Articles
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columnIn 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.
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columnThe 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.
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columnThe 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.
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columnTaking 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.
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columnThe 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.
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newsNiigata 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.
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spotlightNihonshu Stand Moto Kayabacho: Standing Bar Sake From ¥390 a Pour
One minute from Kayabacho Station Exit 3, Nihonshu Stand Moto is a sake standing bar that relocated from Shinjuku in October 2022. It had been running there for over 12 years. The opening date was October 1st, which is officially Sake Day in Japan.
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spotlightWashoku Onodera in Kagurazaka: One Omakase Course, Eight Seasonal Dishes
Five minutes on foot from Iidabashi Station's west exit, on the fourth floor of a building in the backstreets of Kagurazaka. Washoku Onodera is also walkable from Ushigome-Kagurazaka and Kagurazaka stations.
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spotlightSake and Spaghetti Napolitan? Inside Kayabacho's "Shokudo"
A one-minute walk from Kayabacho Station's Exit 2, on Suzuran-dori, you'll find Kayabacho Shokudo History by moto since 2010. It's run by the Moto Group, which operates several sake-focused bars in Tokyo.
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spotlightSake Bar Moto TOKYO: Standing Bar Meets Kappo, Right Inside Tokyo Station
From Tokyo Station's Yaesu exit, walk through the underground passage and take the escalator to the third floor of Tokyo Midtown Yaesu. A latticed wooden entrance comes into view.
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featureEvery KAMPAI Tells a Story — From Documentary to a New Beginning
What I needed to become a sake fan wasn't knowledge or training—it was the experience of being thrown straight into the heart of it all. From making award-winning sake documentaries to launching KAMPAI, filmmaker Mirai Konishi shares how a chance encounter in Little Tokyo transformed his life and inspired a mission to connect the world with sake culture.
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newsMake Your Own Mini Komadaru: A 60-Minute Sake Experience in Asakusa
A new sake experience program called "KomoSake Terrace" opens in Asakusa on April 1. Organized by KOMO Inc., it takes place inside Konohana Brewing, Asakusa's first craft sake brewery.
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newsKAORIUM Expands into Convenience Stores: AI Is Recommending Drinks in More and More Places
A sommelier AI that translates flavor into words, "KAORIUM for Sake & Wine," has expanded into 17 Natural Lawson convenience stores in and around Tokyo, starting May 11, 2026.
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event40 Sake Breweries Across Ebisu and Daikanyama: "Oishii SAKE Walk 2026" on May 23
Ebisu and Daikanyama turn into a citywide sake-tasting venue on Saturday, May 23, 2026, when "Oishii SAKE Walk in Ebisu & Daikanyama 2026" returns.
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newsA New "Miss Amazake": Japan's Sake Pageant Group Turns Its Lens on a Centuries-Old Drink
Miss SAKE, the association that has spent years sending Japanese sake culture out into the world, is launching a new offshoot focused on amazake — a low- or non-alcoholic fermented rice drink with deep roots in Japan.
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eventApril Sake Event Roundup: Akita, Tochigi, Gunma, Greater Tokyo — Plus a National Festival in June
The Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association has released its "Sake Event Calendar: April 2026 Edition.
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eventIWC 2026 SAKE Category Lands in Higashihiroshima — and You Can Drink the Entries
The "SAKE" category of the International Wine Challenge (IWC) 2026 — one of the world's largest wine and sake competitions — will hold its main judging round in Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture, from Sunday, May 18 to Thursday, May 21.
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newsMiss SAKE Hosts a Health Day — at a Shrine
Miss SAKE, the organization that selects ambassadors for Japanese sake and culture, is hosting a health-focused event on April 19, 2026, at EDOCCO STUDIO inside the Kanda Myojin shrine complex in Tokyo.
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event35-Year-Old Sake Turned Into Ice Cream: A Golden Week Pop-Up in Tokyo
The oldest sake in this lineup was brewed in 1990 — over 35 years ago. Now it's being turned into ice cream.
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eventYokohama Sake Square 2026: 20 Breweries from the Greater Tokyo Area, One Waterfront Weekend
Yokohama's Red Brick Warehouse hosts Yokohama Sake Square again this summer. The event sticks to sake from the greater Tokyo region—20 breweries, more than 50 labels, spread across a Friday preview and a full weekend on July 4–5.
