It’s a pretty easy question for me to answer because the best time to visit by far, is

對我來說，這個問題實在太簡單了。

late September to early November in autumn in the fall.

9月下旬到11月上旬的秋天來日本最好。

But rather than just talk about it, we’re going to show you today what makes autumn

百聞不如一見。今天我就帶大家去看看距離仙台只有30分鐘，

so special by going out and staying at a thousand-year old hot spring resort about thirty minutes

有1000年以上歷史的溫泉鄉，實際體會一下日本的秋天是多麼美麗。

outside of Sendai.

今天仍然是亮太郎，一個非比尋常的司機給我們帶路。

We’re joined as always by our incredible chauffeur Ryotaro who’s gonna show us around.

司機？

Chauffeur?!

司機這個稱呼跟非同尋常也不相稱吧？

So what, you said incredible chauffeur. Somehow incredible and chauffeur doesn’t go together.

我的意思是說，你是個好司機。

You’re a good chauffeur. You’re good at what you do.

司機有什麼好與不好？你的意思我明白，總之我就只是一個司機，對不對？

There’s is no good or bad chauffeur. A chauffeur is a fucking chauffeur for fuck sake all right.

言歸正傳，今天我們先去Nikka(日菓)威士忌釀酒廠。

Anyway, first we’re going to visit the Nikka whiskey distillery.

日本只有兩家這樣的工廠，其中一家就是在仙台這裡。

There are only two Nikka distilleries, and one of them is here in Sendai.

然後我們要去兩年前剛剛開業的，宮城縣唯一的一家葡萄酒廠。

And then, after that we are going to visit a winery that is the only winery here in Miyagi

在那兒可以試飲葡萄酒。

and just opened two years ago.

但是我今天要開車，不能喝了。

And I don’t know if I could

沒錯，這是非比尋常的司機的遺憾喔。

do that as I’m driving though.

亮太郎今天不能喝酒。今天只有我一個人喝。

See, that’s the downside of being an incredible chauffeur. No drink for Ryotaro today, but

溫泉、威士忌、葡萄酒、大量的酒精

we can drink and when I say “we” I mean I can drink.

喝大量的酒，酒後泡溫泉，我感覺這是想殺了我吧。

Hot springs, whiskey, wine and yes, that’s a lot of alcohol.

我不僅喜歡Nikka威士忌的酒，還喜歡它的logo。

I sense another disturbing plan to have me killed by alcohol consumption and hot springs.

一個留鬍子的蘇格蘭人，像這種感覺的蘇格蘭人我還真的見過好幾次。

But I'm not going to complain because that is a pretty good way to die.

這家工廠最棒的在於可以直接試喝。

I think my favorite thing about Nikka whiskey other than the taste is the logo which is

過一會兒就要品嚐一下。

a Scottish guy with a beard. I mean I’ve met people from Scotland and they do look

這兒有多少個桶？

like that.

有好幾百個。

But the good thing about the distillery is you can actually try the whisky

好幾百個？

and we're going to be doing a tasting session in a minute.

這樣的建築物有25個。

So how many barrels are in here ?

25

So there are 100 hundreds barrels here.

是的，25個。就是說除了這個，還有24個。假設每個建築裡有100個桶，那麼一共就有2500個。

100 hundreds barrels.

你算的好快。這裡有點像地下儲藏室啊。

And they’ve got 25 storage buildings like this.

是要儲存很久的吧？

25 .

當然。至少要存放12年，或更長的時間。

Yes, 25 ! So there’s 1 here and 24 more. And 100 X 25 = 2500 barrels.

想到這些桶會被發往世界各地，再被倒入某一個杯子，真令人感慨萬千啊。

It’s good maths. It’s like a vault, a giant vault or something. But it has to be

要放鬆心情，靜靜地喝一杯威士忌。

given how long there are in here.

要不要馬上嚐嚐？

Yeah, obviously. You know many of them stay here for like 12 years. Maybe older than that.

我已經等不及了

It’s cool to think, all these barrels will one day in glasses around the world.

好，跟我來。

People relaxing over a quiet drink in the evening.

像裝潢秀麗的大堂啊。看來我今天要喝醉了。

Are you ready for whisky tasting.

