The Tochigi Jimoto no Sake de Kanpai Festa 2026 will take place on Friday, July 10 and Saturday, July 11 at Orion Square in Utsunomiya’s Egino-machi area. The annual event gathers sake, craft beer, and wine from across Tochigi Prefecture, with plans to feature about 30 sake breweries, 11 craft beer producers, and four wineries.

The festival began as part of the promotion for Tochigi’s ordinance encouraging people to toast with local sake, which was enacted in 2014. This year marks the event’s 10th edition. One of the main draws is the chance to compare labels that are not usually available in one place, along with the possibility of tasting limited releases and first-showing new sake introduced at the festival.

Among the participating craft breweries is Abuden Brewing, based in Tochigi City. For a local brewery, this kind of prefecture-wide gathering is a valuable opportunity to present its beer alongside other Tochigi producers and to show how active the region’s brewing scene has become. For beer fans, it should be a useful place to discover how Tochigi’s craft beer culture fits into the wider local drinks landscape.

Food booths using Tochigi-grown ingredients are also expected, adding a pairing angle to the event. For visitors, it will be a chance to experience the prefecture’s sake, beer, wine, and food culture in one place over two days.