Tottori Prefecture, with its wealth of off-the-beaten-path adventures, rarely fails to delight travelers looking to experience rural Japan. As Japan’s least populous prefecture (~538,000 residents), it’s an unheralded escape from the sometimes overwhelming bustle of the country’s sprawling, densely populated cities. Large swaths of nature parks and preserves mixed with vast stretches of farmland occupy…
Keith Norum is one of the more youthful sixty-year-olds you’ll meet, even in a country where so many people seem youthful in the later decades of their lives. He looks younger than his years, there’s vitality in his voice and expressions, and he gives every indication he’s eager to continue with his busy work in…
Falling in love with sake is easy to do. We all know that. And along with the honeymoon phase of falling in love comes the insatiable desire to learn more about sake. We read books, scour blogs, watch YouTube videos, and go to tastings. It’s a deep rabbit hole to go down as you find…
Change is inevitable. But that doesn’t mean that it always comes smoothly or that it ever proceeds according to plan. In the sake industry, change usually comes slowly and begrudgingly. Sometimes, it comes too late. Sake breweries have traditionally been family-owned and passed down from father to son. If there were no sons, the first…
In the waning days of the Edo period (1603~1868) Shitara was a thriving post station and lodging town along the major route from coastal Aichi to landlocked Nagano Prefecture. Salt harvested from the sea moved inland as lumber logged from the forestland surrounding the town was transported to oceanside communities. After a long day on…
Sendai, Miyagi is a party town. Its ample bars and boisterous streets at least give that immediate impression to visitors with a thirst for adventure and good sake. Even its residents would agree that eating and drinking in communal, celebratory fashion is not an unpopular pastime. This is a common characteristic of “gateway” cities and…
The prefecture of Shimane stretches over 1,000km along the western coast of Japan’s main island of Honshu. Its shoreline scenery runs the gamut from sandy, secluded beaches to rugged precipices with an occasional fishing port making an appearance. As one would expect, there is a wealth of seafood, and also not surprisingly, a plenitude…
Kumamoto’s pastoral charm can tug at you like the shiranui, or “unknown lights” that for centuries locals witnessed floating alluringly off the seacoast of the prefecture on rare nights. According to one medieval literary source, people gathered in the hills when conditions were right, gazing at the ephemeral flames dancing on the water in the…
Yamagata, meaning “shape of mountains,” is an appropriately named prefecture with distinctive rural character and a noticeably slower pace of life. It is one of Japan’s least populous prefectures and also home to one of its oldest average populations, despite the ruggedness of the terrain and climate. Even its larger cities seem sparsely populated…
Late last month, the sake of Yamagata Prefecture was officially granted GI (Geographical Indication) status by the National Tax Administration. This means that they have secured the right to call their sake “Yamagata” sake, and that no one else can do that. This is similar in letter and spirit to putting the term “champagne” on…