Living the Sake Life in Yamaguchi, Japan
I love the fact that this sake exists. Gokyo maker Sakai Shuzo is an old, respectable sake maker that excels at making sake. Sakai isn't a marketing powerhouse like Dassai's Asahi Shuzo or Ohmine. Sakai makes sake, and makes it well. Even Gokyo fustsushu is good. They tend to avoid most fads pretty well, but... 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 →
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 →
