From Matsumoto's castle town to Lake Suwa and the temple gates of Zenkoji — breweries raised on Japan Alps spring water.
Wedged between the Northern and Central Alps, Shinshu (Nagano) brews with cold air and mountain spring water. In the castle town of Matsumoto, Daishinshu's Kikizake Room pairs rare-grade tasting flights with small bites (reservation only), while Iwanami and Kamedaya open their kura by appointment. On Lake Suwa, Miyasaka Jozo — maker of the famed Masumi — pours paid tastings at its Cella Masumi shop. North at Zenkoji temple, Yoshinoya runs a brewery-visit course and shop by the Nishinomon gate; in snowy Iiyama, Tanakaya Shuzoten offers three tiers of brewery tours. Castle, lake, temple street and sake — Shinshu strings them into a single itinerary.