I have always wondered what makes the simplest staples such as buckwheat soba noodles taste so good. What is the secret that sets some restaurants apart from others?

Last February, Sake Brewery Tours group learned how to roll out soba from Sato-san, a master, who joined us in a historic building at Kariho sake brewery in Akita. For many guests, it was their first time making soba. Under Sato-san’s very good instructions–and with some hands-on help–we kneaded, rolled, and cut our own fresh soba. While we were waiting for the noodles to boil, Kariho’s toji, or brew master, told us some amazing tales. He took us back 30 plus years to when he had started working at the brewery. When the noodles were ready, we enjoyed them with some just-brewed Kariho. Nothing could have tasted better. Everything was just so magical and that whole experience at the brewery was definitely one of the highlights of our five day in the snow country!

The soba master, Sato-san and his family own a restaurant in Kakunodate where the group spent the night. So, the next day, some of us visited him at his shop called simply, Kakunodate Soba. Again, we watched him roll out soba. This time he was in his own soba station with a huge wooden board on the counter next to the giant green soba grinding mill. He does this behind a glass wall so the diners can see his work as well as taste it. Just like the previous day, the soba I had was great-simple, but perfect.

Last week, I went back to Kakunodate to finalize arrangements for the 2012 Akita tour in February. I stopped in at Kakunodate Soba before they gets busy for lunch. As I was waiting for Sato-san to pack some of his soba for me to bring back to Tokyo, I noticed his father was carefully picking through a tray full of something. “Is that what soba looks like?” I asked. He said this batch was just hulled in the back of the restaurant, but there were a few black pieces left in the layers of yellow seed. He picked out any unhusked soba one by one because they change the color of the noodles. “It’s a lot of work, but we do this everyday. Otherwise, flavor and aroma of soba noodles are not so good.”

I know many soba shops grind the seeds to make their own flour, but I had not heard of a place where they husk the soba in-house. When Sato-san came back, I expressed how taken aback I was to learn how much work goes into preparation. “Do you have some time?” He invited me to the back of the restaurant to see his workshop where his seeds are prepared before milling. After learning the whole process, I was even more surprised to see how much care and time go into a simple bowl of noodles. Sato-san’s approach reminded me of sake brewing.

First, he showed me the giant refrigerated room dedicated to keeping the bags of buckwheat after it comes from a grower. Then, in the back room, he had two big green machines, one was tall and another one was low. One looked like a small rice milling machine like you might see at a sake brewery, so I assumed it is for husking. But, I could not figure out what the other short machine was for. Sato-san scooped black seeds from a blue bucket and said, “These are pretty clean when the growers ship them to us, but first we have to polish them. We clean off any trace of dust or unwanted bits by running a batch through this machine.” Then, he picks up metal plate with many holes all the same size. He explained the next step to sort the polished seeds by running them through the screen. There is a series of ten screens with ever smaller holes. Thus, everything is sorted by size before the soba goes into the tall husking machine. This kind of attention improves the husking process. Even after all of this, there are going to be a few unhusked ones in the mix. So, he uses a metal sorting plate again to separate husked and unhusked ones. Unhusked ones go back to go through the machine again.

Before getting to the point where I watched Sato-san’s father working on in the kitchen, an unimaginable amount of care goes in. “Do people know that you put in this much time and attention everyday before serving them a bowl?” I asked. In February, we had no idea how much went into making the flour we had in front of us. “I don’t think so. The prep work is time consuming but it makes all the difference in taste and aroma. Also, it is not as hard as finding the right growers and doing business with them. That’s the hardest thing and I sometimes have to ask my shisho, or master, to help me out.”

We did not even get into his dashi broth at all. Nut, his soba sauce has just the right balance of dashi and soy sauce. I imagine the same philosophy he has about noodles goes into his sauce. I never knew how complex it was to make this simple meal. I finally found the answer to my question. Now I know the secret.

If you are visiting the beautiful, yet very relaxing historic town, Kakunodate in Akita, you can try their soba yourself! They are open for lunch only and close once they have served all soba they prepared for the day.
Kakunodate Soba
Address: 17 Iwase, Kakunodate, Senboku, Akita
秋田県仙北市角館町岩瀬町１７
Tel: 0187-53-2054
Access: Kakunodate Soba is located between Nishinomiya-ke and Ando Jozo. It is a few houses up the street from Nishinomiya-ke.
Web site in Japanese:http://www.hana.or.jp/hana/kigata/kakusoba/sobatop.htm

Please join the Sake Brewery Tours to Akita in 2012 to taste and see the sake and soba master craftsmanship yourself!