喝威士忌，這是我今天做的第一件事。

I’m ready for whisky tasting

接著，喝葡萄酒。之後，晚餐在溫泉旅館喝日本酒。

Yes. Come on in.

今天不知要喝多少酒。

It’s like a seminar room that looks very very good.

上次拍影片時，差一點膽固醇過高致死，這次要酒精中毒而死了。

55%

曾經參訪過很多次日本酒藏，都感覺了無生趣。

55%!

大多是被帶到一個昏暗的房間，

I've only just had my breakfast.

介紹說「日本酒就是在這裡進行釀製的」，如此等等。

It's better than morning coffee.

但是剛才到訪的地方不太一樣。

My taste buds have been ignited.

可以試飲，像亮太郎這樣不能喝酒的人也可以聞聞酒香。擺放著很多酒桶的房間也很驚人。

This is the first thing we’ve done today right?

喜歡喝威士忌的話，一定不要錯過。

Drinking whisky, we’re going to a winery, we’re going to drink sake during

現在我們要去喝葡萄酒了。

dinner then we’re going to an onsen where I’m gonna drown just by drinking so much alcohol.

威士忌喝多了，有點醉了，我擔心進行有點困難了。

I’ve been on a lot of sake brewery tours over the years, I always find them very boring really.

有點危險。

They just take you into a dark room and go

秋保葡萄酒廠於2015年由當地建築師兼企業家毛利親房先生創建。

“ This where we make nihonshu “.

親房先生看到他參與建設的建築被海嘯吞沒，

But that. That was really good. The tasting session was amazing, the smelling of whisky

遭受了巨大的破壞，便想到要為這個地區的復興做貢獻。

if you can’t drink like Ryotaro. And the room with all the barrels was pretty awesome as well.

宮城有許多美食，但是沒有優質的葡萄酒。

It’s a really good tour. Highly recommend it if you’re into whisky.

親房先生注意到這一點，便開始著手建設宮城縣的第一家葡萄酒廠。

And now, it’s time for some wine which is going to be a difficult thing to do given

據說選擇秋保的原因是這裡的氣候。

the amount of whisky I’ve just drunk .

從周圍山谷裏吹來的清風，非常適合種植優質的葡萄

It doesn’t seem like a safe thing to do.

聽說這個蘋果酒於今年年初，

Akiu winery was started in 2015 by local architect and entreprenuer, Chikafusa Mori.

在東京舉行的日本第一屆蘋果酒大賽“富士蘋果酒挑戰賽”中獲過獎。

In the aftermath of the devastating tsunami, when Chikafsua saw buildings he’d constructed

Dolce獲銀獎，Brut獲銅獎。

washed away by the sea, he felt moved to help the region recover.

作為一個開業僅一兩年的釀酒廠，我認為是很棒的。

He noticed that while the region had an abundance of great food, it lacked any good local wine,

蘋果酒成功的秘訣是什麼？

and thus set about designing and building the first winery in the whole of Miyagi prefecture.

是蘋果，我們使用的是鹽選過的最好的蘋果。

He chose Akiu for having an ideal climate, with the valley bringing in fresh mountain

是在地農家種植的蘋果是嗎。

air to help cultivate the grapes.

是的。

However, upon arrival, to my delight I discover he’s also selling cider

說到底就是品質管理比什麼都重要。聽起來像那麼回事，其實我什麼都不知道。

which is usually disturbingly rare in Japan and I leap at the chance to sample it.

只是在暢飲蘋果酒而已。

So this cider actually won an award earlier this year in Japan’s first cider competition.

威士忌和蘋果酒在身體裏翻湧。這個組合感覺不是很好。

The Fuji cider challenge in Tokyo.

秋保是著名的溫泉街，傳統的日本旅館鱗次櫛比，庭園的設計別具一格。

This one, the Dolce, won the silver award, and the Brute won the bronze and that’s

今天要去訪問的旅館也不例外。

pretty impressive considering you guys have only been going a year or two now.

這次住的旅館叫綠水亭，

What’s the secret to your cider success?

這裡的庭園與旅館融為一體，非常優美。

- The secret is we are using the best apples.

不僅有竹林、小溪，還能看到鯉魚在池塘游動。

From local farmers.

為了觀賞美麗的楓葉，到了秋天，來自各地的遊客絡繹不絕，

- Yes.

