"Journeys in Japan"

Wooden vessels once plied this canal...

carrying local specialties to Edo and other cities.

Handa, in Aichi, is known for its fine sake, vinegar, miso, and shoyu.

Jennifer Julien has come to savor this world...

as part of her thirst for culinary knowledge.

"Bonjour." I'm a French from Bordeaux,

and I work in the food and wine business.

Today I'm in Handa, a town where I hear there is a fermented product

that is a must-have with food,

but also a lot of breweries.

So I'm very excited to go around.

The city also brews up fun with a dazzling float festival

held only once every five years.

On "Journeys in Japan,"

Jennifer enjoys the festivities and rich food culture of Handa.

Handa
Savoring a Canal City's Delights

Located on the Chita Peninsula,

Handa is about 270 kilometers west of Tokyo.

Chubu Centrair International Airport is just on the other side of the peninsula.

So I'm on my way to Handa from the International Airport,

and it takes only 15 minutes to go there by car.

The city, with a population of over 100,000,

is within commuting distance of Nagoya.

Traces of times gone by can be discovered here

in the "district of warehouses."

So this is the canal of Handa,

and I think that these black buildings really give a super nice vibe to the area.

And apparently, this is where they used to make vinegar.

Handa's history of brewing goes back 200 years.

Thanks to the flourishing shipping industry,

its products took off in major cities.

So we're at the back of those black buildings,

and it feels really like being in a time-slip tunnel.

In French, vinegar is "vinaigre."

It means sour wine,

so there is a deep connection in between wine and vinegar.

(Mizkan Museum)

This place recreates our vinegar brewery from the Edo period.

"Kasuzu" vinegar was produced here.

Kasuzu?

Kasuzu is made from "sake kasu" or sake lees.

Please come this way.

Our company started as a sake brewery.

In the brewing process, a huge amount of lees are left over.

Our founder made vinegar from them. It was a new invention.

First, sake kasu was aged in this big barrel to produce "umami" and sweetness.

- This is three-year aged sake kasu.
- The color is incredible.

What is that?

- It's an Edo period ship.
- What is it doing here?

This is a replica.

Kasuzu was transported by this kind of ship all the way to Edo, now Tokyo.

It then encountered a certain food there.

- What was it?
- Let me show you.

This is "haya sushi," the original form of "nigiri sushi."

Kasuzu was inexpensive and rich in umami.

People found that sushi rice seasoned with kasuzu tasted better.

That's how it became popular.

It's no exaggeration to say that Handa created a sushi boom.

See you in Edo!

Bye-bye!

Here you are.

They're huge.

"Bisyu-hayasushi" is based on a 19th-century recipe.

The "nigiri" pieces are supersized compared to today's.

Why are they so large?

So that you feel full by just eating one or two,

not like today's style of eating many small pieces.

And the rice isn't white.

It's because we use this vinegar, made from sake kasu.

The dark color comes from its fermentation.

Itadakimasu!

Wow, this is... Well, the size is, first of all, very impressive.

But also, indeed, it is salty.

But I think that this special vinegar

gives some kind of roundness, mildness to the sushi.

So the first bites are pretty well-balanced.

But maybe if I have too much, it will get saltier.

But I like it!

- This is the sake kasu vinegar.
- Thank you.

Oh, let's try it.

Yeah, it smells like round vinegar. Not too sharp.

Let's try it.

This is not like super-vinegary vinegar.

It's like round, mild vinegar.

And I think this is fruity also.

It makes me want to drink sake. Or even beer.

Wow, this building makes me feel like I'm in Europe.

This 19th-century structure was once a beer brewery.

(Handa Red Brick Building)

Hello, my name is Jennifer.

Baba Nobuo is the leader of a citizens' group that conserves the building.

Please come this way.

The permanent exhibition showcases the brewery's history.

This place was built in 1898.

German brewing equipment was installed and professionals came over

to start the production of authentic German beer, called Kabuto.

Japan was at the dawn of beer brewing at that time.

Why did beer brewing start in Handa?

Sake brewers in Handa had an entrepreneurial spirit.

Amid the declining popularity of sake,

they wanted to try something new for the future. And, it was beer.

Are the walls just as they were back then?

They are.

- So well preserved.
- It's incredible.

Beer was stored in this space.

The walls were designed to accommodate tanks efficiently.

- What do you think made those holes?
- I have no idea.

They're bullet holes from US fighters during the war.

Really.

One month before the war ended, Handa was air-raided.

Those holes were made in the attack.

The building had been used for storing military provisions during World War II.

And with that, Handa's beer brewing came to a halt.

But in 2005, Baba and his group decided to change that.

- Okay, cheers!
- "Prost!"

"Sante!"

Oh, my goodness. This is really like black beer with a very deep taste.

But it doesn't have so much bitterness.

It has a pretty mild, deep and fruity taste.

