3 things to do in Saijo, Hiroshima

Located right outside the train station, Saijo’s Sake Brewery Street stands apart with its walkability. The brick chimneys, white-plaster walls and traditional tile roofs of the area’s seven breweries lend the district old-time charm, while the many tastings, brewery tours and exhibitions on offer make for a, well, intoxicating journey into Saijo’s centuries-long sake heritage.

Start your travels at the Saijo Sake Brewery Street Tourist Information Center in the station, and look out for the traditional-style water fountains dispensing pure spring water from nearby Mt Ryuo, a key ingredient in Saijo sake – they’ll help you stay hydrated between tastings.

Highlighting vegetables and meat boiled in sake until melt-in-your-mouth tender and bursting with umami, Bishu nabe hot pot is a toasty Saijo speciality long eaten by local sake-makers during the winter brewing season.

Of the more than 10 restaurants serving the innard-warming dish, the Kamotsuru brewery’s France-ya is our favourite. Bishu nabe is offered for lunch as well as dinner, but visiting in the evening comes with the added option of pairing the inevitable sake float with appetisers like cheese toast with Narazuke pickles, beef stewed in sake and red wine, and sake kasu cheese tofu. 

Sake is everywhere in Saijo – even in the sweet treats. Among the best are Mike Cacao’s sake truffles, crafted by a local chocolatier by mixing sake and sake lees into a chocolate truffle base. Combining the distinctive aroma of sake with the velvety mouthfeel of top-grade chocolate, these fusion morsels are liable to win over even the most hardened sake sceptic.