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April 29, 2024
 

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NIHONSHU

LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Aug 24, 2000
Where new discoveries and old favorites await
For exploring the world of sake, nothing is more helpful than a reliable sake retailer with a wide and varying selection. There are many such retailers in all parts of Japan, and developing a good relationship with one is key.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Aug 10, 2000
When you least expect distinction in Shimbashi . . .
It's always refreshing to come across a new sake pub, in particular one that breaks the mold of tradition and convention. It's even more refreshing to come upon one that defies all efforts at categorization, yet still satisfies in every way.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Jul 27, 2000
For new sake sensations, seek out the 'brat pack'
After tasting sake for some time, we begin to search for sake we have not yet tried. Of course, we have our favorites, sake we can fall back on and drink any day of the week. And we already know about good, well-publicized sake, be they blue chips such as Kubota or powerful upstarts like Juyondai.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Jul 13, 2000
Compulsories of sake keeps brewers in top form
Last month, I gave an overview of the Shinshu Kanpyokai, the national new-sake tasting competition held each spring, and its logistics. Here is a look at what kind of sake wins, and what the big deal is about anyway.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Jun 8, 2000
A taste of brewers' best
The 88th New-Sake Tasting Competitions were held in Hiroshima May 16.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
May 25, 2000
Strong traditions flow through Iwate sake
Talk about a late bloomer. From its location in the northeastern corner of Honshu, Iwate Prefecture exerts a tremendous influence on the sake world. Yet, sake was not even produced there on any real scale until well after 1678, long after Nada, Itami and Kyoto were well into their sake-brewing heyday.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
May 11, 2000
Recalling the toil of winter in the rites of spring
It's May, and for almost all of the nation's 1,700 or so sake brewers, this means brewing activities are over for the season. There are a handful of larger breweries that have climate-controlled factories, and do brew year-round (known as shiki-jozo). But everyone else is limited to the coldest months of the year. With the peripheral work involved, and cleaning up included, most places wrap up about the end of April.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Apr 27, 2000
Nigorizake puts the fun back in sake drinking
It is all too easy to get all too serious about sake all too often. Ginjo this and ginjo that, highly polished rice, double-secret yeast, fancy fragrance, full palate, clean finish, yada yada yada. Sake in the end should be fun, and nothing reminds us of this better than nigorizake.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Apr 13, 2000
Fish, sake and crowds come together at Uoshin
Like the indigenous beverages of most countries, sake developed along with its national cuisine. Indeed, there are great differences in Japanese cuisine from region to region, small country though Japan may be, and these differences are reflected in the subtle differences in the sake.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Dec 23, 1999
Sake tools you can trust
Happy Holidays to all Japan Times readers.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Dec 9, 1999
Plenty to imbibe on the Internet
Sake has slowly seeped through the Internet, having reached a fairly saturating presence there. Any search on the word sake will yield intoxicatingly broad results. A lot of it is good information, some of it is a bit light and some of it is pure business. Here is a quick rundown of what can be culled from the myriad of sites out there.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Nov 11, 1999
A toast to you, the brewers, and all the hard work you do
There are at present about 1,700 sakagura, or sake breweries, in Japan. This number is dropping somewhat quickly, with several kura going under each year. But for those 1,700-odd kura brewing again this year, just about now is when the brewing season begins.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Oct 14, 1999
Yeast developments give rise to wonderful new possibilities
Yeast has been one of those great technical advances in the sake world -- one factor that separates great ginjo of today from the run-of-the-mill sake of yesteryear. Over the last 10 years or so, dozens of new yeast strains have been developed and incorporated into sake brewing.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Sep 23, 1999
Osaka still has reasons to be proud of its brewing culture
Osaka has long been a great center of commerce and activity, but likely doesn't stand out as a major brewing center in the minds of most people. True, it has never been nearly as significant as its Kansai cousins -- Kyoto, Hyogo and Nara -- but the sake brewing culture was, and still is, strong there.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Sep 9, 1999
Sipping sake's diversity, one cup at a time
Accessibility is key when it comes to learning about sake. You can read about it until you're blue in the face, but if you can't access it and sample various types, there's not much point.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Aug 12, 1999
Nihonshu's sweet spectrum
Perhaps the best way to buy sake is to have tasted enough to know exactly what you are looking for, and find that label. Advice and recommendations go a long way too. But we all need to foray into the unknown and try new things at times.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Jul 22, 1999
Ishikawa sake guaranteed to give you summer chills
One of the more interesting things about the sake world is that interspersed between long-famous sake-brewing regions, such as Fushimi, Nada and Niigata, are locales that have well-established sake traditions all their own. Places such as Yamagata, Shizuoka, Shimane and Tottori have well-defined styles and histories that are unique and interesting. Although far from huge in production terms, some of the finest sake in the land comes from these places. Ishikawa Prefecture belongs on that list.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Jul 8, 1999
Oasis of serenity found in rowdiest Roppongi
One of Tokyo's greatest charms, and one of its greatest oddities, is its occasional lack of congruency. Like architectural hiccups, you often see a building where you would least expect it, completely unrelated to everything around it. Aburaya in Roppongi is like that, albeit it is more a matter of atmosphere than architecture.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Apr 8, 1999
Soaking up the atmosphere enhances the sake experience
Sake pubs tend to have certain similarities of theme running through them. Whether it be a modern expression of these threaded themes or a more classical version, the look, feel and menu are often not all that different. While it all works for a reason, over the last few years there has been a trend toward some refreshingly new atmospheres.
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Mar 25, 1999
Shibuya's best-kept secret -- but you didn't read it here
Publicity can be both good and bad. It can help a restaurant or pub stay open and economically healthy. It can also, however, be the bane of an establishment as well. Too much attention has its downfalls.
Number of homeless in Japan hits record low
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Sakiyama elementary school in Tamba, Hyogo Prefecture, in March .Over the past decade, the government has directed efforts toward policies designed to give young people incentives to base themselves in rural areas.
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When chef Ryohei Ikemi moved to Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, and opened Casa del Cibo in 2011, it was the first proper Italian restaurant in the city.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.
Kyotographie's strong 12th edition shines light into the margins
Yassine Alaoui Ismaili, who goes by Yoriyas, turned to photography, shooting motion while in motion himself, after an injury forced him to give up his career as a professional breakdancer.

Podcast

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Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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