Share Food, Sake, and Stories with the People Shaping Namie Today
Once a year, farmers, food producers, brewers, and local residents come together for the Namie Harvest Festival—a lively celebration of the town’s food, sake, and community.
On this two-day journey, enjoy the festival, visit local producers, and gather around the table with the people of Namie. You will also spend time with sake brewer Daisuke Suzuki, who returned to the town and reopened his family brewery ten years after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.
The following day, Daisuke will guide you through places connected to Namie’s past and present. Through his personal story, discover how the town has changed, the challenges it still faces, and the people building its future.
Whether this is your first visit to Namie or a return journey, come and experience the town as it is today—through its people, flavors, memories, and new beginnings.
Why You’ll Love This Journey
Celebrate Namie’s harvest with local residents, farmers, chefs, and producers.
Taste local dishes alongside sake brewed in Namie.
Join a private evening gathering with the people behind the festival.
Explore Namie’s past and present through the personal story of someone who returned to rebuild his family brewery.
Share the journey with Japanese travelers, with English interpretation throughout both days.
Meet Your Host
A Sake Brewer Bringing People Together
Daisuke Suzuki
President, Suzuki Sake Brewery
Suzuki Sake Brewery has been making sake in Namie’s coastal Ukedo district since the Edo period. Its signature sake, Iwaki Kotobuki, has long been part of local life, shared to celebrate abundant catches and other joyful occasions in this fishing community.
After studying in Tokyo and training at a sake brewery in Nara, Daisuke Suzuki returned home in 1999 to carry on his family’s brewing tradition.
In 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami completely destroyed the brewery. The nuclear disaster then forced Suzuki and his family to evacuate to Nagai in Yamagata Prefecture. Encouraged by people who told him they were still waiting for Namie’s sake, he resumed brewing in Nagai.
In 2021, Suzuki finally fulfilled his long-held goal of making sake in Namie again. Today, he travels between the breweries in Namie and Nagai, continuing to brew in both communities he now calls home.
For Suzuki, making sake is about more than producing a drink. He believes the best way for people to understand Namie is to visit and experience it for themselves. Working with local producers and chefs, he organizes food events that introduce visitors to the town and its flavors. His belief remains unchanged: sake brings people together and gives them a way to share moments of joy.
Daisuke also serves as chair of the organizing committee for the Namie Harvest Festival. The festival brings together local farmers, food producers, chefs, brewers, and residents to share the flavors being created in Namie today.
During this journey, you will experience the festival, visit Suzuki Sake Brewery, and gather around the table with Daisuke and members of the local community. The following day, he will guide you through Namie and share what happened in 2011, how the town has changed, and what its future means to him.
See More Through Photos
Your Two-Day Journey in Namie
Day 1 | Celebrate Namie’s Harvest
11:40 | Namie Harvest Festival 2026
Taste dishes prepared with ingredients from Namie’s sea, mountains, and farms, paired with sake from Suzuki Sake Brewery.
Choose the dishes and sake that catch your eye, then raise a glass with fellow travelers and local residents. Conversations with farmers, chefs, producers, and other members of the community are an essential part of the festival experience.
13:00 | Meet a Local Producer
Leave the festival venue for a short bus visit organized by the Namie Harvest Festival. Visit a local farm or production site and meet one of the producers behind Namie’s food.
Visit a working farm or production site and hear directly about what is being made in Namie today, as well as the ideas and experiences that shape their work.
It is an opportunity to discover the people and stories behind the local ingredients you taste at the festival.The producer and location visited will be decided closer to the date, depending on seasonal and production conditions.
15:00 | Visit Suzuki Sake Brewery
After the festival, visit Suzuki Sake Brewery, located inside the Michi-no-Eki Namie roadside station.
Daisuke lost the original brewery in Namie’s Ukedo district in the 2011 tsunami. He resumed brewing in Nagai, Yamagata Prefecture, before returning to Namie ten years later to make sake in his hometown once again.
Tour the brewery with Daisuke and learn about his journey back to Namie, the sake being produced here today, and his hopes for the brewery’s future.
18:30 | Dinner with Daisuke and the Local Community
After the festival, join a private gathering attended by local chefs, producers, organizers, and others involved in the event.
This gathering is not usually open to the public, but our group has been specially invited to take part. Sit around the same table with the people you met during the day and enjoy local dishes with sake from Suzuki Sake Brewery.
In this relaxed setting, share conversation, stories, and plenty of kanpai with Daisuke and the people of Namie. An English-speaking interpreter will help you join the conversation throughout the evening.
