Handa: An Easy Half-Day Walk Along a Brewing Town's Canal

This guide covers the Handa Canal, the Mizkan Museum, the Handa Red Brick Building and the Kunizakari Sake Cultural Museum, with the routes, times and fees you need.

In Handa you can follow a canal lined with black wooden storehouses under a clear sky, pass a long row of black-boarded storehouses behind the canal wall, walk beneath the tall red brick walls of a large building, and stroll stone paths among trees in the garden of a former residence. All of it sits in the same town.

The notes below take the canal and the main stops in turn, then explain how to get there. Times and prices are collected in the tables at the end, so you can compare them at a glance and plan your day around the stops you want most.

The Canal and Its Black Storehouses

Handa is described as a major brewing region, where sake, soy sauce, miso and vinegar have been made since the Edo period.

The storehouse district is reached on foot from Chita-Handa Station on the Meitetsu line. In the spring, carp streamers fly over the canal each year.

The Mizkan Museum by the Canal

A guidebook notes that the Mizkan Museum stands right beside the canal, and that its exterior is built around a black fence. Visitors choose between a full-building course and a mini course.

Reservations are needed in advance, and admission is charged. The museum is a short walk from Handa Station on the JR line. Adult prices for the courses are in the last table.

The Handa Red Brick Building

According to a guidebook, the Handa Red Brick Building stands on the site of a former Kabuto Beer factory. The building is described in guidebooks as the work of the architect Tsumaki Yorinaka, who also worked on the decoration of Nihonbashi in Tokyo.

Inside, a permanent exhibition room charges a separate admission, which is listed in the last table.

The Kunizakari Sake Cultural Museum and the Hanroku Garden

Guidebooks describe the Kunizakari Sake Cultural Museum as a former sake storehouse that shows brewing tools, with a tasting corner and a shop. Entry is free of charge, but reservations are needed in advance.

The building of the former Nakano Hanroku residence is said to date from the Meiji era, and its stroll garden can be visited. Its visiting days and times are in the last table.

Getting There and Walking Route

From Sumiyoshicho Station on the Meitetsu line, the Handa Red Brick Building can be reached on foot. The town's model course starts from Sumiyoshicho Station and heads to the Handa Red Brick Building. It ends at the Mizkan Museum, with Chita-Handa Station as the goal.

Drivers can reach the Handa Red Brick Building from Handa Chuo Interchange. The Kura-no-machi Higashi parking lot is a walk from the canal. A tourist information office stands inside Aipraza Handa. Bicycles can be rented and picked up there. Each leg is timed in the table below.

Item	Detail
Chita-Handa Station on foot to the Handa Canal storehouse district	15 minutes
Chita-Handa Station on foot to the Mizkan Museum	13 minutes
JR Handa Station on foot to the Mizkan Museum	3 minutes
Sumiyoshicho Station on foot to the Handa Red Brick Building	5 minutes, heading east
JR Handa Station on foot to the Handa Red Brick Building	15 minutes, heading northwest
Handa Chuo Interchange by car to the Handa Red Brick Building	about 10 minutes
Handa Chuo Interchange by car to the Handa Canal storehouse district	4.5 km via National Route 247
Kura-no-machi Higashi parking lot on foot to the Handa Canal	5 minutes

If you would rather have the day arranged for you, look at guided tours elsewhere in Aichi.

Hours and Fees

The table below lists the visiting times, closed days and prices for the main stops, with adult prices where they apply.

Item	Detail
Mizkan Museum hours	9:30 to 17:00, last admission 15:15
Mizkan Museum closed days	Thursdays, the New Year holiday period and the Obon period
Mizkan Museum adult admission, full-building course	500 yen
Mizkan Museum adult admission, mini course	300 yen
Handa Red Brick Building hours	9:00 to 18:00
Handa Red Brick Building permanent exhibition room, adult admission	200 yen
Kunizakari Sake Cultural Museum hours	10:00 to 16:00, admission reception until 15:30
Kunizakari Sake Cultural Museum admission	free of charge, reservations needed in advance
Kunizakari Sake Cultural Museum closed days	Thursdays (the next day if Thursday is a public holiday), during Obon and over the New Year holiday
Former Nakano Hanroku residence hours	10:00 to 17:00, closed Thursdays
Rental bicycle	500 yen per day, or 300 yen for up to 3 hours