Handa

No reviews yetCity Aichi, Japan

Kunizakari Sake no Bunkakan Museum ac, Handa, Aichi, Japan

MT Chita Handa Station Eastplaza, Handa, Aichi, Japan

About Handa

Vinegar, sake and a children's fox story have shaped Handa more than anything else. This port city on the Chita Peninsula, south of Nagoya, grew rich on brewing, and the black-walled storehouses along the Handa Canal still belong to the vinegar company that was founded here and became a national name.

The brewing heritage is easy to explore. The Mizkan Museum tells the vinegar story beside the canal, the Kunizakari sake museum shows how rice wine was made in old wooden vats, and a red brick hall that once brewed beer has become a cultural landmark. Handa is also the hometown of Niimi Nankichi, author of the much-loved tale Gongitsune, and his museum and birthplace draw readers from all over Japan.

Time a visit for one of the festivals if you can. In spring, giant floats are pulled into the sea at Kamezaki, a rite recognised by UNESCO, and in autumn the banks of the Yakachi River turn red with spider lilies. Every five years the city brings out more than thirty floats for its grand dashi festival.

Best seasonEarly May for the Kamezaki floats; late September for the spider lilies

Ideal stayOne day, with Nagoya as a base

ArrivingMeitetsu to Chita-Handa Station or JR Taketoyo Line to Handa Station, both from Nagoya

Handa Has So Much to Discover: 10 Highlights

Museums 3

Mizkan Museum

The vinegar maker Mizkan was founded in Handa, and this museum beside its canal-side headquarters tells the story of brewing vineg...

Kunizakari Sake Culture Museum

Housed in an old brewery building of the Nakano family's Kunizakari label, this free museum walks you through traditional sake mak...

Niimi Nankichi Memorial Museum

Niimi Nankichi, born in Handa in 1913, wrote Gongitsune, the fox story read by generations of Japanese schoolchildren. This museum...

Neighborhoods 1

Handa Canal

Lined with tall black-walled storehouses, this short canal is the most photographed corner of Handa and a reminder of the age when...

Landmarks 2

Handa Red Brick Building

This large red brick building opened in 1898 as a brewery for Kabuto Beer and is among the biggest surviving brick structures from...

Old Nakano Family Residence

Built in the early 20th century for a branch of the Nakano family, the wealthy brewers behind Handa's vinegar and sake, this timbe...

History 1

Niimi Nankichi Birthplace

In the Iwasaki district stands the modest house where the author was born, a small shop-front home typical of the countryside in t...

Nature 1

Yakachi River Spider Lilies

In late September the embankments of the Yakachi River blaze with red spider lilies, planted by local volunteers along a long stre...

Events 2

Kamezaki Shiohi Festival

Each spring, around early May, the Kamezaki district hauls five tall wooden floats down to the shore and into the shallow sea, a s...

Handa Dashi Festival

Once every five years, all 31 of Handa's ornate festival floats gather in one place for a grand autumn festival, a rare chance to...

Reviews

No reviews yet. Been to Handa? Be the first to share your experience.

Write a review

Share what you loved, what to skip and tips for other travelers.

Share your photos

Been to Handa? Add your best shots to the gallery.

More places in Aichi

Nagoya

Aichi, Japan

Sano

Tochigi, Japan

Karatsu

Saga, Japan

Fukuoka

Fukuoka, Japan

Osaka

Osaka, Japan

Sapporo

Hokkaido, Japan

Kakegawa

Shizuoka, Japan

Higashikurume

Tokyo, Japan

See all places in Japan →

Photo credits

Photo: Tawashi2006, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Bariston, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Asturio Cantabrio, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: ButuCC, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Photo: 名古屋太郎, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Bariston, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Asturio Cantabrio, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Bariston, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: JKT-c, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

Photo: Jihara19, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Charidri, Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Photo: HQA02330, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Totti, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Bariston, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Nagono, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Narutanu, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Asturio Cantabrio, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: 名古屋太郎, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Bariston, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: 名古屋太郎, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Bariston, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: gundam2345, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

Photo: Bariston, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: 博柳, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

Photo: Evelyn-rose, Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Photo: Asturio Cantabrio, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Bariston, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: 名古屋太郎, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0