A sake brewery in Niigata City, central Japan, has become a popular tourist destination amid a growing boom overseas for Japanese sake consumption.

A UNESCO committee decided on Wednesday to register Japan's traditional knowledge and skills for making sake and other alcoholic drinks in its Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

To promote sake, the Imayotsukasa brewery in Niigata began to accept visits by foreign tourists at its sake storehouse eight years ago.

On Thursday, fifteen travelers from Hong Kong, Singapore and other countries joined the tour.

The participants received a briefing on the sake brewing process and looked around the facility, such as tanks in which steamed rice and other ingredients are fermented and machinery that squeezes out sake.

A woman from Singapore, who joined the tour for the first time, said that she came to Niigata to enjoy drinking sake. She said that the storehouse had the aroma of rice and the tour was interesting.

The brewery firm says that the number of tourists visiting its facility plunged during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it began to pick up around fall last year. It received about 5,000 visitors last year as the number of foreign tourists to Japan grew.

The company expects the UNESCO decision to further raise the popularity of sake abroad.

President Okada Toru said that he feels the weak yen is spurring more foreigners to come to Niigata to enjoy sake at a lower cost.

He also said registration on the UNESCO heritage list will help make sake better known worldwide.