Step inside the Yamatogawa Sake Brewing Museum to peek inside a kura that dates from 1790 and, until 20 years ago, functioned as a sake brewery. It's a 15-minute walk north of Kitakata station. East of the museum and across the river, Otazukikura-d?ri has a cluster of pretty kura that are a drawcard for photographers.
The towering 1965 reconstruction of Tsuruga-jō sits in sprawling grounds framed by the original moat and some ruins of the old castle walls. Inside is a museum with historical artefacts from battles and daily life, but the real drawcard is the view from the 5th-floor lookout. Experience a tea ceremony (¥1000) in Oyakuen , the 400-year-old tea house (rescued by a local family when the original castle was destroyed), returned here in 1990.
This museum, depicting the sake-making process, shares space with a real working brewery. You can sample the house tipple in the gift shop.