It is very good.

Is this flavor the same as the original?

Yes. We faithfully re-created the beer using the original recipe.

Some said we should give it a modern twist. But we refused.

We wanted to pass on the value and appeal of this red brick building

and its brewing history.

We felt that we should simply recreate that old beer.

- And it resulted in a great flavor.
- Wonderful.

Kamezaki in northern Handa was once especially known for sake.

That's a big sake brewery.

This brewery has a history of over 200 years.

Ito Masaru is the 9th-generation master here.

Sorry to interrupt you. What are you doing now?

I'm doing prep work.

I have blended the three main ingredients, rice, water, and "koji" mold,

in the tank for fermentation.

So milky. Once fermentation begins, we can see bubbles, right?

Yes. You can see that over there.

During the fermentation process, carbon dioxide and alcohol are produced.

The bubbles are carbon dioxide. It is breathing.

Oh my God, guys. It smells amazing.

It smells already like sake, "nihonshu."

But it has kind of like a mild, round flavor, I think.

The aroma makes me happy.

- The sake is made with this water.
- Yes, from this well water.

It tastes different from ordinary water. It has a pure taste.

As Kamezaki was rich in groundwater like this, sake brewing flourished.

There were once about 40 breweries. I'm the 9th-generation head.

Until five years ago,

Masaru was working for a major telecom company

and had little background in the family trade.

When he was in high school, his father let the business go.

Then, two decades later,

Masaru decided to revive the old brewery

and resurrect his family's sake flavors.

- This is my sake.
- What an honor.

Itadakimasu.

Wow. It has a deep flavor.

It's very deep in flavor and "karakuchi." It's a dry sake.

And I think it has a very pure taste.

It's pure. Really nice. Like...

A clean finish...

What made you decide to make sake?

We have many old buildings, like this.

I wanted to preserve them, but didn't know how.

These days converting traditional structures into cafes is popular.

And I thought about doing that.

But would the business exist in 30 or 50 years, even after I die? I wasn't so sure.

The buildings were created to be used as a sake brewery.

I thought brewing sake was the best way to preserve this complex.

So that made me consider making sake here again.

For him, it's not just about honing his sake skills,

but also about using his brewery compound for cultural events

that bring community together.

This is such a nice view.

Oh, what do we have here?

I wonder what this building is? It has quite a unique shape.

Pretty high, so...

Ah, and there's another one!

"Saya" are garages for festival floats, called "dashi."

Every district of Handa has held its own spring festival for over 200 years.

Residents pull towering floats

carrying the guardian gods of the community throughout their area.

(October)

And every five years, in autumn,

the floats see the light again.

The floats feature elaborate carvings,

large embroidered curtains,

and even mechanical dolls called "karakuri."

Dozens are pulled into the city center from all 10 districts

for the Handa Dashi float festival.

The floats from each district are now heading here.

Today, all 31 one of them will come together.

This happens only once every five years.

So powerful!

Floats are paraded in one after another,

their grandeur a symbol of the wealth from the old trade in sake and vinegar.

I have never seen such a festival where there are so many different festival cars.

It's so big and really...

You know, they're all different in detail and,

you know, the colors for some of them. They're really beautiful.

Look at all these festival cars.

This is quite a sight. I've never seen so many at once.

Unlike the spring float festival, this one is relatively new.

This story goes back 44 years.

We were part of a young entrepreneurs' group.

We wanted to bring together the 31 floats,

as they were only seen in each district.

We thought it would galvanize the city.

Our proposal for the event met major opposition,

given the sacred quality of the festival.

But we patiently talked to all the parties and realized this event

that represents the whole city.

So, see? For example, this one has some dolls at the top.

Floats showcase karakuri dolls and their distinctive performances.

It's so much fun. It's a great chance for people in each district to get together.

Very happy.

Happy.

It's exciting. Each district has its own festival culture,

so we can learn from each other.

And, like all good festivals, there are food stalls with local delicacies.

Nice to see you again.

- What are you doing here?
- We are promoting sake.

You can taste from three Handa breweries.

It's fascinating. You can enjoy their differences.

- Are you all good friends?
- We are.

Do you often collaborate like this?

Yes. We are confident about our local products.

We want to expose them to many people.

I'm from a brewery just down there. I was born and raised in Handa,

so I also would like many people to know about our sake.

The city of brewing's two-day festival brought in over 500,000 people.

I had a wonderful trip in Handa.

The town's brewing history is deep,

and its traditions have been passed from generation to generation.

I could also feel that the people are really protecting those traditions.

I also feel very lucky that I could attend the festival

that is held only once every five years.

And it was quite a sight to see so many car festivals at the same time.

I really do hope I can visit Handa again.

To reach Handa from Tokyo,

it takes one hour and 40 minutes

by Shinkansen to Nagoya.

From there, it's about 35 minutes by local train.