Living the Sake Life in Yamaguchi, Japan
It appears a month has passed since my last post! How time flies. I haven't left sake behind, have no fear, I just seem to have been too busy to blog. But I have my notes, and there are some interesting things to report on. Yamaguchi's "other" famous brand, Toyo Bijin from Sumikawa Shuzo has... Continue Reading →
The other day I dove into the very timely practice of "on-nomi" or online drinking parties. In this time of plague, it's pretty much the only way to get together for drinks these days. I met a few people from all over Japan and the world and my drinks of choice were to aged sakes,... Continue Reading →
My first fresh bottle of sake this year is Taka's Tokubetsu Junmai Jikagumi 60, a fresh Shinshu just for this season. Taka Tokubetsu Junmai Jikagumi, 60 Seimaibuai, Yamaguchi-Grown Yamada Nishiki Another jikagumi! For those who missed it from the Ageo ode, jikagumi sake is bottled directly from a wood press, as yet another variation of... Continue Reading →
The first Monday of 2020 has already passed me by, but I thought I'd make this first post of the year something more meta than another tasting. Because this year promises to be something different from last in many ways, including this sake habit of mine. Good Old Shintani Shuzo To begin with, I'm reaching... Continue Reading →
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 →