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As life in Tokyo gets back to normal, so does our life. During the Golden Week holiday, many people made last minutes plans to get in or out of the city. We traveled one and half hours on local trains to Chigasaki, Kanagawa to spend the afternoon at Kumazawa Brewery, makers of Tensei label sake and Shonan Beer. Just like their fermentation, at Kumazawa Brewery, they have perfected blending old and new ways to create their own local art and food community.

One toughest choice that day was between Mokichi Trattoria or Tensei for our late, low-key lunch. Both eateries are part of the Kumazawa Shuzo compound and are run by the same people. They just differ in styles and atmosphere. Mokichi Trattoria is a kid-friendly pizza centric place with more of the beer theme. Tensei serves fusion dishes from right next to their sake brewery. You can see the roomful of fermentation tanks through the big glass walls.

Having been to Tensei a few times, but not to Mokichi, I thought we’d try their wood oven pizza with sake this time. Te-chan was excited about sausage from a local farm and micro-brewed beer.

So, here we are, at Mokichi Trattoria. Everything at Mokichi was impeccable but at the same time so comfortable and relaxed. We loved it here, especially the last glass we had- Tensei Junmai aged for five years in sherry casks. And, it is not available anywhere but in these two restaurants.

About Mokichi Trattoria
Information in English: http://r.gnavi.co.jp/g246300/lang/en/
Address: 7-10-7, Kagawa, Chigasaki-shi, Kanagawa
Phone: 0467-52-6111

About Tensei
Information in English: http://r.gnavi.co.jp/g246301/lang/en/
Phone: 0467-52-6115

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Yamato Shizuku Yamahai Junmai

Finding a good izakaya with a good nihonshu list on Sundays presents a bit of a challenge because a lot of places are closed on the weekend, especially those in the central Tokyo business area. Rather than trying to search for a new place on Sundays, I start with Nozaki Saketen for a reservation.

Last night, a bunch of us sake fans from around the globe went out and had plenty of nihonshu and typical izakaya food. The last sake recommended by the restaurant was this bottle, Yamato Shizuku Yamahai Junmai brewed by Akita Seishu. The recommendation came after starting the night with summery sake from Tsuji Zenbee, Raifuku, and Mizubasho. Then we went on full bodied Akita streak with Ippaku Suisei and Mansaku-no-Hana.

For Akita sake fans, Kariho or Dewatsuru should sound familiar. Yamato Shizuku is the third brand from the same company, Akita Seishu, and it is dedicated to their original yago or brand name and logo from Edo period.

Actually, Nozaki Sakaten is a great lively, casual, and reasonably-priced place to sip from a good selection of sake any day of the week, but if you are at a loss on Sundays, try calling them first!

About Yamato Shizuku in Japanese: http://www.igeta.jp/yamato01.html

Nozaki Sakaten
A few minutes walk from JR Shinbashi Station Karasumori exit.
3-19-4 Shinbashi, Minato-ku;
Phone: (03) 6430-3329
Map and Directions: Please see this Japan Times article for directions.

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Kozaemon Yuzu

“I just got a couple of bottles of Yuzu-shu from Kozaemon. I’ll bring one in next time,” I told the chef as I was leaving Igarashi in February. Since I’d found out he hadn’t tried my favorite citrusy yuzu-shu yet, I promised to bring him one next time. Igarashi-chef is a big Kozaemon fan. To give you some idea of the extent of his fandom, the table water he serves his patrons is Kozaemon shikomi mizu, brewing water shipped all the way from the kura in Mizunami, Gifu.

For the past five months, that last bottle of Kozaemon nihonshu blended with the pungent yuzu citrus juice from Kochi was laying on the top shelf of our fridge. As the weather got closer and closer to being perfect for this very light, summery drink, the bottle stared back at me and I thought, “It is time”. Every time I opened the fridge was a daily reminder to myself of my promise and that summer was coming.

