A Trail Of Spirits

Exploring Japan's Alpine wine regions reveal some hidden historical and cultural wonders

- Patrick Murphrey

Alcohol is intertwined with Japanese culture, and for centuries it's been brewing sake, and more recently producing wine and whisky. A short distance by train from Tokyo, high in the Japanese Alps, Yamanashi and Nagano Prefectures are home to the country’s thriving alcohol producers. But this region is also rich in history and nature, so offers a true taste of Japan for visitors keen to get away from its super-modern cities. A journey through its wine-, sake- and whisky-making regions, starting in Kofu in Yamanashi Prefecture, then continuing to Nagano Prefecture, will explore both an intriguing spiritual past and thriving commercial future. Yamanashi's capital city, Kofu, boasts excellent views of Mount Fuji and is rich in feudal history.

In the 1500s, Kofu was a samurai town and home to one of Japan's great daimyo warlords, Takeda Shingen. Between 1546 and 1550 he conquered and ruled over Yamanashi and Nagano Prefectures. A 3.1-metre-high statue of him in full military armour is located at the front of Kofu Station. Takeda Shrine, built to honour the wartime and political achievements of his rule, remains a popular place for visitors. Erected in 1919, it sits on the site where Shingen's descendants lived.

The Shingen-ko Festival, held every April, is a veritable celebration of his warrior greatness, and includes a parade of people dressed in samurai regalia accompanied by gunnery units, plus military reenactments throughout the city.

Kofu's other great attraction is its wine. Celebrated as the birthplace of Japanese wine, today it is regarded as the country's main wine-producing region, with roughly one-quarter of all Japanese wineries located here.