Day 2 | Explore Namie Today with Daisuke
9:00–10:30 | Visit the Interim Storage Facility
Following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, large amounts of soil and waste were removed from towns and farmland to reduce radiation levels. The Interim Storage Facility was created across the neighboring towns of Okuma and Futaba to store these materials temporarily as part of the ongoing cleanup.
Begin at the Interim Storage Information Center, where you will learn why the facility was created and the role it plays today. You will then enter the facility to see the soil storage areas and view the surrounding landscape, including the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, from an elevated observation point.
Seeing the site in person offers an opportunity to consider aspects of Fukushima today that are difficult to understand through news reports alone.
This visit is subject to the facility’s operating conditions and minimum group requirements.
11:30 | Lunch and Kanpai with Daisuke
After visiting the Interim Storage Facility, return to Namie for lunch with Daisuke.
Raise a glass with sake from Suzuki Sake Brewery as he talks about Namie’s past and present, as well as the places you will visit that afternoon.
Hearing directly from someone who returned to Namie and continues to brew sake here may offer a different perspective on what you saw during the morning visit.
13:00 | Explore Namie’s Past and Present with Daisuke
Set out with Daisuke to visit places connected to his hometown and personal story.
The exact route will be decided according to local conditions and the interests of the group. For guests visiting Namie for the first time, possible stops include Ohirayama Cemetery, the Ukedo Elementary School Earthquake Memorial, and the former site of Suzuki Sake Brewery.
Rather than simply viewing places affected by the disaster, you will explore them through Daisuke’s memories and hear how Namie has changed since 2011—and about the people who are building their lives here today.
Ohirayama Cemetery
Located on high ground overlooking Namie’s Ukedo district, Ohirayama was one of the places where children from Ukedo Elementary School fled to escape the tsunami in 2011.
A memorial now stands here, and from the hillside you can look across the former Ukedo district and the Pacific Ocean.
Ukedo Elementary School Earthquake Memorial
Ukedo Elementary School stood close to the Pacific coast and was severely damaged by the tsunami in 2011. The students and teachers were able to evacuate before the tsunami reached the school.
The damaged building has been preserved as an earthquake memorial, conveying both the force of the disaster and the importance of acting quickly during an evacuation.
Former Site of Suzuki Sake Brewery
Finally, visit the place where Daisuke’s story as a brewer began. Suzuki Sake Brewery produced sake in the Ukedo district for generations before the original brewery was completely swept away by the 2011 tsunami.
After visiting the brewery operating in Namie today, standing at its former location and hearing Daisuke’s memories offers a deeper understanding of what was lost—and what it meant for him to begin brewing here again.
Recommended Train from Tokyo
JR Joban Line Limited Express Hitachi 3
Tokyo Station 7:53 → Ueno Station 8:00 → JR Namie Station 11:16
Your English-speaking interpreter will meet you at JR Namie Station after the train arrives.
Train tickets are not included in the tour price. Please reserve your seat in advance. Train times may change according to JR timetables.
Tour Schedule
Day 1 | Celebrate Namie’s Harvest
Sunday, November 1, 2026
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 11:16 | Arrive at JR Namie Station Recommended train: JR Limited Express Hitachi 3 from Tokyo or Ueno. |
| 11:20 | Meet at JR Namie Station Meet your English-speaking interpreter and make your way together to the festival venue. |
| 11:40 | Namie Harvest Festival 2026 Enjoy local food and sake while meeting producers and residents. |
| 13:00 | Meet a Local Producer Join a festival-organized bus visit to a local farm or production site. |
| 15:00 | Suzuki Sake Brewery Tour the brewery with Daisuke and learn about sake making in Namie. |
| 17:00 | Hotel Check-in Check in and take some time to relax before dinner. |
| 18:30 | Dinner with the Local Community Share food, sake, and conversation with Daisuke and people involved in the festival. |
| 21:00 | Dinner Concludes |
Day 2 | Explore Namie Today with Daisuke
Monday, November 2, 2026
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 08:30 | Depart from the Hotel Enjoy breakfast at the hotel before setting out for the day. |
| 09:00 | Interim Storage Facility Learn about the storage of soil and waste removed during decontamination work in Fukushima. |
| 11:30 | Lunch and Kanpai with Daisuke Talk about Namie’s past and present over lunch and sake. |
| 13:00 | Explore Namie’s Past and Present Visit places connected to Daisuke’s memories and the town’s story since 2011. |
| 15:00 | Tour Concludes at JR Namie Station |
Notes
- This is a fixed-date group tour, and the itinerary cannot be individually customized.