This week, when Kazuko said she wants to go for good, authentic Japanese food, Igarashi was my first choice. Luckily, they had a table open that night. It took me a long time to live up to my promise, but, finally, I packed the bottle with ice gel to protect it for the two-station trek on the Yamanote!

Chef Igarashi and Yuzu-shu

At the end of the meal, Chef Igarashi came out to the table to offer us to try some as well. How could we say no to this fresh, light, and refreshing drink-perfect for a hot summer night!

About Kozaemon on Tokyofoodcast
About Igarashi

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Ayu Gohan at Igarashi

Despite the ruthless heat and humidity, there are may things I really look forward to in the summer – all of them food related. Some are as simple as juicy peaches, boiled corn in season, or the inviting sensation of a whiff of the burning smell of sweet sauce from unagi grilled on the charcoal when passing by a restaurant.

Last night, I had my first ayu gohan of the season at Igarashi. This simple dish, lightly grilled fresh water fish cooked with rice in a clay pot, is so distinctively summery to me and I especially appreciate the bitter taste of the sweetfish with rice.

I love how Igarashi-san masterfully balances the bitterness with other subtle flavors. That’s one reason I called them yesterday as the place for a dinner reunion with my best friend who just returned from New York. But, there was another reason I had to visit them….

Igarashi

Address: Hagiwara Bldg. 2F, 4-9-15 Ebisu, Shibuya, Tokyo
東京都渋谷区恵比寿4-9-15 ＨＡＧＩＷＡＲＡ　ＢＬＤＧ．５　２Ｆ
Phone: 03-3447-9893
Map and information in English: bento.com
Please take a look at the July summer course menu at Igarashi. And, to match the summer theme, we started with Kozaemon Tokubetsu Junmai Origarami.

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Kamonasu Takiawase at Shinme, Kyoto

The first thing I review with expats moving to Tokyo is how to find places. With a Roppongi address as an example and a big map, I usually point out that we do not have a street and number system in Tokyo. Three sets of numbers at the end of a Tokyo address zeroes in from a big area, then to a specific block, and finally ends at a specific unit on that block. Then, just to make things interesting, I add that there’s no set direction for how the numbering goes up and down. It’s confusing, but at least that’s how I am so used to associating numbers and places.

Early this July, I had a chance to explore Kyoto at night on my own, so I decided to stop at a few sake places I had been told to check out. I had the bar names, so as usual, I looked them up on the web.

One of them, Shinme, gave me Kyoto, Kamikgyo-ku, Senbon-nakacachi-uri-agaru as the address. Not knowing how exactly the address system works in Kyoto, but having a map, I showed the cab driver where it was and he got me right at the intersection where I spotted the big sign for 神馬.

Takahashi, Kyoto

After a very pleasant conversation with the lady behind the counter and some excellent sake-centric Kyoto dishes at Shinme, I decided to try one more place. Takahashi, I was told, had good soba and sake, but this one was a bit harder to find any information about online. When I looked it up, I got two completely different maps for the single address I was able to find. This read: Kyoto, Nakagyo-ku, Shijo-takakura-sagaru, east-side, second floor. “Am I really going to find this place with this?” Having had a few drinks and being a bit tipsy I caught another taxi. “Do you know the name of the building?”, the driver asked. “No, this is all I have.” So he took me to the spot and said, “From the address you gave me, it’s around here somewhere, but I don’t know where.” I got out of the car, looked around, and there it was! There was a very modest wooden sign for Takahashi in front of me. I thought to myself, “Taxi’s in Tokyo often get lost even with exact addresses and GPS navigation systems. Kyoto drivers must really know the streets.”

I am still not 100% sure how people find places without specific numbers in Kyoto. I guess people know the cross streets and directions and use this unofficial system rather than the official address system.

“The system works by naming the intersection of two streets and then indicating if the address is north (上ルagaru), south (下ルsagaru), east (東入ルhigashi-iru) or west (西入ルnishi-iru) of the intersection. What this means is that a building can have more than one address depending on which intersection is chosen.”
-quoted from Japanese Addressing System/Wikipedia

If you are in Kyoto, find these places for sake and food!

Shinme
Senbon-nakacachi-uri-agaru
Closed on Sundays
Tel: 075-461-3635

Old style izakaya with very elegant Kyoto food.

