Japan's Oldest Wine Country: Katsunuma, the Koshu Grape & Tomi no Oka — 2 Days

Descended from the 1877 company that first sent Japanese to France to study wine, Mercian is the country's most decorated producer and the best place to understand Koshu's range — from crisp 'sur lie' bottlings to barrel-aged and skin-contact styles. The visitor centre runs paid guided tours, in English by arrangement, that walk the vineyard and cellar and end with a comparative tasting.

Reserve the guided tour ahead online; tasting-only flights are also available at the counter. The visitor gallery and tour check-in are at the Shimoiwasaki site, a short walk or taxi from Katsunuma-Budokyo Station. Closed some weekdays and over New Year — check before going.

A family winery established in 1923 and the standard-bearer for serious Koshu, especially its single-vineyard Kayagatake and Akeno bottlings, which proved the grape could make a structured, age-worthy white. There is no cellar tour here — Grace is a grower first — but the upstairs tasting room lets you pour your own comparisons from automatic dispensers.

Tasting room 9:00–12:00 (last order 11:30) and 13:00–16:30 (last order 16:00). Closed Sundays January–July, and Wednesdays August–December, plus year-end. Reserve ahead on weekends. A few minutes by car from Mercian, in the Todoroki vineyards.

Founded in 1885 and one of the very few biodynamic wineries in Japan, Lumiere farms by the lunar calendar and keeps a stone fermentation tank from the Meiji era still in use. Its restaurant, Zelkova, serves a prix-fixe French lunch built around Koshu beef and Kai salmon, each course paired to the estate's own wines — the most complete way to taste what this region grows and cooks.

Reservation required (by phone or email). Shop 9:30–17:30 and a self-serve tasting dispenser 9:30–16:30 (glasses roughly ¥100–400, approx. 2026) if you only want a quick taste. In Ichinomiya, a short drive from the Katsunuma cluster. Closed Dec 30–Jan 4.

A hilltop wine complex run by the city, with an underground cellar holding some 20,000 bottles from around 80 local wineries. Buy a tastevin tasting cup at the door and you can pour your own way through the racks — the broadest single survey of Yamanashi wine anywhere, with the Kofu basin and, on a clear day, Fuji laid out from the terrace above.

Tasting-cup entry to the cellar roughly ¥2,200 (approx. 2026). About a 20-minute walk uphill from Katsunuma-Budokyo Station, or a short taxi. The complex also has restaurants, a shop and the Tenku-no-Yu hot-spring bath with the same view if you want to soak before dinner.

An established onsen ryokan in Isawa, the hot-spring town that sits conveniently between the vineyards and Kofu, named for the prized garden stones ('meiseki') set through its grounds. Rooms look onto a Japanese garden, the baths draw on Isawa's spring water, and dinner is a kaiseki built around Koshu beef and Yamanashi produce — the right soft landing after a day of tasting.

In Isawa Onsen (Kawanakajima, Fuefuki), about 15 minutes by car from the Katsunuma wineries. Rates vary by room and plan (2026) — confirm directly. A non-drinking driver or a taxi is wise for the trip back from the day's tastings.

A 150-hectare estate climbing the hills above the Kofu basin in Kai, where Suntory grows European varieties alongside Koshu and pours them at a counter with one of the great views in Yamanashi — the whole basin below and Fuji on the far rim. Paid tours walk the vineyard and cellar; the observation deck and tasting are the draw even on a short visit.

Reservation strongly recommended — tours sell out on weekends. Tour fees roughly ¥500–1,000 (approx. 2026); a tasting counter operates separately. In Kai, about 30–40 minutes by car from Isawa. Re-confirm the day's tour schedule and any closed days online.

A Kofu institution for houtou, served in a heavy iron pot at a folk-style timbered counter. Beyond the classic pumpkin-and-miso version, Kosaku offers wild-boar, mushroom and Koshu-beef pots and the local 'torimotsu-ni' — chicken giblets glazed sweet-savoury, a Kofu speciality. A practical, satisfying midday stop between the western estate and the Fruit Park.

Several branches across Yamanashi; the Kofu-ekimae branch near Kofu Station is the convenient one here. Roughly ¥1,200–1,800 for a pot (approx. 2026). Pots take time to simmer, so order promptly. No reservation needed for lunch on weekdays.

A terraced hillside park above Yamanashi City devoted to the fruit this basin is famous for — peaches in summer, grapes into autumn — with glasshouses, an aromatic herb dome and lawns stepping down toward one of the basin's signature views: the whole Kofu valley below and Fuji on the southern horizon, rated one of Japan's 'three great new night views' after dark.

Park grounds free and open; individual glasshouses and the fruit-picking program are seasonal and separately priced (peaches roughly June–August, grapes August–October). About 20 minutes by car from Isawa. The view terrace is the highlight; come for late afternoon if you can linger toward the night view.