春天來則可以看很漂亮的櫻花。

It’s all about quality control right. I’m talking like I know what I am talking about

我想我明白為什麼住宿的客人喜歡從房間的窗口眺望庭園。

but I don’t. I am just enjoying the cider.

漫步在庭園內，欣賞著美麗的風景，讓思緒平靜安寧，並從中直接感受到季節的魅力。

I am currently just full of whisky and cider which isn’t a good mix of things to have.

這裡是今天我們住的房間。非常好。這個房間在旅館的11樓，

So Akiu is a hot spring resort and what you find is a lot of Japanese Ryokans

可以將秋保的街道風貌盡收眼底，景色宜人。

or traditional inns. They put a lot of effort into their gardens and this is no exception.

作為一個旅館的房間這裡已經相當大了。

This a hotel called Ryoku Tsuite. And they’ve got this magnificent sprawling garden built

通常都是一個單人房，或者只有一個房間。我個人覺得很新鮮。

on to the side of it.

當我住在旅館時，我通常蓋著被子睡，但是當我早晨起來的時候，卻睡在地板上，這種情況經常發生。

Filled with bamboo forests, streams, and rivers filled with koi carps. It’s really popular

可是你們看，這個房間竟然備有床，還是兩張。這一次，

to come here in autumn and just enjoy the colours.

亮太郎睡另外一個房間

And also in spring as well during cherry blossom season.

。太棒了，亮太郎的打呼聲實在是很糟糕。這張桌子也很好。

And you can see why people are by the windows at the hotel looking out across the garden.

可以在此坐著眺望外面的風景。

It really is a beautiful place to just walk through, relax and take in the seasons.

稍後也會介紹給大家看一下，

So into the hotel room. We are on the 11th storey of the ryokan.

綠水亭的溫泉與河流是連結的。

So we’ve got some beautiful sweeping views of Akiu.

我有些迫不及待了。

It’s pretty big actually, this is pretty big for a ryokan room. Usually, I just get

這裡的景色是我以往從旅館看到的風景中屬於頂級的。非常漂亮。

like the one room. But, today…come in here.

亮太郎在另外一個房間。

So this is quite a rare thing for me.

還有一個小時才開飯，但是我有些餓了，

Usually when I stay in a ryokan, I get a futon. I end up sleeping on the floor.

就瞞著亮太郎到羅森便利商店買了點吃的東西。

Here we’ve got a bed.

啊，忘了給大家看看這個了。這是房間鑰匙。

And also there are two, I’d like to point out Ryotaro has his own room so he’s not

超大。看見沒有？這麼大。感覺會在「沉默之丘」裡出現，好厲害。

going to be in here thankfully because he snores. It’s horrible.

吃完這串就該到晚餐時間了。

A nice table here where I can sit and relax and enjoy the view and in fact, this ryokan

實際上還有一串。

has an onsen hot spring that is built into the river down below, which we’re going

不要怪我。

to check out later which I’m looking forward to.

感覺今天整天都在喝酒。

It’s one of the best views I had from a ryokan. The views are absolutely beautiful.

終於到晚餐時間了。你穿的比我好看呀。但Ｔ恤不如我的。

So I am in my hotel room and Ryotaro's in his. We’ve got dinner in an hour or two but I’m

啊，就你那低級趣味的Ｔ恤。

a little bit hungry so without Ryotaro knowing I snuck out to Lawson’s.

不要對Abroad In Japan的產品說那麼難聽的話。

And bought chicken on a skewer, hell yeah. I'm going to enjoy that.

關於這件T恤的談論我已經聽夠了。

To be fair I’m completely

比如這是怎樣，設計又是怎樣的話。

full of wine and whisky.

下面就簡單介紹一下。採用當季食材的料理應有盡有。

One thing I forgot to show you guys earlier. The key to the room.

所有的菜都上齊了。順便說明一下，這是清蒸真鯛，裡面還有貝類。

It’s massive. Look at that, it’s huge. It’s like a key out of Silent Hill or something.

剛才就看這菇類特別吸引人。都是當季的新鮮菇類啊，種類也很豐富。

It’s ridiculous. I’m gonna enjoy this chicken and then it’s

這些菇類都是等一會兒要放鍋裏吃的。

off for dinner.

