After the Tomioka Hachiman Shrine let’s head onto our next destination. Going past the residential area take a right at the road with a stone wall. The stone wall is covered with green ivy and flowers, and you will forget you are in the city.
When you get towards the end of the stone wall, there will be a sign with “Fukagawa Winery” written on it. When you enter the place a staff member and they may say,
“Welcome, you’re right in time for a wine tour, would you like to join?”
At that moment you hear a noise and a door opens and out pops a fair skinned man.
“Hello, my name is Ueno I’m the brewer here”
In a soft Kansai accent the tour begins. The city style winery opened in Fukagawa in 2016. Grapes from Yamanashi, Yamagata, and Hokkaido Prefectures are purchased and used for brewing the wine.
Mr. Ueno studied brewing sciences at university, and has 17 years of experience working for grape farms and wineries in Kansai. He carefully explains to the guests the different grapes and wine making process contained in each bottle.
WIne is a living thing, according to the environment and the yeast, the balance of the taste changes. At a recently opened winery, surely there is never ending string of successes and failures. Returning to the counter of the store, Mr. Ueno introduces the wines. It is only lunch but there are many neighbors who visit to ask how the wine is.
Here you can also have special events and hire the brewery to make an original wine for a special day, such as a wedding reception or a company anniversaries.
It is like a town baseball team, in good times and bad, at the winery you can huddle together and enjoy each others company.
To the Japanese producers of grapes, small scale wineries are an opportunity to showcase their grapes. In the wine you can feel the differences of each producer and the land they utilize. Around this area in the past two years, two other wineries and one brewery have opened.
It is easy to feel the craftsmanship in places like breweries and wineries. These businesses occupy the once empty warehouses and have helped recover the once lost energy. Enthusiastic entrepreneurs have moved to Fukagawa because they are seeking affordable rent and large spaces, but more than that they feel at home here as the neighbors share their passion and give their support.