Business hours: 9:30-17:30 Closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays
This tour uses a shuttle bus departing from the ski resort, allowing you to fully enjoy the historic snowy town of Takada in the evening. The meal venue is the 100-year-old Ukiyo restaurant, a national tangible cultural property over 140 years old. Explore the exquisite four-story wooden architecture and enjoy traditional restaurant cuisine. As entertainment, you can listen to live performances of traditional Japanese instruments such as shamisen and shinobue (bamboo flute). Joetsu is a major sake-producing region, and we will offer several varieties of local sake for tasting. Through this experience, you can enjoy the wonderful world of sake and its pairing with your meal.
After dinner, enjoy a popular experience for foreign visitors: a snack bar experience. Stroll through the lively nightlife district and enjoy karaoke at a local snack bar. Engaging with the “Mama” (bar hostess) of the bar will also be a memorable and unique experience.
Detailed Itinerary
16:00 Akakura Onsen (Meet) → Bus → 16:30 Lotte Arai Resort → Bus → 17:10–19:00 Ukiyo (Tour and Dinner) → 19:10–20:10 Snack Bar (Karaoke & Drinks) → 20:20 Ukiyo → Bus → 21:00 Lotte Arai Resort → Bus → 21:30 Akakura Onsen (End)
Plan details
Sake tasting involves evaluating and verbally expressing the characteristics of color, aroma, and flavor, often referred to as “kikizake.” Originally conducted by brewers to check the quality of sake before shipping, the concept has evolved due to the diversification of sake types, leading to a growing interest among enthusiasts in “tasting sake.” Guests will have the opportunity to savor rare sake that can only be found here, provided by Musashino Sake Brewery, a representative of the Joetsu region in Niigata.
As a deep and uniquely Japanese experience, the “Japanese snack bar hopping tour” has gained popularity among foreign visitors to Japan. This tour commercializes the experience of visiting snack bars, which can be daunting even for Japanese locals, as a cultural activity for foreigners. It also contributes to revitalizing the nighttime economy, a challenge for tourism in Japan, by introducing the unknown world of snack bars as a tourist attraction.
Located in Nakacho, Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture, which flourished as the castle town of the Takada domain during the Edo period, this area was primarily known for its fish market and wholesale businesses. In the late Edo period, the second generation operated a catering business, and the third generation began a kaiseki restaurant during the late Edo to early Meiji period, marking the beginning of “100-Year-Old Restaurant Ukiyo.” During the Taisho to early Showa periods, it established its wealth and status, becoming a popular destination for influential figures, reinforcing the perception that visiting Ukiyo was a mark of prestige. The expansion of the third floor and the addition of a large hall and garden marked a period of growth for Ukiyo. Nakacho was one of the prominent geisha districts in the prefecture, and in 1938, it was said to have 13 geisha houses with over 100 geisha, thriving during that time.
A special dinner featuring fresh seafood from the Sea of Japan, expertly prepared by skilled chefs into exquisite kaiseki cuisine.