酒の工場

Listening intently

So, our Food Culture class has at last completed the first of two excursions in our schedule. This particular event was a trip to a Sake Factory!

Guess what fills these crates

We were led around the factory, which did not at all seem like the type of place that would be producing something you would later put in your mouth, by a Japanese guide. Our teacher translated, sort of. For several minutes the guide would talk about the machines and rooms we occupied, but our teacher would give us a single sentence in response... So, needless to say, I really did not learn much about how Sake is made, but it was still rather interesting to see the factory. We were shown the rice used for making Sake. It happens to be a rather small rice that after 100 hours of polishing turns out as this little white bead. It is not rice for eating, only for drinking. That was the extent of what I learned.
Most of my time was spent having fun taking pictures with other students. Later we were given the chance to try two different sake. One was a lot more strong than the other. The second we had tasted seriously like alcoholic water. If it weren't for the burn after you swallow, I would have thought it would adequately quench my thirst.

It was not long before we were right back on the bus and headed back home. The excursion took up our normal class period as well as the period after it. Despite the little I actually learned in the whole ordeal, I really did have fun. Next week we are going to a Miso Factory. Stay tuned!

Sake Tasting!

Sake - tasted like alcoholic water