姫路日本酒試 Kokoromi Sake Bar

There was a "sake library" Kokoromi (試) at Himeji JR station. There were probably around 200+ bottles of sake on display. A bit overwhelming initially..

All these were sakes around Hyogo region.

To order, one could simply note down the serial number of the display bottle. Or one could use one of the 2 touch screen computers at the counter to look for the kind of sakes you like. Next you make payment, and the staff would prepare your drinks for you. Prices for one pour ranged from JPY 200+ to 800.

This would be an interesting place to try all kinds of sakes. You would also be given a printout of the sake you paid for, good for keeping track of what you had drunk before. Would definitely hope to come back here again.

Tabelog: https://tabelog.com/hyogo/A2805/A280501/28031933/

Sakebar Takashi 日本酒場 たかし

We found a tiny sake bar just beside the dotonbori canal. It was on the second floor of the Shunpan building (春帆ビル). Place was called Takashi after the owner/master.

It could probably take in about 5-6 person at a time. Though tiny, it offered a view of the streets below. We were here for a short drink. And we managed to try out some junmai ginjo (純米吟醸). There were probably about 20-30 kinds of sakes. Instead of going through the menu, we decided to ask the master to recommend.

There were also some light snacks to go along.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E9%85%92%E5%A0%B4%E3%81%9F%E3%81%8B%E3%81%97/105876470804540
Tabelog: https://tabelog.com/osaka/A2701/A270202/27113833/

Nara Sake 奈良地酒

It was late afternoon, and time to look for a happy hour drinking place. We walked around the Kintetsu Nara station, and chanced upon this shop with sake barrels at the door. We walked around further before turning back to this izakaya.

This place 奈良の酒蔵全部呑み has sakes from 30 breweries in Nara. Where else to better try local sakes 地酒. There was a menu of the sakes, or you could just look at the fridge. There tasting came in 3 sizes - 50ml, 100ml and 130ml.

The staff would take your order. Fetch the big standard 1.8ml bottles in the cart (3 of them below), and pour before you.

We had quite a few tastings. Below were just 3 of them.

There was light finger food as well. Nice izayaka for Nara sakes.



Website: http://www.happoh.com/
Tabelog: https://tabelog.com/nara/A2901/A290101/29010648/

酒処 丹の Dan

We decided to have a night stay at Obihiro (帯広) on our way back from Eastern Hokkaido towards Sapporo. It was really more vibrant at night here at Obihiro city that our previous other nights.
We stayed at the Obihiro Tennen Onsen Fukui Hotel, and there were many eating options around it.
After dinner, we went in search of a sake bar called 酒処 丹の. With Google map, we still had to walk round the same place a few times before pinpointing the building.

One of the "clue" was the sake labels on the wall up the stairs.

The place was managed by an American named Dan. How lucky. We were able to converse in English and learn more about some of the local sakes.

Kamikawa Taisetsu 上川大雪 (above) was one of Hokkaido sake we enjoyed. We were able to taste ginjo 純米吟醸 made from different kind of Hokkaido rice - Ginpu 吟風, Suisei 彗星, Kitashizuki きたしずく

You could also find popular premium sakes here. One example was the various labels from Aramasa新政  (Akita).


Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sakedokorotanno
Tabelog: https://tabelog.com/hokkaido/A0111/A011101/1053484/

Kunimare Sake Brewery (国稀酒造)

Kunimare Sake Brewery (国稀酒造) was the northernmost sake brewery in Japan. At the brewery, there was exhibits and a souvenir shop.

There was sake tasting available further in the shop. Its website had a map and explanation in English.

The brewery was located in Mashike, a port town next to the sea. Seafood here were known to be fresh, big and cheap.

Website: https://www.kunimare.co.jp/

Ikoma Sake Bar (日本酒Bar生駒)

Asahikawa was the second largest city in Hokkaido, with a population of about 340K (Sapporo: 1.95M). However, end September was a quiet time in this part of Japan, much contrast to Sapporo. We walked around Asahikawa downtown, and come across a glass door with the wordings "日本酒Bar生駒".

The bar was run by a couple. The master was the man in the picture. The young lady was one of their 常連さん (jourensan = regular). She tried chatting with us in her limited English. It was always fun to chat with people in such drinking places either with our limited Japanese.

We requested the master for some local Hokkaido sakes. Below were a few of them. Popular sake rice in Hokkaido were 「吟風」(ginpuu) and「彗星」(suisei) and Kitashizuku.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sakebarikoma/
Tabelog: https://tabelog.com/hokkaido/A0104/A010401/1045236/

Niseko Brewery 二世古酒造

We would be staying at Noboribetsu for the night, but we decided to go around Niseko, down to Toya, and then to Noboribetsu.

