I visited during their brewery open house in March 2014. I had been wanting to go for a long time and had been waiting for information about their open house. It was a long-awaited event, but it's quite far from Nagoya and Gifu. It takes about two hours from Gifu on a train that only runs roughly once every two hours. Furthermore, it's about a 10-minute walk from the station to the brewery. It's a shame that it's slightly outside the range of the Aozora Free Pass. Participating in the tasting is a generous system where you purchase a special glass for 1000 yen and then you're free to tasting as much as you want. There's no limit to the number of times or the amount you can drink. Just going around and trying all of the approximately 20 types of sake will get you over 500ml. Be careful not to drink too much. On the day, there was a shot bar, sake tasting events, and food trucks, so there was plenty to do. It felt like you could stay there forever if you wanted to relax.
We were able to sample premium sake brands, including some with a paid tasting, and it came with a sake cup inscribed with "Tenryo." It's within walking distance from the station, but the train and bus schedules are infrequent, so be sure to check them beforehand.
I tried some freshly squeezed unpasteurized sake at a liquor store and was so shocked by how delicious it was that I decided to visit the brewery. The limited edition sake and of course all the other sakes were all delicious, so I bought some as souvenirs from Gero. They were a big hit with the recipients!
I used to dislike amazake, but now I love Tenryo Shuzo's amazake! I keep buying it over and over again!
I'm so grateful for the delicious water and rice.
This sake brewery was founded in 1680 (tastings available for a fee). While long-established shops tend to be selective about their customers, the owner here is very polite. You can also purchase their sake online, and it's easy to get at the regular price. They have unpasteurized sake, sparkling sake, liqueurs, shochu, and doburoku, all of which are delicious. This time I bought Tenroku Hairyo because it was so good. I ordered the rest online, which is convenient. I hope I can visit their brewery open house someday.
I bought "Tenshin" rice shochu at a sake brewery for the first time. It's fruity and has a slight hint of alcohol, so be careful not to drink too much!