We love Nagano. It’s just north of Tokyo, easy to access by train, and here you’ll find delicious food and great sake. Suwa is a city that is accessible from Tokyo by train, about two hours from Tokyo on the express train, Azusa. Not the shinkansen, but it passes many stations along the way. Here…
Tag: nihonshu
Hirezake – Japan’s Weirdest Hot Saké Drink?
There is still a chill in the wind and one of the fun hot drinks to warm up with is hirezake. The fin of the fugu (blowfish or puffer fish) is grilled over a flame until charred and then put into a cup of hot saké to steep. More for fun than for flavor, but a nice…
Five Questions for Sake Master John Gauntner
John Gauntner has done more to promote sake than any other non-Japanese in the world. John is the author of five books, an informational monthly newsletter, and for those lucky enough to be in Tokyo, he holds interesting tasting seminars at Takara. His accomplishments are too numerous to list all of them here but some…
Sake no Ana: Best Place for Tasting Sake for Lunch in Tokyo – Part 2/2
Sake no Ana 酒の穴 Chuo-ku, Ginza 3-5-8 03-3567-1133 3. Juyondai Honjozo 十四代 本醸造 Premium sake, very hard to purchase retail. Often sold at much higher prices on E-bay (Sakamoto-san, the sake sommelier said that the bottle we had would go for 10,000 JPY even though the retail price is only about 2,500 JPY.) From Yamagata prefecture. http://www.yukinosake.com/juyondai.html (sake brewery site in Japanese)…
Sake no Ana: Best Place for Tasting Sake for Lunch in Tokyo – Part 1/2
Sake no Ana 酒の穴 Chuo-ku, Ginza 3-5-8 03-3567-1133 There are many wonderful izakaya in Tokyo, however finding one that is open for lunch is a challenge. I was in particular looking for an izakaya with a wide variety of sake by the glass that is open for lunch. All of my favorites, including Sasagin and Takara…
Update – Fukumitsuya in Ginza has closed
In Food Sake Tokyo on page 182 I have listed Ginza Fukumitsuya (Chuo-ku, Ginza 5-5-8) as a sake shop worth checking out. Unfortunately they have closed their doors as of July 31, 2011. It is so sad to see special shops like this shut their doors. FYI, the other shop listed in Food Sake Tokyo…
Book Review – The Niigata Sake Book
There’s relatively little information on sake printed in English, so whenever a new work on nihonshu comes out, it’s worth carefully perusing. The Niigata Sake Book does not disappoint, especially for readers wanting to know more about the technical side of sake. It’s based on a work called The Niigata Sake Expert Textbook and, according to translator Mike Masuyama, is “the…
Gotta Go – The Sake Fair on June 15th in Ikebukuro
The do not miss event for any sake aficionado, The Sake Fair, will be held on June 15th in Ikebukuro. A rare opportunity to try up to 450 nihonshu (impossible, but nice to dream about) at one time. And all for the bargain price of 3,500 JPY (3,000 JPY if you purchase ahead of time)….
Book Review – Drinking Japan by Chris Bunting
This indispensible guide will become the bible for anyone passionate about Japanese beverages. Regardless if your preference is for shochu or nihonshu, Chris has covered it all. Clearly written by a reporter, no detail is overlooked, and the information is easy to understand. The descriptions of each bar transports you there and he even includes…
Food Sake Tokyo 