In July, we did a live stream at a paddy field specially reserved for this project by Izumibashi Shuzo to capture the process of rice-planting, the first step of cultivating rice for the brewery's original sake!
The live event was simultaneously broadcasted to our viewers in four different countries: Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. In this post, we will report on what went on during the live stream♪

Point 1: An unprecedented opportunity! Sake commentary provided directly by the brewery!
Point 2: Share interesting information with others! ~Izumibashi Shuzo's rice cultivation lecture~
Point 3: Have fun chatting with others! Offer real-time support for those planting rice!
Point 4: A VR rice-cultivation experience with smart glasses?!
Point 5: Checking how much our audience has learned! Win free gifts by taking part in our quiz!★

The best part of this project is that our viewers got to hear directly from the brewery, something that most people will never get a chance to do, to find out more about their sake!

What was the inspiration behind a particular sake? What makes it special as compared to other sake? What is the most delicious way to enjoy it? What should we pair the sake with? Are there any creative ways to serve the sake?
It is very rare to have an opportunity to hear directly from the brewery regarding questions like these.

The Izumibashi Shuzo staff is holding a bottle of "Natsu Yago Sparkling" here. Of course, it tastes wonderful when served as it is, but the brewery staff showed us how we can actually mix it with a glass of chilled amazake (a sweet, low-alcohol fermented rice beverage). We didn't know this at all!
Indeed, the combination of the amazake's mellow flavor and the vibrant notes of the Natsu Yago Sparkling sake was absolutely delicious!

This live stream was free and open to members of the general public to commemorate the launch of this project, but starting from the next live stream, we will be offering the following to customers who have purchased sake in advance:
- A set of seasonal sake and other Japanese sake products relevant to the stream content will be delivered to your address before the event.
- There will be a sake tasting lecture for the delivered sake conducted by Izumibashi Shuzo during the live stream.
So don't forget to check out the pre-sale period!♪

One of the objectives of this project is to have more people learn about the entire process from rice cultivation to sake brewing.
However, rice cultivation and sake brewing involve many steps that most of us are not familiar with, making them feel like difficult topics to understand.
How did the brewery explain these steps? Let's take a look at the actual slides they used!

The key points were conveyed in a way that is accessible to even beginners with the use of comparison charts, photos, and video clips.
The brewery staff patiently explained the purpose and main points of each and every step in detail, from start to finish, so that viewers can understand the entire process!
This made it easy for even those who did not know much about rice cultivation and sake brewing to participate.

"Rollers are used to intentionally press on seedlings to make sure they become stronger."
"Seedlings are covered to protect them from being eaten by birds."
Each and every step in the rice cultivation process was interesting and offered fresh insights to the viewers!
The lecture is packed with so much content that you will be able to teach others about rice cultivation the following day!♪

One of the joys of live streams is to be able to see the reactions of other viewers and have fun chatting with them!

Although the process of rice planting has been largely mechanized, this live stream captured what it looks like to plant seedlings by hand in a paddy field.
Izumibashi Shuzo explained the main points of hand-planting and showed everyone how it is done!

Do you see the square markings that have been made in the soil?
These markings are there to make sure the seedlings are planted at regular intervals by inserting them into the spots where the lines intersect.
Seedlings that are not planted securely will be washed away by water eventually, so it is important to plant each and every one carefully.

As you can see in the photo above...
The soil in the paddy field is wet and mucky, making it difficult to move around due to how deep their feet sink down into the soil. Indeed, hand-planting is really hard work!

At times like these, the support of viewers in the chat gave the staff a lot of encouragement!
Such an atmosphere can only be created through a live stream.
All of us felt like we were family when working together on this project, especially with the many words of encouragement from our viewers and how invested they were in our difficult task at hand!

If you join us the next time, make sure you submit your questions and offer words of encouragement by commenting in the chat!♪

Have you ever heard of smart glasses?
The item worn by the Izumibashi Shuzo staff on his head in this photo is a pair of smart glasses.

These smart glasses are equipped with a camera placed next to the eyes and a screen on which video footages can be projected before the user's eyes.
These glasses can be worn on the head, which leaves both hands free. With this cutting-edge technology, the user can use the camera to make recordings, participate in meetings, and project video content onto the screen even while they are performing their regular tasks.

During the session, we asked the Izumibashi Shuzo staff to operate the rice-planting machine while wearing these smart glasses!
Some of you may have seen rice-planting machines before from a distance, but viewers got to experience the perspective from the operator's seat during the live stream.

From this perspective, viewers can not only see how the machine is operated but also how the rice is actually planted from the operator's seat as well as what the operator is looking out for when performing the task.

For instance, how do you think the operator keeps the rice-planting machine moving in a straight line?
The answer can be found in the image above on the left.
You can see many dot-like markings in the center of the image. These markings are created by the rice-planting machine when it moves outward. After the machine turns and travels inward, it will move in a direction that is guided by the rod hanging from the front of the machine such that the rod passes over the dots made previously, allowing the seedlings to be planted in parallel straight lines!
I'm sure you didn't know that! Isn't it interesting?

This is just an example of discoveries that can be made by switching to the operator's perspective.
We hope to show you the operator's perspective as well in our future live streams featuring rice harvesting and sake brewing, a point of view that people rarely get to see!

Finally, the quiz everyone was waiting for was held at the end of the live stream!
Every viewer who answered all the questions correctly would stand a chance to win a free gift (through balloting), so everyone was paying close attention to the content of the live stream.

The quiz contained questions that range from easy to difficult, so it might not be easy for someone to answer all the questions correctly if they did not watch the live stream carefully!
However, the answers can always be found in the live stream, so do your best to answer the questions correctly if you join us next time!♪

For this live stream, five viewers received a bottle of Izumibashi Shuzo's Natsu Yago Sparkling each.
As we will be limiting future live streams to those who have made a purchase, we hope to offer even more fantastic prizes moving forward.
Please look forward to them!♪

How did you find our rice-planting live stream in July?
Were you surprised by how much exciting content there was?
The live stream lasted around an hour, and we hope you can join us again while relaxing and having a drink.
In the future, we plan to hold live streams featuring interesting content such as observing paddy fields and the surrounding wildlife, rice harvesting, and kanzukuri (cold-weather sake production)!
We hope you will join us for our future streams, where you will get to learn about everything from rice cultivation to sake brewing! We look forward to your continued support!