Experience the flavours of Japan in Setouchi
-The island, surrounded by the sea and mountains, is also renowned for its rich food culture. -

Located in western Japan, the Setouchi Region or Seto Inland Sea, which is the largest inland sea in Japan, is surrounded by seven prefectures: Ehime, Hiroshima, Hyogo, Kagawa, Okayama, Tokushima, and Yamaguchi. It is known around the world for its beautiful scenery with calm waters and islands that look as if they are floating. The region has fostered a history and culture that has been influenced by the sea and, as a result, offers experiences that are appealing to any visitor.
Amazing, authentic Japanese food awaits you in Setouchi!
 

Sake Brewery Guesthouse “Mitoyotsuru TOJI”

The history of the Mitoyotsuru TOJI guesthouse is infused into this unique guesthouse's character. The site used to be home to the old Mitoyotsuru brewery, which brewed sake for almost 130 years from 1877 to 2005. The brewers' quarters have been refurbished and converted into accommodation, decorated with old furniture and workmanship to create the atmosphere of the era.

The guesthouse features a spa where guests can take a dip in baths built from the old vats used to steam sake rice. The bath water is pumped from the same groundwater that is used to supply water to the brewery. After your bath, you can also enjoy sake in the brewers' quarters or maybe cook a BBQ. The BBQ area features a special table fashioned from the wooden lid of a giant sake barrel.

The guesthouse accommodates a single group of up to 11 people, so you can freely enjoy your holiday in your own private house just for your group without worrying about other guests.

The owners have designed the accommodation for guests to be reborn just as rice is reborn as sake with their "Brew a New You!" concept.
The process of making sake involves polishing and hulling the sake rice, washing it, steaming it, and making a yeast solution (Shubo) to put the steamed rice in. The rice is then fermented, filtered and pasteurized and left out to rest.
Similarly, guests of Mitoyotsuru TOJI can take their clothes off (discard their husks like rice), take a shower (as rice is washed), steam themselves and warm themselves slowly in the bathtub (as rice is steamed), and finally sleep deeply (just as rice is left out to rest). You can enjoy the feeling of being reborn as a new you, just as rice is reborn as sake. That's what "Brew a New You!" is all about.

Mitoyotsuru TOJI Information

Address: 5444 Takuma Takuma-cho, Mitoyo City, Kagawa Prefecture

Website: https://toji.mitoyotsuru.com/en

Booking is available through Booking.com: https://www.booking.com/hotel/jp/san-li-he-toji.cs.html.

A Local Popular Setouchi Seafood, Karato Market

Shimonoseki City handles the highest volume of blowfish in Japan. The city's popular Karato Market is famous not only as a market for blowfish but also for sea bream and yellowtail. The market is where stallholders sell their products and a place where tourists can purchase fresh fish caught by local fishermen.
Visitors can enjoy shopping while communicating with friendly market staff. Every weekend (Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays) and national holidays, the 1st floor of the market changes into a fish stand street called "Iki-is Bakangai”. A wide variety of food stalls offer hand-rolled sushi, hearty seafood rice bowls, freshly fried seafood, blessed soup, and much more. On a fine day, it is recommended to enjoy your meal while looking out over the Kanmon Straits stretching out in front of you.

Karato market information

Address: Karatocho 5-50, Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture

Access: 10 minutes by bus from JR Shimonoseki station
Business hours: 5 am – 3 pm (Monday to Saturday), 8 am - 3 pm (Sunday).  *It is subject to change without notice.

Website: https://www.visit-jy.com/en/spots/11069

The only sake brewery on Shoudoshima Island, MORIKUNI Sake Brewery

Shoudoshima Island is the second largest island in the Seto Inland Sea. With its idyllic atmosphere and local food culture, the island is one of the most popular destinations among the collection of islands in the region. MORIKUNI Sake Brewery is the only sake brewery on the island where visitors can enjoy their unusual sake. They are carefully hand made with sake yeast from olive trees, a specialty of Shoudoshima, and rice grown in Nakayama Senmaida, a rice field in Shoudoshima Town, one of the "Top 100 Sustainable Tourism Destinations in the World" and other areas.

As a relatively new brewery established in 2005, they are committed to revitalising the old brewing culture of Shoudoshima. The sake is not decolourised through activated charcoal filtration, and the flavour and aroma of sake are served as it is. Tours of the small, hand-crafted sake brewery and tasting experiences are available. Visitors can also enjoy sake tasting at the adjacent cafe and bar, which was renovated from a Tsukudani (food boiled down in soy sauce) factory. There is also a bakery on-site, offering a popular bread made with rice flour from sake rice.

MORIKUNI Sake Brewery information

Address: Kou-1010-1, Umaki, Shoudoshima-cho, Kagawa Prefecture
Access: Ferry from Kobe or Takamatsu

Website: https://www.morikuni.jp/?tid=3&mode=f1

Closed: Gallery: Thursday/ Cafe: Thursday/ Bakery: Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday

Business hours:
- Gallery: 9 am to 5 pm (closed on Thursday)
- Cafe: 11 am to 5 pm (closed on Thursday)
- Bakery: 9 am to 5 pm (closed on Tuesday to Thursday)

Japanese traditional sweets workshop and Izushi Castle Town Retro Tour

Enjoy walking through the photogenic, historical streets; sure to be a hit on social media!  You can enjoy a Kimono experience, Japanese sweets making, sake tasting, and guided tours. During the walk, the local Izushi concierge will help you find a place not listed in the guidebooks. You can make Japanese sweets at Nishidaya and taste them with Green Tea.

Izushi Castle Town Retro Tour information

Address: 104-7 Uchimachi, Izushi Town, Toyooka City, Hyogo Prefecture

Access: 30 minutes from Toyooka Station by bus.  About 3 hours from Osaka and Kyoto by public transport.

Website: https://daytrip-izushi.jp/english/

E-Mail: travel@daytrip-izushi.jp

Booking required.

About Setouchi, Japan

Located in western Japan, the Setouchi Region is the area around the Seto Inland Sea, which is the largest sea in Japan, surrounded by seven prefectures: Ehime, Hiroshima, Hyogo, Kagawa, Okayama, Tokushima, and Yamaguchi. It is known around the world for its beautiful scenery with no waves and islands that look as if they are floating. The region has fostered a history and culture that has been influenced by the sea and, as a result, have great attractions that are appealing to any visitor. Here are three examples of what you can experience in Setouchi to stay inspired and relaxed in a different kind of way.

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