Joetsu, Niigata Pref. ¨C The train aims to transport passengers ¡ª less to a destination than to a state of giddy intoxication.
It¡¯s one of Japan¡¯s 44 ¡ª on-rail experiences themed around a regional specialty. This particular journey is all about nihonshu (sake). It ambles through Niigata Prefecture, Japan¡¯s largest producer of rice and home to the nation¡¯s most exquisite rice wine. Giddy heights are reached, not only by the free-flowing tipple but by the ways this journey captures a magnificent, oft-overlooked side of Japan.
The Koshino Shukura route travels the three biomes that make Niigata nihonshu unique: the coastline that receives wintry blasts from Siberia; the mountains that force this moisture high into the clouds; and the inland plains where it falls each long winter as blankets of snow.
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