Sake and craft beer in Okayama this autumn: the weekends worth planning around

Okayama gets less attention than Hiroshima or Kyoto, but it's a good place to drink in autumn: Omachi rice country, small breweries along the Inland Sea coast, and a growing craft beer scene. A few dates I've noted:

Oct 17-18: SETOUCHI BEER DAYS, a new two-day craft beer event at the old Uchisange Elementary School near Okayama Castle (Oct 17 13:00-20:00, Oct 18 11:00-18:00). About ten breweries from Okayama, Kagawa, Hiroshima and further away, plus local food stalls. Pay as you go; a reusable cup gets you cheaper beer.
Same weekend: Kamikokoro Shuzo's autumn brewery festival in Yorishima, Asakuchi (9:00-14:00, free entry). Limited sake, tastings and food stalls. Brewery tours are by reservation (1,000 yen).
Nov 3 (holiday): Reiwa Nihonshu Setouchi Derby in the shopping street in front of Okayama Station, 11:00-17:00. Five Okayama and five Kagawa breweries, each paired with a restaurant. A sake cup is 500 yen (or 200 yen for a plastic one), then 600 yen per sake or dish, or 1,000 yen for a pair.
Nov 21-22: Gozenshu Festival at the Tsujimoto brewery in Katsuyama, Maniwa (10:00-15:00, free entry), with about 15 sakes to compare and a festival-only release. Katsuyama's old street of noren curtains is worth the trip on its own.

A friend of mine built a free events site for Japan, in English and Japanese, and its Okayama page for beer, sake and wine festivals has all of these with times and a map: https://eventory.one/top-events/jp/okayama/festivals/beer-sake-festivals

Check the organisers' pages before you go, especially if the weather looks bad.

Stan (Tokyo)

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