1day SAKE TOUR
Taste the finest sake Tokyo has to offer
Taste the finest sake Tokyo has to offer
Sake is to Japanese cuisine as wine is to French food. Indeed, there are few better accompaniments to eating out in Japan than a bottle or two of fine sake. No matter your liquor preferences - dry, sparkling, sweet, fragrant - once you start exploring, the world of sake is endlessly fascinating. Just three simple ingredients - rice, water, and yeast - yields endless magical permutations of Japan's national liquor! Not only can you sample all kinds of regional sake at Tokyo's izakaya, the metropolis has its own sake-brewing scene that merits serious exploration.
Visit a sake brewery
Begin your deep dive into the world of sake with a guided tour of one of Tokyo's sake breweries. Try Ishikawa Shuzo, renowned for their fabulously smooth Tamajiman brew. Explore the beautiful 19th-century warehouses where the sake is made, followed by an al fresco lunch at the adjacent Italian restaurant. Naturally, there's fresh sake and craft beer straight from the brewery to go alongside the seasonal Italian delicacies.
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Another option is Toshimaya Shuzo. Established in 1596, it's the oldest of the Tokyo breweries. Their signature, multiple award-winning Kinkon is a rich, mellow brew with a hint of fruit. Brewery tours can be arranged for a fee, and include a few sake samples as part of the tour.
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Few can match Ozawa Shuzo for sake-tasting in picturesque surroundings. Founded in 1702, the brewery is located right on the Tama River, encircled by lush, gorgeous mountains. It costs extra to sample sake by the glass after the tour. Hang out on the open-air terrace afterwards, or have lunch at nearby tofu restaurants Mamagotoya or Mameraku.
All guided tours listed above can be conducted in English, and are available by reservation only through the respective websites.
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Shop for sake
Bottles of sake make great souvenirs. Head back to central Tokyo and the glitzy Ginza Six department store, home to sake purveyor Imadeya Ginza.
This is the perfect bottle shop for discerning drinkers. Here, you'll find 400 - 500 types of sake, plus other liquors like beer, distilled shochu, and wine. More importantly, they stock some rare boutique brews. To name a few: rice vodka, cypress and sakura-infused gin, sparkling sake, and 11-year aged rice shochu. Buy a few drinks at the small on-site bar, and let the expert English-speaking staff be your guides. It's a good way to figure out which sake you're bringing home as a souvenir.
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Alternatively, try Sumiyoshi Syuhan inside the newly opened TOKYO MIDTOWN HIBIYA shopping complex. The intimate and fun shop specializes in what they call “field-to-table” sake and shochu where the breweries have taken special care not to harm the environment when producing the products. A small standing bar serves carefully selected nibbles to go with the impressive lineup of sake.
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