Katsunuma Wine Cave
If you take a train from Shinjuku Station to Katsunumabudokyo JR station you will find yourself in the middle of wine country in Japan. The train ride takes around 2 hours and cost just under 2,000 yen on the local train line. You can sometimes find an express train like the one we took called the Holiday Rapid View Yamanashi which leaves from Hachioji station on the JR Chuo Line at 9.45am on on Saturdays and Sundays.
Yamanashi Ken is home to many wineries.
The main one I visited is called Budou-No-Oka (The hill of Grapes) and it is located a 5 minute taxi ride from the Katsunumabudokyo Station and cost 660 yen.
It cost 1,100 yen to enter the wine cave and you are given a tasting cup (something that looks more like a small jello mould with a colourful ribbon attached to it) and once inside there are various wines set up on barrels which you are free to taste and drink as much as you like.
There is also a gift shop, resturant, onsen (hot spring), hotel, BBQ and free seating area overlooking the mountains of Yamanashi- Ken.
The price of the wines range from as low as 800 yen per bottle up to no more than 4,000 yen. The average price being around 1,500 yen. Also there are various other gifts and souviners you can buy that are related to grapes and wine.
There are lockers available to put bags in or bulky items. Cost is 100 yen.
I can highly recommend taking a trip out to this place for something a little different in Japan and I recommend taking a packed lunch and enjoy the view of the mountains outside. There is a resturant there but its a little expensive and there are no other shops around to buy food.
