For a Kentucky native who first landed in Japan on a business trip, Brian Hutto has carved out an impressive niche in Yokohama's sake scene.
At Craft Sake Shoten, or "Brian's Bar," as regulars affectionately call the watering hole located steps from Yokohama Station, the cozy, second-floor space brims with tipsy bonhomie. Customers move between standing tables against the wall and two large coolers flanking a wide picture window. Hutto stands behind the small bar at the rear, dispensing sake wisdom and warm conversation in equal measure.
The path that led him here began in 2010, when Hutto was working at a banking institution in San Francisco.
“San Francisco is not that sustainable unless you’re making a serious salary, and I wanted to make a change,” he explains.
Drawn to Japanese culture and the allure of self-reinvention — “a midlife crisis,” the 60-year-old says with a laugh — he began contemplating a move. Despite a lack of local contacts and Japanese language ability, Hutto formulated a plan to leverage his knowledge of California wines into an import business. In 2015, an internet search connected him with Yosuke Nakano, a business consultant who helped him navigate Japan's complex alcohol importing regulations.
What happened next would change the course of his plans entirely. On Hutto’s first night after relocating to Japan in 2016, Nakano invited him to dinner with "an American friend." Though jet-lagged and disoriented, Hutto agreed. That American turned out to be John Gauntner, one of the world's leading sake educators.
The evening turned into an impromptu sake symposium, with Hutto sharing his tasting notes from sake events in San Francisco. As he began visiting breweries with Nakano and industry friends, his fascination with what he calls the “mysterious” brew grew. The Japanese wine market, he realized, was more saturated than he'd anticipated, but sake exports represented only 2% of total production — an opportunity waiting to be seized.
Hutto’s pivot to the bar world came through the need for a physical office – a requirement for obtaining a business license in Japan. When the chance arose to launch the Yokohama branch of Meishu Center, a casual tasting bar formerly located in Tokyo’s Hamamatsucho district, Hutto transformed the space from a mere office into a cheerful tachinomi (standing bar). In 2018, he struck out on his own with Craft Sake Shoten.
Today, the bar stocks a rotating selection of around 80 different varieties, focusing on small producers like Aramasa and offering an impressive range of styles at reasonable prices — just ¥500 for a 60-milliliter pour. Although Hutto has a penchant for full-bodied sake, he maintains a diverse portfolio to showcase the drink’s versatility.
"The key is introducing everybody to that full range of sake," Hutto explains. "I think a lot of times people say, 'Oh, I've had it once or had it twice, but I don't really like it.' That's why it's important to experience a very dry junmai (pure rice) brew alongside something that's unpasteurized or cloudy, or even aged sake."
What sets Craft Sake Shoten apart is not just its extensive selection but its role as an educational hub. Hutto offers two-hour tasting courses (¥9,000 per person) where participants can sample up to 20 different brews. The bar has cultivated a loyal, predominantly Japanese following, while the rest of his customers are expatriates who share a genuine interest in learning about sake.
Recently, Hutto expanded his ventures with Craft Sake Shoten & Kitchen, a modern, neighborhood izakaya (Japanese pub) and partnership with Aaron Hao showcasing some of his favorite brews alongside a more expansive food menu near JR Kawasaki Station. While he's planning a refresh of the original Yokohama location after seven years in business, Hutto says the community vibe that has made it a local institution will remain unchanged.
“The folks that come to my place are real sake enthusiasts just looking for a hangout."
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