What’s even better is that it is not just the outside that resembles a watermelon. Bite into it and you’ll see that the rice dumpling is colored red and there are small black sesame seeds inside to represent the watermelon seeds! This snack looks great and it tastes great, so be sure to get one before boarding the sightseeing boats.

It kind of looks like a watermelon… it kind of tastes like a watermelon… but it’s chocolate and rice! 

On the day we went on the cruise, we got to board the Turtle boat which is called Ryugumaru. Ryugumaru is an older boat, as you can see just from looking at it, and has been running from 1976. The boat is going into its last years now with a new boat taking its spot next year, so if you want to take a ride on it, you would have to do so this year.

TIP! You can get a discount if you stay at the nearby ryokan Suhaku. More information on Suhaku at the end of the blog.

Recommended Lunch: Unagi

Unagi is a Japanese dish you must try while you’re here.

Like other areas in Nagano Prefecture, the Suwa area is known for its soba (buckwheat) noodles so there are a lot of soba restaurants scattered around the lake. If you’re looking for something other than soba, we also recommend unagi or Japanese freshwater eel.

In the past, there used to be a healthy population of freshwater eel in Lake Suwa. Although this isn’t the case anymore, the way the eels and the sauce are prepared is something that has been passed down through generations, which makes the eel in this area so delicious. The fluffy eel and the sweet sauce it’s coated in complement each other and makes you want to eat more and more of it.

“Suwa Gokura”, the Five Breweries of Suwa

Maihime - the first of the five breweries you’ll encounter when coming from Kamisuwa Station.

A look at the inside of Maihime where they also sell shirts and bags besides Japanese sake.

While it’s not possible to get an inside tour at any of the breweries, they do provide opportunities to taste a couple of Japanese sake types. Most of the staff at the breweries speak Japanese only, but they will use pamphlets among others to try their best to explain the different flavors to you.

The second brewery called Reijin.

 

 

Each one of the breweries has a different look and feel. While the inside of Reijin is bigger, it does not have that same personal touch that Maihime has. The tasting system here is self-service; there is a small fridge near the counter where you can choose which sake you’d like to try.

 

Excluding Masumi, each of the breweries will let you have a few small cups of sake to try for free, but if you want to take full advantage of these five amazing breweries, we highly recommend getting the Suwa Five Tasting Set (1,800 JPY. From October 2019: 2,000 JPY). This set includes a special sake glass, a small carry bag and a stamp card.

 

Visiting each brewery will earn you a stamp and once you complete the stamp card, you can put this in a postbox for a chance at a special prize. You can take as long as you want to complete the card as it never expires, so if you’re short on time, you can come back a year later to collect the rest of the stamps.

 

The Suwa Five Tasting Set. They usually have two or three different colored bags so you can choose which one you like!

With the Tasting Set you get to try at least five different sakes at each of the breweries. Even though the glass is smaller than, say, a wine glass, Japanese sake can pack quite a punch, so you will most certainly feel something after drinking 25 different sakes. Be sure to drink plenty of water in between. Also, they sell small snacks at most of the breweries so you can buy a bag of caramelized cashew nuts for example, if you feel like snacking on something while you drink.

 

The staff of the breweries choose the order in which the sake types go, so we started off with a slightly dry one, then changing to a very dry one and slowly going to the sweeter variants. The photo is of the tasting at brewery Maihime.

 

You’ll get to try a couple of sake and then they provide you with water to cleanse your palette and to make sure the alcohol doesn’t hit you too quickly.

There are many different types of sake so if you have a preference or want to try something that they haven’t let you taste yet, don’t hesitate to ask. There are also some sakes that you can only taste if you have purchased the Tasting Set.

The special sake made for the autumn season at Reijin.

 

The sake on the right is Nigori, a variety of sake that is roughly filtered and therefore looks cloudier.

After going past Maihime, Reijin, Honkin and Yokobue, we ended our sake adventure at Masumi. Out of the five breweries, Masumi is the most well-known and its sake has won both national and international awards.

The entrance of Masumi, the most well-known of the five Suwa breweries.

 

They have international staff as well, which makes it easier for foreign tourists to ask questions about any of the sakes. As they are one of the busier breweries, they usually divide their visitors in groups for the tastings.

 

A staff member at Masumi explains the sake features to a group of tourists.

All the breweries close their doors at 17:00, so if you want to do them all in one day, keep that in mind. If you’re staying in Suwa (which is recommended with all that sake), you can divide your sake tastings over two days which might help you appreciate the different flavors more.

There is also a lot more to see in the Suwa area, for example the famous Suwa Grand Shrine and the wonderful museums around the lake such as the Suwa Glass Village and the Taizi Harada Art Museum. If you want to experience everything, take a few days out of your schedule to discover the area and enjoy yourself to the fullest.

As for accommodation, you might consider the ryokan Suhaku. As we previously mentioned, guests staying here get a discount for the sightseeing boats, but that’s not the only reason to spend the night there. It has two wonderful hot springs which are represented in the hotel’s name – a “red” (Su) tea-colored hot spring and a “white” (Haku) clear-water hot spring.

There’s also a hotel shop where they sell many of the sakes from the five breweries, so if you wanted to do some last-minute souvenir purchases, the shop has you covered.

More information on Suhaku >