This warm prefecture that stretches across the southern coast of Shikoku might not seem like the ideal location to brew sake, yet Kochi’s 18 breweries churn out an impressive number of surprisingly light and dry varieties. With a distinctly different vibe from the more in-your-face profiles of most sake from western Japan, the dry and…
Production of Okinawa’s homegrown beverage awamori emerged in an atmosphere of cultural cultivation that was threatened at times by violent conflicts and political struggle. The collection of islands that today make up Okinawa Prefecture has a long history rich in cultural developments and maritime commerce. The island chain was formerly known as the Ryūkyū Kingdom,…
In this new series for Sake Today, we focus on non-Japanese in Japan who have established themselves in the sake industry. May their stories have the power to inspire! Six or seven years ago, Brian Hutto would have been quite surprised to hear from a time-traveler that he would be running a popular sake bar…
Sales of premium sake are surging. So is tourism to Japan. The latter fuels the former in part, but the ‘renaissance of quality’ among many breweries is the real reason for sake’s newfound success. Certain retailers deserve credit, too. For the right retailers, the market is rich with opportunity. But what makes the right retailer?…
2017 marks the 350th anniversary of the Yoshidamachi area of Yokohama. We thought it would be a good time to introduce this neighborhood located right around the corner from our office. You may even run into our staff there on any given night of the week. Originally a field of rice paddies built on…
Yoram Ofer is something of the lone wolf with a reputation. People who know of his Kyoto-based bar Yoramu (the Japanese phonetic spelling of his name) sometimes whisper that he is… different. Some in the sake industry consider him a heretic. On hearing rumors of his eccentricity, people might be a little intimidated about going.…