Takahashi
Kyoto, Nakagyo-ku, Shijyo-takakura-sagaru East side 2nd floor
I do not have their phone number

It’s very modern and hip sake bar with good soba and tsumami.

Kyoto Sake Dining

Front page header photo CC from Mmonhsi.

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Yongo Nama

Tenmamichi Shimokitazawa has a great selection of sake and “a-te” sake food. But, that’s not the only reason why sake geeks find this izakaya so special. They have access to special bottles you will not find other places, even in Tokyo sake heaven. On our visit last Friday, rather than selecting sake ourselves, I simply asked for Takamura-san for his recommendations and enjoyed all eight or nine selections.

“Please disregard the labels on this bottle. I want you to pay attention to only the part that says yongo.” As Takamura-san brought out the fourth bottle to the table, he started to tell us the story.

“This one is sold by a brewer, but actually this is brewed in collaboration with Taguchi-sensei in Akita.” Each prefecture has a designated research institute for sake to improve overall quality of local production. Mr. Taguchi from Akita Jozo Kenkyujo brewed five tanks last season with a brewer to try different brewing methods. Yongo is tank number four from these batches.

Yongo tank, kimoto muroka junmai ginjo, was brewed with Akita Sake Komachi rice using the old kimoto method, then pressed using a centrifuge. We fully enjoyed this special bottle that started with lots of flavors bursting on the palette, but finished very clean.
Tenmamichi Shimokitazawa
City Hotel Lefa B1
2-20-2 Kitazawa, Setagaya, Tokyo
Phone: 03-5486-0088
Directions: From Shimokitazawa Station South Exit, take a right and walk along the tracks for about one minute. You cannot miss the big sign for Hotel レファ.

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Tamagawa Daiginjo Shizuku Muroka Nama Genshu

Whenever I travel, finding a good restaurant that carries good local sake can present some degree of challenge. When I was in Kyoto over the weekend, I was just about to head out to one of the sake bars on my list to try. Then, I had a hunch to look a little further. So, I did one more quick search and saw the sake menu at Inaseya near Karamuma Oike with great list from Kansai, in particular, from Kyoto.

Tamagawa by Philip Harper was what brought me to Inaseya. So, I ordered Daiginjo Shizuku Muroka Nama Genshu. As soon as the fresh exquisite brew from this year was poured into a cup and the rather soft yet full aroma filled the air, I sighed and thought “this” was why I love this season! From the middle of the winter on, you find these fresh just-pressed brews everywhere. Then, I thought how often do you find shizuku that is muroka nama genshu at a restaurant? Shizuku to me is almost a synonym for contest class special sake that takes unimaginable time and effort to craft. Muroka nama genshu is unfiltered, undiluted, unpasteurized with almost as close to what you get fresh right after murky moromi is pressed with lots of flavors and aroma. So, this is the combination you do not see out there. “This is the latest batch Harper-san sent us.” the guy working behind the counter said.

Then, I noticed that almost all of Inaseya’s sake menu is muroka nama genshu, such as Yadorigi Tobindori Junmai Ginjo from Eikun or even one year aged Frosen! “It’s not like we don’t like hi-ire pasteurized sake”, he continued but he admit most of their sake is pretty close to what’s just pressed at a brewery and that’s what they like!

In the next few month, I will be in Kyoto a few more times. I am sure I will add more good sake bars on the list, but Inaseya is definitely the place to go back for to check out what other funky crazy new muroka nama genshu they have in stock!

Entry to Inaseya Honten

About Chiso Inaseya
Address: Aburayacho 93, Yanagi-banba Sanjo-agaru, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto (I am not sure if this is the right order for address system in Kyoto)
柳馬場三条上ル油屋町93
Phone:　075-255-7250
Website in Japanese: http://homepage3.nifty.com/chisouinaseya/
Map on Bento.com:http://www.bento.com/kansai/rev/7155.html

Tsukidashi and Tsuki-no-katsura Nigori

Sashimi

Ikidako no kara-age

Furosen and Chicken namero

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Nagomi, Gotanda

Last Friday, the Tokyo Sake Meetup had a great time at little sake nomi heaven called Nagomi in Gotanda. A sign for tagine-ryori, lamb, and jizake caught Te-chan’s attention as he was walking back from the gym one evening last summer and since then, it’s been our latest favorite local izakaya.

