February 5, 18, 2000. "Gathering for enjoying the distillery trip and new sake" Joetsu City, Niigata prefecture. 6th Lerch Festival was held on February 5-13 in Joetsu city. I joined " Distillery Trip" and "enjoy winter-food" among variety of invent. There were 12 courses combining with distilleries, Iwanohara-wine and Japanese restaurant, and hotels. I visited the distillery Takeda and the Japanese restaurant Shofu-en. I took these three pictures at the distillery, the cask signboard and fermenting malted rice in the tank. Shofu-en served special dishes cooked only for the day. We tasted both cooled and warmed sake named "Katafune" talking with the master of the distillery. Exciting event for sake devotees! There also had "enjoy new sake" party in Yukidaruma(means snowman) hot spring at the Cupid Valley in Azuka-cho on February 18. We enjoyed 23 kind of sake! I took all pictures before the party, as I was intoxicated from drinking sake after soaking hot spring. We had great fun with singing songs and tasting sake though I could not taste all kinds of it.

	Signboard of the distillery Takeda -February 5-		Back of the signboard -February 5-
	Fermenting malted rice inside the tank at the distillery -February 5-		There are 23 names of sake -February 18-
	Why don't you taste this sake? -February 18-		You use a dipper to drink "Kame-zake" (sake in the pot). -February 18-