還有這個旅館必備的生魚片料理。這是開胃菜。

This is the first of two skewers that I'm going to eat.

在旅館吃晚餐，總是被開胃菜吸引。

Don’t judge me.

這裡的開胃菜也是這樣，擺盤非常漂亮，讓人心醉。

So it’s been a long day of drinking. But here we are, finally dinner time.

每一樣菜都有一點點。

And you’re looking more stylish than I am. Although, better T-shirt.

晚餐前幾個小時你做什麼了？

Yeah, tacky crappy tee-shirt.

這次很幸運，我們不住一個房間。

Don’t rip on the Abroad In Japan merchandise.

沒錯。亮太郎打呼聲音太吵，好像睡在狗熊的身邊。

I am tired of you talking about your t-shirt. How crappy it is or fashionable it is.

明天早上４點就要起床去溫泉。

Give us the rundown then. We’ve got kind of seasonal array of dishes here.

為甚麼要那麼早去？因為有其他客人就不能拍攝。

There is everything. This is steamed sea bream and also shellfish.

不過讓我感到很吃驚的是，

The thing that stands out the most for me is the bowl of mushrooms. Seasonal mushrooms,

凌晨5點溫泉就開門。聽說，

Every variety of mushrooms.

5點就有客人去泡湯。

We’re going to use this and we are going to put it into this hot pot later.

那是當然。

We’ve got an appetiser box.

真厲害。我還要更早起1個小時。

When you have dinner in a Ryokan, the thing that stands out the most is usually the appetisers

不知道能不能起的來？

put before for you. They’re usually very beautifully prepared as you can see here.

如果睡到8點才起床，就完蛋了。

We have lots of tiny littles dishes in this box.

我打電話叫你。

So have we been doing since the last few hours?

為我祈禱吧。亮太郎應該沒問題。他每天早上4點就起床。

Actually, we’ve luckily been put into

因為他是日本人。聽說日本人睡得少。不可思議。

separate rooms this time.

甚麼意思？這很平常的。

At least I don’t have to put up with you’re snoring.

我認識的日本人大多都只睡5個小時，

It’s like sleeping next to a fucking bear or something.

但是白天都跟正常人一樣精神很好。

So we've got to get up at 4 AM tomorrow morning to go in the onsen.

是不是你認識的日本人都是70多歲的人啊？

The reason we go in so early is we can’t go and film when there are other customers obviously.

都像你。

And they actually open at 5 AM. There’s

現在是凌晨4點。很抱歉，一臉睡相。

people actually going in 5 AM.

還好燈光較暗，看不太清楚。亮太郎應該已經在溫泉等著我，我們在那裏會合。

Yeah, there are.

不知為甚麼，頭腦很清醒。

That’s ridiculous. So we have to go in an hour early and make the most of it so hopefully I’ll survive

也許是潛意識裡盼著想快點到暖暖的溫泉裡泡湯，才讓我這麼早就起來了。

getting up that early.

啊，看見了。

If I get up before like 8 o’clock in the morning, I’m screwed.

歡迎光臨。

- I’ll ring you.

你看起來像電視遊戲裡BOSS戰的BOSS。

Wish me luck. You’ll be fine though. You get up at 4 everyday. And you’re Japanese,

就是出現在最後一個關卡的是吧。

Japanese people don’t need sleep. They’re magic.

這是室內溫泉。

- What do you mean? What do we do? What’s so special about us ?

喔，室內溫泉。

All Japanese people I know can get by on like five hours sleep a day. And be like normal

這是綠水亭的室內溫泉，外面是露天溫泉。

functioning people.

在河邊的。

I think it’s because you only know people who are like over 70 or something.

對。

Yeah, like you.

沒多少時間了吧！快走吧！

So it’s 4 AM in the morning, and I apologise for my morning face. Fortunately, it’s quite

走吧！

a dimly lit corridor so you can’t really see it. On my way to meet Ryotaro in the onsen.

啊，真是太棒了。我現在明白，為甚麼會有人凌晨5點就來泡湯了。

I’m feeling pretty good, I don’t know why. Maybe it’s the anticipation of diving

現在是4點半，只有我們兩個人，

into a nice hot spring. It’s keeping me alive this time of the morning.

可以泡30分鐘，好像私人湯屋一樣。

There he is.

住宿的客人很多，但這裏只有我們兩個人，

Welcome.