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eventCRAFT SAKE WEEK 2026 Unveils Full Restaurant Lineup: From Three-Star Fine Dining to Ramen
All 20 restaurants for CRAFT SAKE WEEK 2026 have been announced.
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newsMiss SAKE 2026: Okinawa Representative Riko Kametani to Compete in June Final
The Miss SAKE Okinawa organizing committee has selected Riko Kametani, from Shuri in Naha City, as the 2026 Miss SAKE Okinawa representative.
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event178 New Sakes From 60 Breweries Across Aichi, Gifu, and Mie: "Shin SAKE SQUARE" Hits Nagoya March 20–22
"Shin SAKE SQUARE 2026," a sake festival co-organized by the sake brewers' associations of Aichi, Gifu, and Mie prefectures along with radio station ZIP-FM, will be held at Yaba Park in Nagoya from March 20 (national holiday) through March 22.
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newsWhat Inbound Visitors Actually Want: A Shibuya Sake Bar Tests Four Minamiaizu Breweries
What kind of sake actually lands with inbound visitors? A Shibuya bar called Mirai Nihonshu-ten & SAKE BAR ran a tasting-and-survey study on four breweries from Minamiaizu, Fukushima, in partnership with the Survey Research Center.
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event"Aizu Yoppara Sake Matsuri" at Hoshino Resorts Bandaisan: Tasting Fukushima's Award-Winning Sake
Bandaisan Onsen Hotel (Hoshino Resorts, Bandai-machi, Fukushima) will hold the "Aizu Yoppara Nihonshu Matsuri" — roughly, the "Aizu Get-Tipsy Sake Festival" — from April 9 through June 30.
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eventThe Aged Sake That Was Called "Like Sherry" in Barcelona — Available This Weekend in Tokyo
In late March, the Long-Aged Sake Research Association brought 13 varieties of aged sake (koshu) to Alimentaria 2026, one of Europe's largest food and beverage exhibitions, held in Barcelona.
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newsSake by Gacha: Kurand's "Sake Gacha" Passes 550,000 Rolls
Kurand, an online sake shop, just announced that its flagship product — the "Sake Gacha" — has surpassed 550,000 rolls to date. To celebrate, KURAND Inc.
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newsSAKE COMPETITION 2026 to Be Held at Takanawa Gateway, with Special Awamori Category
SAKE COMPETITION, a blind-tasting competition that ranks commercially available sake purely on quality, returns for its 12th edition in 2026.
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event12 Spring Sakes for ¥200–300 a Glass at Tokyo's Sake Information Center
The Japan Sake Information Center in Toranomon, Tokyo (1-6-15 Nishi-Shimbashi, 1F) is pouring 12 seasonal spring sakes — haruzake — by the glass for ¥200–300 each. The selection runs from March through April.
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event100 Breweries, 5 Days: Konzai 2026 Returns to Tokyo's Takanawa Gateway
Konzai 2026, a five-day festival showcasing Japan's drinking culture, is coming to Tokyo this summer. The event runs June 10–14, 2026 at TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY's NEWoMan Takanawa in Takanawa — a sweeping new development near Shinagawa Station.
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eventNational Sake Fair 2026 Announces Dates: June 19–20 in Ikebukuro
The dates for the 17th National Sake Fair, one of Japan's longest-running annual sake events, have been announced.
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eventKIGEN Japanese Sake Fest 2026: 57 Breweries Gather in Nara, the Birthplace of Sake
Nara, widely regarded as the birthplace of Japanese sake, will host its first nationwide sake festival from May 29 to 31, 2026.
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newsAI Sake Sommelier Arrives at Chubu Centrair Airport: Tell It Your Mood, It Picks the Bottle
An AI-powered sake and wine recommendation system called "KAORIUM for Sake & Wine" has been installed at duty-free and liquor shops inside Chubu Centrair International Airport. It went live on March 11, announced by SCENTMATIC Inc. via PR TIMES.
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eventKIGEN Japanese Sake Fest Debuts in Nara: 56 Brewers Across 3 Days, May 29–31
Nara — the birthplace of seishu (refined Japanese sake) — will host the inaugural KIGEN Japanese Sake Fest from May 29 to 31 at the Nara Prefectural Convention Center.
