Musashi no Kuni Sake Festival: 120-Minute Tasting in Fuchu

What kind of event this is

Most sake tastings in Tokyo happen indoors, in a hall, with a plastic cup and a queue. This one happens on shrine grounds, outdoors, in early October weather that is usually just about perfect for standing around with a glass.

There is a reason the shrine hosts it. Inside the precincts of Okunitama Shrine (大國魅神社) stands Matsuo Shrine (松尾神社), dedicated to the deity brewers have prayed to for centuries. The festival is run by the Tokyo Sake Brewers Association with two stated aims: promoting sake culture and bringing people into the neighbourhood. That combination is why it feels less like a trade show and more like a local festival that happens to pour very good sake.

For anyone living in Japan who has been meaning to learn what sake actually tastes like beyond the one bottle a colleague recommended, this is an efficient shortcut. Ninety minutes of comparing, twenty of asking questions, and you will have opinions.

Date, times and venue

The two sessions are fully separated, so a Part 1 ticket does not let you linger into the afternoon. If you want the calmer end of the day, Part 2 is the one to aim for; if you want the first pour of everything while the brewers are still fresh, take Part 1.

Tickets: advance only this year

Details on this page reflect the official announcement as of 16 September 2026. Ticket availability changes; confirm on the official page below.

What you can drink and eat

Sake from across Japan, plus a gentler option

The pouring tables gather bottles from breweries around the country, and you move between them freely for your full 120 minutes. Tokyo brewers are there in person too, which is the part regulars value most: you can ask why one bottle tastes of melon and the next of steamed rice, and get an answer from the person who made it.

If undiluted sake at 11 in the morning sounds ambitious, there is also sake soda, sake cut with soda water. It is lighter, easier to drink through a long session, and a reasonable entry point if this is your first tasting event. Miss SAKE appears on site as well, which in practice means photo opportunities and a bit of stage energy between rounds.

Food and bottles to take home

The Fuchu Tourist Association runs a snack corner. In past years that has meant simmered offal (motsuni) and grilled saury, the sort of salty, fatty things that exist specifically to make the next glass taste better. There is also a sales corner for Tokyo-brewed sake, so a bottle you liked can go home with you rather than becoming a vague memory.

Getting to Okunitama Shrine

Two separate networks within five minutes of the venue are unusually convenient for a shrine festival, which means you can come in from Shinjuku on the Keio Line or cut across on the JR side without changing your plans much. Coming from further afield, an all-day rail pass can make the trip cheaper than it looks; our guide to the Aki no Norihodai Pass for unlimited JR local trains covers exactly that kind of autumn day trip, and if you are travelling from another region there is also the 50% off Shinkansen Tokudane fares to check first.

Needless to say, drinking and driving is a criminal offence in Japan, and the legal drinking age is 20. Take the train.

Practical tips before you go

• Eat something first. Two hours of tasting on an empty stomach ends badly. The snack corner helps, but start from a decent base.
• Drink water between pours. Outdoor tastings dehydrate you faster than you expect, even in October.
• Arrive near the start. Last entry is 30 minutes before each session ends, and every minute you lose is a minute of your 120.
• Take notes on your phone. Bottle names blur together by the fourth table. A photo of each label is the low-effort version.
• Plan the wind-down. A 13:00 finish leaves the whole afternoon free. A cheap, civilised way to reset is a bathhouse — see our guide to the ¥300 sento coupon usable at 383 Tokyo bathhouses, though go only once you have properly sobered up.
• Bring cash. Food and bottle-sales corners at shrine events are not reliably cashless.

If you are lining up an autumn weekend around this, deals elsewhere in the country move fast too — we track things like the Kagoshima stay discount of up to 60% and airline flash sales on the same schedule.

FAQ

Q. Can I buy a ticket on the day?

No. For 2026 the organisers are selling advance tickets only, and there are no same-day sales.

Q. How much is a ticket and how many are available?

An advance ticket is 3,500 yen, and each of the two sessions is limited to 550 people.

Q. Where are tickets sold?

Through e+ (eplus) and the Fuchu Tourist Association, with sales starting on 20 August 2026.

Q. How long can I stay, and when is last entry?

Each session runs for 120 minutes, and last entry is 30 minutes before the session ends.

Q. What happens if it rains?

The festival goes ahead in rain. In severe weather it is postponed to Sunday 4 October.

Q. Is there anything for people who do not drink much?

Sake soda, which is sake cut with soda water, is served alongside the regular pours, and the snack corner and local sake sales corner are open to everyone attending.

Official information

Everything above comes from that announcement. Anything not listed there — the exact brewery line-up, the menu at the snack corner on the day, whether cards are accepted — is worth confirming with the organisers rather than assuming.