Recently, I took another sake fan, a guy in his 50′s who insisted that only standing bars which have been in business for ages know how to really serve sake–not these trendy izakaya that just popped-up–were the real deal. You know, he meant to say a smoky tachinomi place like Suzuden filled with salaryman on the way back from work was the only authentic place to drink sake in the city. So, he immediately disapproved of Nagomi as we sat down at the counter–just by the look of the place. Th bar counter is so clean, comfortable, and with gentle lighting and the place is filled with young professionals. By the time we left though, this oyaji-san said to me, “This is such a good place! I will come back here.” with a big ear-to-ear grin on his red face. That’s when I decided this was the place to organize a Meetup.

Tsuki-no-Katsura and eihire

At Nagomi, the first thing Te-chan and I were surprised by was the way they serve sake. Shimada-san, general manager, knows that sake nomi want to try many different sake, so he offers a 90ml serving glass at a fair half the price of the common ichi-go or 180ml. Some nihonshu izakaya have this option and you may say “so what?”, but this is not all. When we sit at the counter, we take our sips from the 90ml glass, then ask Shimada-san or Ichikawa-san to heat it up to nurukan or atsukan depending according to taste. This is a kind of act I never would imagine doing at other places. I am sure most izakaya would hate to heat up such a tiny quantity, just to let these crazy sake fanatics do some lab experiments. It’s really more trouble than its worth for a bar. We don’t do this to them when they are busy, but it seems they, too, enjoy these experiments trying sake at different temperature and gathering the reactions from their patrons. So, to sum up, sake and their philosophy around serving it are just fantastic.

Assorted sashimi

Food is very simple and good. Shiitake mushrooms cooked in a small tagine certainly surprised me with their full, savory flavor. Lightly grilled dried eihire with mayo is Te-chan’s favorite otsumami. Cabbage with pork in tagine is another great dish. Nagomi’s sashimi plate is fresh and reasonable.

Finally, I think it is the people that makes this tagine ryori and nihonshu place so comfortable. Shimada-san and Ichikawa-san behind the counter are perfect professionals, but their passion for nihonshu kind of rubs off. It’s just fun to sit at the counter and watch them and chat about sake when they have a moment.

They do not have an English menu, but don’t worry. If you have nihongo-phobia, Shimada-san and Ichikawa-san can guide you through their menu and drinks in English.

About Nagomi

Don’t miss this sign!

Address: Unfortunately, this place is now closed.
Phone:
Website in Japanese: http://r.gnavi.co.jp/e316000/
Directions from JR Gotanda: From JR Gotanda West Exit, walk over to Seijo Ishii entrance. Cross the street to Tokyo Hotel or am/pm, then walk away from the tracks toward river one block. Take a right at Natural Lawson, then take a left at the hair salon, Bo-peep. Immediately, you will see a big yellow sign for 24h Times parking. At the sign, take a right into a small street. Nagomi is located at the first steps you see on the block. It’s only a few minutes walk from JR Gotanda. Reservations are recommended.

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Ippaku Suisei from Akita

Milky Nigori and a starter

The long-awaited shinshu season is finally here! Milky Ippaku Suisei Junmai Ginjo Muroka Nama Genshu Nigori just pressed this week started the festive BYOS bonenkai at Tensei where we celebrated the beginning of this season’s new brews!

Ippaku Suisei is brewed by Fukurokuju Shuzo from Akita. I always enjoy their sake, but this just-brewed bottle was especially good; with a full, heavy feel in the middle, then finishing very clean.

The dishes served at Tensei were really intriguing for nihonshu fans. They added a little twist to regular izakaya standards.

Fried Kuwai

Creamy Ankimo

Steamy Nabe

Tensei in Koenji

Tensei is a great nihonshu fan hang-out. In November 2009, they just added the new wing with 16 seats. That’s a big jump from 8. Now, you may have a better chance of getting a reservation at this highly sought after nihonshu joint.

Restaurant Information:
Tensei
TEL: 03-3311-0548 (in Japanese)
Definitely call to make a reservation in advance.
Address: 東京都杉並区梅里1-21-17
1-21-17 Umesato, Suginami, Tokyo

Fukurokuju Suzo web site in Japanese: http://www.fukurokuju.jp/

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