Every Kanpai has a story.

In Champagne, I Become the One Taking Notes

Usually I travel the world to teach about sake. This time was the opposite. As a member of Japan's awa-sake (sparkling sake) association, I went to Champagne to learn — through the Comité Champagne, the traditional house of De Sousa, and the natural-champagne pioneer Marguet. A dispatch from Nanbu Bijin's Kosuke Kuji.

The Night I Paired Sake with Burgers in Chile

"Sake goes with burgers," a chef in coastal Chile said, matter-of-factly. From beachside burger nights to an embassy tasting, casual and formal are moving at once — and nowhere in the world is sake spreading faster. A dispatch from Kosuke Kuji's third trip to Chile.

The Night I Became Waldo in Los Angeles

A sake festival in Los Angeles where the brewmaster plays the role of Waldo from "Where's Waldo?" A new kind of event — born from an e-commerce startup — marks the moment Japanese sake shifts from the one searching to the one being searched for.

Taking Root on the Other Side of the World

22 years after first bringing Nanbu Bijin to São Paulo, Kosuke Kuji returns to Brazil and finds sake quietly taking its place on a two-Michelin-star wine pairing list in Rio. A column about what it really means to take root.

The Night I Poured Sake at a Holocaust Museum in Texas

A night pouring Nanbu Bijin at a Holocaust museum in Houston. From getting kosher certified 13 years ago to discovering the essence of sake brewing — Kosuke Kuji's notes from Texas.

Niigata Gastronomy Award 2026 Winners Announced — 168 Restaurants and 21 Producers Honored

Winners of the Niigata Gastronomy Award 2026 announced. Tokiwa Zushi Niigata won the restaurant Grand Prix, and Uchiyama Farm took the primary industry Grand Prix.

KOROKKE TO MENTAIKO

立ち飲み

A five-minute walk from Monzen-Nakacho Station. Opened April 2021 and reopened as a standi

MOTO TOKYO

日本酒バー

Moto TOKYO brings together premium sake from across Japan with authentic Japanese cuisine

PLATSTAND MOTO

立ち飲み

Two minutes from Kichijoji Station. Since 2013, now celebrating 12 years with a 2025 stand

Kayabacho Shokudo History by moto

バー・ダイニング

A dining bar by the Moto Group, specializing in sake shops, offering creative dishes that

Nihonshu Stand MOTO Kayabacho

立ち飲み

Kayabacho: where Edo's sake arrived from Nada ports. After 12+ years in Shinjuku, Nihonshu

Washoku Onodera

割烹・和食

A Japanese restaurant that captures the essence of each season through carefully crafted c