An unofficial guide to Yamaguchi Prefecture and its nihonshu
Rather than do a regular old tasting note, review, or event update, I thought I'd take a look back at what this year was like for me in my sake journey. 2019 was a fairly big sake year for me. I led my first tasting class back in January, and did my first work translating... Continue Reading →
Ube City's Nagayama Honke is a growing name in the sake world. Their label Taka is not only popular in Japan, but it's earning a name overseas as well. And I'm a fan myself, with the green label Choshu no Junmai taking a top spot in my favorites list. The Nagayama Honke main building, a... Continue Reading →
The event I talked about last time sold a couple of limited edition sakes. This is one of them! It's a junmai tobingakoi, meaning it was filtered by being hung in cotton bags and funneled directly into a glass tank before it is pumped into the bottles. Harada Toji is filling bottles directly from a... Continue Reading →
Shunan City's Jizake Yokocho 2019 October 12, 2019 saw the third annual Jizake Yokocho, when Shunan City hosts sake brewers from all over Japan in the area near Tokuyama station in an open-air event. This year saw sakes from 50+ breweries lining the covered arcade street of Minami-ginza. Sake from all over! The system is... Continue Reading →
After a long hiatus, I am back, and I have oh so much to share! Autumn has come to Japan, finally, and with it the opposite end of spring's Shinshu events. This is the season of Hiyaoroshi (aka Akiagare, etc.), which is sake that has been left to age over the summer after the spring... Continue Reading →
One interesting thing I'm noticing lately about the general Yamaguchi sake boom (this is the only prefecture in Japan where sake sales have gone up every year for the last 11 years) is that local people are taking more notice of these great Yamaguchi brews, too. It's not just Dassai, either. I'm seeing shops advertising... Continue Reading →
This particular sake has eluded me for a while. It's from Shunan City's Nakamura Sakaba, the last local kura on my list, BUT! It is yet another example of a brew labeled and sold by one kura, but made by another. So... Who actually made it? I don't really know. Seiriki Ginjo (aruten), Seimaibuai 60%... Continue Reading →
The tax office in Hiroshima sponsors a yearly sake tasting and networking event, and this year they included 50 spaces specifically for foreign residents of Japan. The sake world is looking more and more outward, and from the top down the whole industry is focusing more on international appeal. The opening ceremony tasting demonstration. The... Continue Reading →
I am not normally a shochu drinker, as I left my hard-spirit drinking days behind me long ago. However, I do occasionally enjoy some when I'm out on the town, and I appreciate its cultural place as Japan's native distilled spirit. Adding to that the big attention this particular one is getting, I figure it's... Continue Reading →
This time, I'm stepping back from the premium sake to get something a little less hoity-toity, if you will. Today's brewery is Kodama Shuzo of Shimonoseki, whose main label is Chomon Kikukawa. Chomon Kikukawa Honjozo Genshu This is a very small brewery on the other side of the prefecture, and is very hard to find... Continue Reading →
Yamaguchi Sake 