Sake of the week #046: Toroman

“What? You bought more sake?” Etsuko asked, bewildered.

“Yeah, but not today. I got it last year at that tasting at Kuraya.”

You may see the kind of problem we’ve run into. Sometimes you just have to buy a bottle, or two, or three. They tend to pile up

July SakeSwap – Odayaka Tokubetsu Junmai

Two years ago, I called Odayaka “Feel good sake“, and today it still gives me a warm and yasashii (gentle) feeling. To find out where I get that feeling, please visit our previous posts at Tokyofoodcast about our experiences learning all aspects of sake brewing from the field to the bottle at this brewery in Fukushima.

Sake of the week #014: Yamatogawa

Yaemon from Yamatogawa aged for 9 years

Last night, we enjoyed a super sake tasting with our über sake otaku friends. Among the many many nihonshu we tried, two bottles from Yamatogawa Shuzo in Kitakata, Fukushima stood out.
The two bottles of Yamatogawa Yauemon from last night were full of surprises from beginning to end. These were [...]

Kinpou Sakagura

Kinpou Sakagura

When we returned to Kinpou Shuzo for harvesting, we stopped by at Kinpou Sakagura, an izakaya a few minutes from Koriyama station that carries sake exclusively made by Kinpou Shuzo. This was our second time here, after liking it so much in June on the way back from the rice field. Back in June, [...]

Rice, rice, rice-all for sake

In Tokyo you feel the changes in the seasons: endless rain becomes a sauna-like unbearably hot and humid day, then long awaited fall an with evening breeze. In Tamura-cho, Fukushima, home for our favorite sake Odayaka, you see the seasonal changes as wet green rice fields covered with newly planted sprouts transform to golden waves [...]

Feel Good Sake-Odayaka

I guess this is a bit like “he said” — “she said”. The previous post was from Te-chan’s take on our experience. This is mine. No, I am not talking about us! I’m talking about sake! And, you will get a chance to read Melinda’s version, too.

Just as expressed by one of their brand [...]

Making Sake at Kinpou Shuzo–Niida Honke

Shizenshu–Nature’s sake

The Start
On a Saturday morning last month we went for a Shinkansen ride up to Koriyama and a day of sake making at Kinpou Shuzo–Niida Honke, makers of Odayaka (穏), Tamura, and Shizenshu. Melinda and JP came too, and had thoughtfully brought along a mediterranean selection of breakfast treats, so we all settled into [...]

Yumegokoro “Dream Heart”

I always thought there’s something mysterious about sake making. Craftsmanship by Toji which is the master brewer’s magical touch, sleepless work in a steamy kojimuro to produce the best koji, kura people singing worksongs as they mix the mash of shubo with a big paddle in their hand: I thought these are essence to [...]