一種說不出的感覺。

You’re like a boss, some sort of video game boss battle.

一般是在30分鐘以後才開門，一開門就有上了年紀的旅客前來泡湯。

Just waiting at the last stage right.

老一輩的特別喜歡泡晨湯。不是清晨，是凌晨。

So this is the indoor onsen

真的很美。水面升起縹緲的水霧，附近流淌的河水發出潺潺流水聲。

Indoor onsen.

現在外面很暗，看不清，

This is the indoor onsen they’ve got. They actually have an outside, an outdoor onsen.

但可以清楚的聽見流水聲。

By the river.

美好的一天就此開始。

By the river, yeah.

每天早上起這麼早可能不太容易，但是偶爾這樣開始1天的行程也不錯。

What are we waiting for ? Let’s go!

當然，泡完湯之後我還會再上床睡6個小時，直到中午。

Let’s go!

6個小時可不行。1, 2個小時還可以。

Through this door.

嗯？

So nice, honestly you can see all of a sudden why people get up at 5 AM to come

要吃早飯呢。

down here in the morning. We’re alone now, it’s 4:30, we’ve got the whole place

不不，我要睡覺。亮太郎吃就好。

to ourselves for 30 minutes.

早飯還是床，我選擇床。

It’s weird to think there’s a whole building filled with hundred rooms stuff full of people

早飯你還是要吃的。而且今天也要喝酒。

and we’re the only ones down here.

還有酒？還要喝酒？不是說沒有了嗎

But it doesn’t open for a half a hour and then at 5AM apparently lots of elderly people

？不是講好了，「威士忌、葡萄酒、日本酒、溫泉、Chris就寢」的嗎？

come down because elderly people love morning onsen. Like really really early morning onsen.

我可沒說過那樣的話。

It’s really beautiful, we’ve got the steam rising off the water. We’ve got the sound of the

啊，來了。

river just behind us whooshing past.

請喝啤酒。

You can’t actually see it because it’s too dark, but you can certainly hear it.

啤酒…

It's just a really nice way to start your day.

早上開始喝。

I don’t think I could do this every morning but it is a nice way to kick things off.

啤酒…

And then after this of course I'm gonna dive into bed and sleep for about six hours

乾！

and not wake up until mid-day.

早上喝啤酒…這麼一大早開始就喝啤酒，

No, no, no. Not 6 hours, a few hours.

有種罪惡感啊。

What?

沒關係。在日本，都說從早上開始喝啤酒是一種奢侈。

We’re gonna have breakfast.

公司休息時或者假日的時候喝酒，是超棒的。

We’re not. You’re gonna have breakfast, I’m gonna go to bed.

奢侈啊。

Breakfast, bed

不是違法的事，不要緊。味道如何？

You’re gonna have breakfast. There’s going to be another alcoholic thing.

嗯，不錯。

Another alcoholic thing. Another alcoholic thing! You said that was it. Whisky, wine,

雖然不太習慣早上喝啤酒。

nihonshu, onsen, Chris goes to sleep.

秋保溫泉街距離仙台市中心大約20分鐘路程。

No. I’ve never said that.

我在下面說明欄裡註明了交通資訊，

Here he comes.

有興趣的人可以在那裡查看。

A beer for you.

會習慣的。你會成為真正的酒精中毒者。

A beer.

你想把你的朋友變成酒精中毒者？

In the morning.

這個人實在太差劲。為什麼我要帶亮太郎來一起拍影片…

A beer.

如果我酒精中毒而死，

TADAH.

這個影片作物證提交到法庭上。

Morning beer. I feel bit of a wreck, it feels wrong having

他好像不是開玩笑。相當認真的想讓我酒精中毒呢。相當認真。

a beer this early in the morning.

簡直不能相信。

You should feel alright, because it’s been said that in Japan being able to drink beer

is a luxury. It means that it’s a day off or it’s a

holiday.

Luxury.

It’s legal to do that. How’s that ?

Taste pretty good, taste weird though drinking beer in the morning.

It’s not something I don’t think I’m gonna get used to or intend to start doing.

If you’re into whisky, wine or sake or just a cracking good hot spring

Akiu is just 20 minutes away from Sendai.

If you plan on visiting the region, you can find the details on where we went in the description box.