🇯🇵 Japan, Kyoto - Choya Ume Specialty Store
Japan, Kyoto
The husband and I are not big alcohol people, but an exception for umeshu! Umeshu (梅酒) is a Japanese liqueur made by steeping fresh Japanese plum (ume) in liquor and sugar. It's sweet, tart, fruity all at once - very refreshing and easy to like.
CHOYA is one of the biggest producers of umeshu in the world, and is our go-to brand! Easy to find, pretty affordable, and they have a wide selection based on personal preference (we like the deeper plum and sweeter ones - like the Aged 3 Year version)
I was looking up things to do in Kyoto on our recent trip to Japan and was so excited to find a CHOYA store in the heart of Kyoto where you can have a hands-on experience making your very own umeshu. Reservations are required, but they are SO hard so make. Bookings open on their website at midnight 2 weeks prior, there are only 4 spaces per timeslot. The activity is so popular that it got booked out in minutes (not even kidding, I was camping the site for days to suss things out. More info on booking down below!) Unfortunately we only managed to book one spot, but better than nothing!
The store is really small, with a space upfront for drinks making and payment, and an activity corner at the back which can accommodate up to 4 guests only. Due to COVID policies, they did not allow any spectators in the store so I had to watch the husband (like a creep lol) from outside the glass walls.
Got myself an iced drink while waiting (540¥).
Non-alcoholic ume syrup with a choice of mix (i went with soda) and a frozen ume.
The activity was held in Japanese, but there are clear written instructions in English.
Introduction
There are 3 key components to the umeshu: Ume (plum), Sugar and Liquor. Before starting the staff will introduce the different types of ingredients available. There are recommended pairings based on the ume that you choose.
There are 5 types of plums to choose from with different taste profiles, ripeness:
① Fully ripened Nanko (Mellow, Fruity, Rich)
② Gojiro (Sharp tartness followed by bitterness)
③ Organic Nanko (Earthy flavour)
④ Oshuku (Mild and refined)
⑤ Purple Queen (Sweet and tart)
Different sugar types like rock sugar, konpeito (colourful sugar), beet sugar, agave syrup and honey.
Liquor like vodka, gin, white rum, brandy.
You get to choose the size of bottle, type of ume, sugar and liquor (optional) you want, and the staff will prepare a comprehensive kit with all you need to prep your own umeshu (or ume syrup, if you do not choose alcohol).
Kit prices start from 1100JPY, depending of the size of bottle, type of ingredients you choose. Some ingredients are premium and require extra charge.
The Experience
The kit comes with a glass bottle, 3 frozen ume, sugar, a tool to remove ume stem. Alcohol is not included and charged separately. If you do not choose alcohol, you'll be making ume syrup instead of umeshu!
The husband chose bottle size M (3 cups of umeshu), fully ripened nanko, rock sugar and white gin.
Removing stem from the plum with a tool
Layering ume and sugar in the bottle
Adding liquor - Liquor is optional! The activity is child-friendly, there was a mother who brought her two children along. They just excluded the use of alcohol in their kit and made ume syrup instead.
Give it a swirl and you're done!
Swirl and mix well for a week, then leave to age for 1 week~1 month.
Since we had to take a flight home, we got a silicon cap (440¥) to ensure the bottle is air tight.
Total damage: 3190¥
Pretty pricey for umeshu (we can get 3 small bottles in Japan at this price 😂) but it was such a novel experience making our own! I wished we could both make it so we could try different flavour profiles but still fortunate we managed to get a spot.
Reservations
Here's how the reservation works, and some tips! Reservations are free and done on their website, slots open 2 weeks prior to the event date. You only make payment after the experience in-store.
✨ Tips ✨
‣ Use desktop to book because it's usually faster than mobile, and you can translate the page easily.
‣ Take note of timezone differences, Japan is GMT+9. Refresh calendar page at midnight
‣ Prep a name in Japanese and copy it (somehow the website does not accept if you type in English characters - this is where we messed up lol)
If you're in the right booking window (within 2 weeks):
ⓧ Reception deadline: Slot is full
📅 Now accepting xxx: There are xxx slots available
📅 before the reception period
If there is an available slot, choose number of users.
Enter required information:
Note there will be an error if you type your name (first two fields) in English characters. Copy paste a Japanese name prior! I also used a fake phone number since we didn't have one. Once you confirm, you will receive an email confirmation which you can flash upon arrival at the store at the stated timeslot.
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