An unofficial guide to Yamaguchi Prefecture and its nihonshu
I have been at this little project of mine for ages, it feels like. I have been hunting Yamaguchi sakes near and far since spring of last year, but I only started my concerted effort in July. So... about a year? And how far have I come? well, let's see. The undrunk Yamaguchi sake list,... Continue Reading →
On January 19, I was finally able to get a sake tasting class together, after two failed attempts last fall. 6 drinkers gathered at Kokushu 国酒 in Shunan, Yamaguchi, where we tried a total of for sakes, before going on a tour of nearby Hatsumomiji Shuzo. Kokushu is a sake specialty izakaya with a great... Continue Reading →
This isn't a huge update, of course, but here it is: as of October 18, 2018 I have drunk sake from 22 of the 43 current Yamaguchi sake kura. That still leaves a significant number of kura I have yet to visit, but I'm at least over half! Yay! Here's the remaining list, for what... Continue Reading →
Shunan city, which is just a short drive or train ride from me here, is home to a surprising number of sakagura. The local tourist association has decided to capitalize on that by setting up what they call Takushu: a taxi tour of the three kura closest to Tokuyama station. (The name is a pun... Continue Reading →
Things go quick once you actually decide to do something with them. As of the last mention of this project, I had yet to even confirm the actual number of kura in Yamaguchi. I asked around and was eventually recommended to the national tax bureau, since they're the ones that actually license and monitor kura.... Continue Reading →
Something that I've been working on sort of unofficially, that I'm actually bringing into the "official" part of work, is an exhaustive index of all of the kura in Yamaguchi prefecture, where I identify and map them, try their sakes, and eventually visit them. The mapping part would be easier if the Hiroshima bureau of... Continue Reading →
On Monday, July 16 Japan had a national holiday, Marine (or Sea or Ocean) Day (Umi no Hi). While most people go to the beach to celebrate the day off, my family took the other way, and headed to the mountainous interior of Yamaguchi prefecture to a town/area called Mine. My wife wanted to go... Continue Reading →
Whenever I talk to people about Sake and mention I live in Yamaguchi, the conversation inevitably turns to Dassai. This is understandable, since clearly Dassai is immensely famous (perhaps the single most famous sake in the world?). The brewery, Asahi Shuzo, is on TV, in newspapers, and making huge waves in the brewing world with... Continue Reading →
Yamaguchi Sake 