Niseko is a famous destination for Singaporeans that come Hokkaido for skiing. Niseko is written in katakana ニセコ. This actually came from the Ainu language, in short meaning river in the canyon.

While people come here for skiing, we headed to the Niseko brewery (二世古酒造) . This brewery was founded in 1916, so slightly over 100 years old. It also called itself as a famous brewery at the foot of Mount Yotei (羊蹄). The sakes were made from waters from the mountain. 

In the brewery office, there were a wide variety of sakes, shochus that you could taste. We were greeted by an obaasan that told us to help ourselves with any of the alcohol. Of course, we ended up buying a few.

Website: http://nisekoshuzo.com/

Otaru Takano Liquor Store (小樽酒商たかの )

Otaru is famous for its sushi restaurants. After sushi dinner, we passed by a sake liquor store. Otaru town was quiet in Sep, so we decided to buy same sakes back to our room to drink. The store sold locals as well as premium sakes.

The prices for Tatenokawa 光明 and 十八 differed by a zero!

As we were making payment, we heard noises coming from above. Then we realised there was a 'hidden' drinking place above...

According to their website, there was about 100 kinds of alcohol available.

The master was very friendly and tried to share his sake knowledge with us. However we could only understand part of it.

二世古 sake is from Niseko! A hokkaido sake.
死神 sake is from Shimane.

Here is a night photo of the Otaru Canal

Website: http://www.otaru-takano.co.jp/
Tabelog: https://tabelog.com/hokkaido/A0106/A010601/1030476/

Orihara Shouten 折原門仲

We visited Toyosu market early morning and had lunch over there. This new fish market was big but cold. The old Tsukiji market was more lively, or rather had more "life" in it. Later on this trip, we were lucky to visit a few other interesting fish markets in Hokkaido. After lunch, we headed to Monzen Nakacho to meet our friend at Orihara Shouten.

Monzen Nakacho was part of Tokyo old down town, and near to Toyosu. We felt there were more to explore in this area especially at night.

Orihara Shouten was the first sake specialty shop at Robertson Quay, Singapore. Their outlet at Monzen Nakacho was actually setup after their Singapore shop. There were a greater variety of sakes at Monzen Nakacho outlet than back Singapore.

The "system" here was simple. There were about 200+ kinds of sakes to choose from. You just pick the one or few you want from the fridge, bring them to the cashier, decide on small or big servicing. The pricing were on the labels around the bottles. Make payment. Bring them to your table. Take picture. And put them back in the fridge.

We normally preferred to start with junmai ginjo 純米吟醸. And some how sakes always tasted much better in Japan.

These days, a sake brewery might produce various "series". For example, the following was the Tatenyan (たてにゃん) from Tatenokawa (楯の川酒造), Yamagata. This was modeled after a real cat living at the brewery, and was now the brewery's mascot.

特別純米 NUDY from (若竹屋酒造場), Fukuoka

Local craft beer お江戸深川の麦酒. The label of this bottle depicted the old Eitai (永代橋) bridge.

If you are looking for a place to drink different kind of sakes, this is highly recommended. And it starts from 11am.



Website: http://oriharashoten.shop-pro.jp/
Tabelog: https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1313/A131303/13123491/

日本酒原価酒蔵 Wholesale Price Sake

When you come to Japan, you will have to try their sake.

As usual, we were looking for places which offer a variety of japanese sakes. We found a restaurant chain "日本酒原価酒蔵" that was selling premium sakes at wholesale price. We went to their outlet at Shimbashi No 2 shop.

We were intrigued by the way the sakes were served. Each sake was kept in 100ml bottles with a small descriptive label. Normally sakes come in 1.8L bottles. To maintain their freshness, the sakes were bottled in 100ml bottles and sealed from these larger bottles.

There was a great variety of popular premium brands. Food wise was typical izakaya kind of food.

Definitely worth coming back again for the different choices of sakes.

Website: http://sake-genkabar.com/

Tabelog: https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1301/A130103/13159387/

信州おさけ村 Shinshu Osake Mura

We exited Shinbashi station and managed to find our way to Shinshu Osake Mura, located at the ground floor of Shimbashi Ekimae building. It was opposite a stationery shop.

信州 shinshu refers to the Nagano area. This was a standing bar, known for its cheap beers and sakes. You could get a flight of sakes for a few hundred yen.

There was an inner room with refrigerators with craft beers and sakes. There were 2 beers on tap, just pay at the counter, and the master will walk out and make the pour for you. There were a great variety of beers and sakes, as well as, small bites to try. Good place for a stopover before heading for dinner.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/信州おさけ村/152684694756805
Tabelog: https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1301/A130103/13024613/