Umeshu Matsuri in Kyoto 2026 (Plum Wine Festival)

Before you go

More than 120 kinds of umeshu are laid out in the grounds of Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, all available to taste, including wines that have just won awards.

The festival is run by the Umeshu Research Association. Among the more than 120 wines are the gold, silver and bronze winners of the 2026 National Umeshu Competition. They are grouped into nine categories: white spirits, honkaku shochu, sake and brandy bases, plus citrus types made with yuzu or lemon, and cloudy umeshu. The organizers describe it as one of the largest umeshu events in Japan.

Wines that have won gold three times earn a place in the hall of fame, and they are served here paired with food. The festival's own umeshu beer and umeshu parfait are also on sale. Dassai's umeshu is here too, made from fully ripened Nanko plums and junmai daiginjo sake polished to 23%, developed by the Dassai brewery together with the Umeshu Research Association.

A separate tasting takes place in the Fūgetsuden hall, normally closed to general visitors, looking onto the Fūgetsu garden. Nine gold-medal wines are poured there one by one, with commentary from a director of the Umeshu Research Association.

Kitano Tenmangu is a fitting place for it. Sugawara no Michizane loved plums in his lifetime, and the shrine grounds hold about 1,500 plum trees of 50 varieties, known as the plum trees of Tenjin. Umeshu itself is a traditional Japanese drink, and breweries across the country each make it in their own local way. Tasting uses a dedicated coin called umesen, and wines you like can be bought at the sale on the spot and taken home, to drink with soda water or on the rocks. Many of the bottles are hard to find nearby, so they make good souvenirs. The festival also sells its own goods: logo shot glasses, tumblers, T-shirts and tote bags.

Every year from early June, staff spend days picking about 2.2 tonnes of plums from the grounds, packing them in barrels with salt to make Daifuku-ume, a New Year charm drunk in hot water on New Year's morning with a prayer for health in the year ahead.

• Dassai umeshu: ~20ml tasting ¥900; 720ml bottle ¥15,950 (tax incl.), 40 bottles/day

Getting there

Venue: the grounds of Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, Bakuro-cho, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto (602-8386). From JR Kyoto Station, take city bus 50 to 'Kitano Tenmangu-mae' (right outside, about 35 minutes); or about a 5-minute walk from Randen Kitano-Hakubaicho Station. The official site warns against drink-driving.

Booking

Tickets required. General admission is ¥1,900 for both advance and same-day: advance includes 21 ume-sen, same-day 19. Pair tickets ¥3,800 (42 sen advance / 40 same-day); glass-set tickets ¥2,700 with a 2026-edition shot glass (21 sen advance / 19 same-day). Buy via Seven Ticket or e-ticket as directed on the official site. The Tokusen session at Fugetsu-den is a separate ¥7,000 advance ticket.

How it differs

Unlike ordering a single umeshu at an izakaya, this is a side-by-side tasting of more than a hundred varieties, sortable by competition medals and nine umeshu categories. Unlike a department-store sake fair, everything here is umeshu — tasting, buying and food pairings all revolve around it.

The centrepiece is the 2026 National Umeshu Competition: gold, silver and bronze winning umeshu are all on the tasting list. The Dassai umeshu — a collaboration between Dassai brewery and the research association, made with top-grade ripe Nanko plums and junmai daiginjo polished to 23% — is available for paid tasting and limited bottle sales. A premium 'Tokusen Umeshu Matsuri' session takes place in Fugetsu-den, normally closed to the public, pairing nine gold-winning umeshu with the Fugetsu garden created by the next head of the Ueji family.