
In a shop or at home, for yourself or for others,
enjoy the tastes of Higashi-mino.
A generous gift from its earth and skies.
The seasonal lifestyle of Higashi-mino
In June, as the rice planting season’s end draws near, the locals eat sushi wrapped in magnolia leaves.
Around mid-July the rainy season ends and paves the way for an exceptionally hot summer.
Exceptionally delicious grilled eel is often eaten to help beat the heat, especially near the kilns of the workshops.
After the rice harvest is finished, people use the new rice to make grilled rice balls called goheimochi .
Around this time, sake breweries start getting busier. With the first cracks of light in the morning the brewers start steaming the days rice.
This is also the best time to enjoy Hiyaoroshi, six-month old sake from the previous brewing year that has been matured. It is also a great time to enjoy mushrooms, chestnuts, dried persimmons, ochi-ayu (river sweetfish and their eggs), wild boar soup, ferment-preserved chicken, etc…
At night, sitting around the traditional hearth Iori, hot sake tastes even better.
With the winter cold, comes the agar preparation time.
Farmers take advantage of their annual break to make the miso that will season all their food for the following year.
And finally, flower buds of the fuki begin to come out, and the new sake is poured during the spring festivals to pray for plentiful harvests.
THE TABLE OF HIGASHI-MINO
MEET WITH THE LOCAL SAKE, MOUNTAIN CUISINE AND CERAMIC
Sake locally made in eleven breweries, expressing the peculiarities of their brewers.
Seasonal cuisine, born from the cycle of nature,
And ceramic and wooden tableware, an embodiment of the local environment.
Whether it is a normal encounter of a once-in-a-lifetime, the table of Higashi-mino is where you can enjoy all of these exceptional encounters.
Higashi-mino, from the earth and the sky
The diversity of our local sake, food, ceramics, and wooden plates, is born from the generosity of Higashi-mino’s earth and skies.
The local mountain range hide hides its heart and maintains a calm appearance, but at times, it can host strong storms and a very variable temperature, creating a very harsh environment.
However, even if at first it seems like a difficult place, it is precisely these conditions that allow it to brim with natural treasures.
The wisdom and cleverness of our ancestors is still flowing through the rich culture that you can see today.
This cooperation between man and the earth is the reason behind Higashi-mino’s charm.
VIDEO
Higashi-mino, from the eath and the sky, the movie
Let’s meet those who make and product the sake, ceramics and cuisine of Higashi-mino
WEB MAGAZINE
PAPERSKY Japan Stories
Kazuya Hanayama, curator specialist of ceramics, takes you to a trip to his Higashi-mino.
STORY of HIGASI-MINO
The beauty of the Atera Fault and Tokai Lake
Explore the environment surrounding Higashi-mino’s sake, cuisine, and ceramics.
ENJOYING THE LOCAL SAKE, CUISINE AND CERAMICS
Introducing producers, restaurants & bars, shops, and activities.
Sake breweries
All different, all interesting.
Get a glimpse at our eleven breweries, spread smong the 7 towns in the area.
Restaurants & bars
Find the restaurants and inns that provide Higashi-mino’s sake, inside and outside of the region itself.
Shops
Find bars and shops where you can buy Higashi-mino’s sake, for your home or for others.
Activities
We will introduce tours, experiences, events, etc. where you can enjoy local sake, ceramics, and food under the name of Kurakatsu (brewery life).
ABOUT THE HIGASHI-MINO PROJECT
The area of Higashi-mino is located in the South-East of Gifu prefecture.
Lodged between beautiful mountains, clear skies, and pure streams,
ancient culture has been passed down to today.
You will find here how to get a taste of the riches of this region’s culture,
its ceramics, cuisine, eleven breweries, and day to day life.
With the HIGASHI-MINO project, we aim to let you discover the deep link
that exists between sake, ceramics, and traditional cuisine,
through events, product and the places to find them.
We want to tell the stories of the local breweries and their sake.
The Higashi-mino region: Tajimi, Nakatsugawa, Mizunami, Ena, Toki, Kani, Mitake
Project Name: Higashi-mino Jizake Promotion project
In charge of the project: Higashimino Jizake Promotion Consortium (Under the Higashi-mino Tourism Council)
This project came to life thanks to subsidies from the Japan Tax Agency ‘Sakagura Tourism’ grant.
©︎ 2021. Higashimino Jizake Promotion Consortium