An unofficial guide to Yamaguchi Prefecture and its nihonshu
The Yamaguchi Sake Awards 山口県新酒鑑評会 is the prefectural step on the way to the Japan Sake awards 全国新酒鑑評会 and this year they were held on April 14. I was able to go to the awards dinner on the evening and got a chance to taste a gathering of all the best sakes in the prefecture,... Continue Reading →
Today's sake is a particularly special one, and one that I'm quite excited to share with you. But in order to explain why it's special, we need some cultural context. Heisei 31 , Tsuchi no Toi (the 36th year of a 60 year cycle), February 4thGokyo Junmai GinjoNamagenshu In the traditional Japanese calendar, the seasons... Continue Reading →
So following up to my last post, where I discussed some good sakes enjoyed with friends at a year-end party, I'd like to discuss some GREAT sakes we enjoyed. These are sakes that linger on in the memory, that make you want to share them and talk to people about the savor. They are sakes... Continue Reading →
In the run-up to New Year's day, a big Japanese tradition is the "bounenkai," a party to put paid to the year's stress and frustration. They're common among work teams, circles of friends, and even neighborhoods. We ourselves hosted a small bounenkai with some friends, and I of course took it as a chance to... Continue Reading →
Gokyo is revealing itself to be one of the most interesting kura in Yamaguchi. Sakai Shuzo, the makers, is a traditional kura in the sense that they tend not to market like many of the "hip" new kura and rely more on quality and word of mouth, both of which are stellar. However, that's not... Continue Reading →
There is a large hotel not 2 minutes' walk from my house, and their restaurant is what I like to call "Bubble Fancy." It's a remnant of Japan's heady days of high wealth in the 80s and 90s, with furnishings that were once clearly the height of luxury...but now with 30 or so years of... Continue Reading →
Today I've got something from Iwakuni powerhouse Sakai Shuzo, makers of Gokyo. Sakai has a reputation as a very staid, traditional kura but they've recently been trying some more modern things with labels designs and such, and this is clearly one of them. There is a whole line of "five" branded sakes, of different colors.... Continue Reading →
Yamaguchi Sake 