- The schedule, order of visits, and locations may change depending on weather, local conditions, and the availability of hosts.
- The producer visited during the Namie Harvest Festival will be decided closer to the date based on seasonal and production conditions.
- This tour will be shared with Japanese participants joining through Autabi, offering a natural opportunity to travel, share meals, and raise a glass together. An English-speaking interpreter will accompany the group throughout both days and help you communicate with local residents and fellow travelers.
Travel Details (Terms & Conditions)
| Availability | November 1–2, 2026 (2 days / 1 night) |
|---|---|
| Price | ¥72,800–¥139,800 per person, based on the number of guests included in the same booking. 1 guest: ¥139,800 2 guests: ¥92,800 per person 3 guests: ¥77,800 per person 4–6 guests: ¥72,800 per person Each booking is priced separately. The price will not change if other guests join the tour. The price includes an English-speaking interpreter throughout the two-day journey. |
| Journey Style | Fixed-date small-group journey 2 days / 1 night November 1–2, 2026 Minimum 1 / Maximum 6 participants This tour will be shared with Japanese participants joining through Autabi. |
| Accommodation | Hotel Futaba no Mori Accommodation is provided in a private single room for each guest. There is no additional single-room charge. |
| What’s Included | – One night’s accommodation – Meals: Day 1 lunch at the festival (food-and-sake tickets) and dinner; Day 2 breakfast and lunch – Festival-organized bus transportation for the local producer visit on Day 1 – Tour of Suzuki Sake Brewery – Private evening gathering with local participants, including food and drinks – Visit to the Interim Storage Facility – Private transportation on Day 2 – An English-speaking interpreter throughout both days – Domestic travel accident insurance coverage |
| Not Included | – Transportation to and from JR Namie Station – Personal expenses – Additional food and drinks not included in the program |
| Meeting & End Point | Meet at JR Namie Station at 11:20 on November 1. The journey concludes at JR Namie Station at approximately 15:00 on November 2. |
| Luggage | Guests are responsible for carrying and managing their own luggage on Day 1. Coin-operated lockers are available at JR Namie Station, subject to availability. Please bring only what you can comfortably carry during the festival. |
| Access from Tokyo | Take the JR Joban Line Limited Express Hitachi 3 directly from Tokyo or Ueno to JR Namie Station. Tokyo Station 7:53 → Ueno Station 8:00 → Namie Station 11:16 Train tickets are not included. Please reserve your seat in advance. If you need help choosing or booking your train, please contact us before your journey. |
| Language Support | The tour is conducted mainly in Japanese. An English-speaking interpreter will accompany the group throughout both days and help you communicate with local residents and Japanese participants. |
| Booking & Payment | Booking deadline: October 23, 2026, or earlier if the journey reaches capacity. Payment by credit card (Visa or Mastercard). Detailed payment instructions will be sent by email after booking. |
| Cancellation Policy | ● 20–8 days before departure: 20% of the total tour price ● 7–2 days before departure: 30% ● 1 day before departure: 40% ● On the departure date: 50% After the journey begins or in case of no-show: 100% Please review our Standard Terms and Conditions of Travel and Tour Conditions before booking. |
| Clothing & What to Bring | Please wear comfortable clothing and walking shoes. Some parts of the journey take place outdoors, and mornings and evenings in November can be cold. Bring warm layers and rain protection appropriate for the weather. Please also bring your passport, personal medication, and other overnight essentials. |
| Interim Storage Facility Visit | Advance registration is required. Please bring your passport or another valid government-issued photo ID. The name on your identification must match the name submitted with your booking. Guests who cannot present the required identification may not be permitted to enter the facility. The visit is subject to the facility’s operating conditions and minimum group requirements. If these requirements are not met, the visit may be cancelled. |
| Sake & Alcohol | Sake will be served during the festival, dinner, and lunch on Day 2. Drinking is entirely optional. Under Japanese law, alcohol may only be consumed by guests aged 20 or older. |
| Weather, Dietary Needs & Photography | In severe weather or due to local conditions, parts of the itinerary may be changed or cancelled. Food allergies, vegetarian meals, and other dietary requirements are handled upon consultation, but not every request can be guaranteed. Photography is generally permitted. Please follow any instructions given by local residents, producers, facility staff, or your guide. |