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eventJuyondai, Aramasa, Jikon: A Spring Sake Fair Where You Can Taste Them All, Through March
"Nihonshu Genka Sakagura," a chain of sake bars known for selling sake at near-wholesale prices, is running a "Spring Sake Fair" at four Tokyo locations and one in Omiya through the end of March.
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eventWakate no Yoake 2026: Japan's Next-Generation Brewers Gather in Otemachi for Five Days
Around fifty young brewers from across Japan, joined by overseas sake producers, will take over the Otemachi-Naka-dori and Uchikanda-Naka-dori plazas in central Tokyo from September 30 to October 4, 2026. Organized by camo Inc.
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newsMichisakari's Sake Lees Become Skincare: "HADAYOI" Joins Japan's Growing Sake-Beauty Market
A new skincare brand called "HADAYOI" has launched, using sake lees and rice bran from Michisakari, a sake brewery in Tajimi, Gifu Prefecture.
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news40% of Japanese People Drink Sake — But Over 50% Want To
How many people in Japan actually drink sake? According to a survey of 11,490 respondents conducted in February 2026 by MyVoiceCom, around 40% currently drink sake — and that number has been declining over time.
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eventNagoya's First "Shin SAKE SQUARE" Draws 6,000 Over Three Days
"Shin SAKE SQUARE 2026," held at Yaba Park in Nagoya from March 20 to 22, closed after drawing 6,000 visitors over its three-day run.
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newsFive Noto Breweries Hit the Road — 1,000 Bottles Across Nine Department Stores
Five sake breweries in the Noto Peninsula, devastated by the 2024 earthquake, are bringing their bottles to nine Daimaru and Matsuzakaya department stores across Japan.
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news"Kaku-uchi" Goes to Stockholm: IMADEYA and ANA Launch a Sake Culture Project in Sweden
IMADEYA, a specialty sake shop based in Chiba, Japan, is partnering with All Nippon Airways (ANA) to bring the Japanese "kaku-uchi" experience to Stockholm on April 18–19.
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newsJapan's Alcohol Exports Hit Record ¥149.5 Billion in 2025
Japan's alcoholic beverage exports reached an all-time high of ¥149.5 billion (approximately $1 billion) in 2025, up 11.8% from the previous year, according to data compiled by the National Tax Agency from Ministry of Finance trade statistics.
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newsWhat Is a "Shirt for Drinking Days"? The IMADEYA × UNITED ARROWS Sake Art Tee
"The excitement of a day with good drinks, worn as clothing.
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eventCRAFT SAKE WEEK Turns 10: 130 Breweries, 13 Days at Roppongi Hills
CRAFT SAKE WEEK 2026 celebrates its 10th anniversary at Roppongi Hills Arena, running from April 17 to 29. A total of 130 breweries from across Japan rotate through the venue—10 each day—alongside 20 restaurants serving pairing menus.
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eventNihonbashi Turns Into a Citywide Sake Walk for the 10th Year on April 25
The 10th edition of the Nihonbashi Sake Kiki-Aruki — a "tasting walk" through one of Tokyo's oldest merchant districts — returns on Saturday, April 25, 2026.
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newsThe Organizers of "Wakate no Yoake" Open a Sake Shop in Takanawa, Stocking 90+ Breweries
camo Inc.
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eventIWC Hiroshima: The Full Program Is Taking Shape
May in Hiroshima is going to be all about sake. The IWC (International Wine Challenge) SAKE division's move to Higashi-Hiroshima was announced earlier, but the official website has now published the full schedule of events.
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brewery-storyA Sake Brewery Just Placed 2nd at Japan's Biggest Business Conference
Ine to Agave, a sake brewery in the small coastal city of Oga, Akita Prefecture, has placed second at the Catapult Grand Prix, the main stage event at ICC Summit FUKUOKA 2026, the company announced via PR TIMES.
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newsMadeira Wine Meets Aged Sake at the Portuguese Embassy
On March 24, the Portuguese Embassy in Tokyo hosted a seminar and tasting that brought together two of the world's great aged drinks: Madeira wine and Japanese koshu (aged sake).
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event19 Breweries, DJ Sets, and Sake Cocktails: "SAKE MODE" Targets the Under-40 Crowd in Shibuya
On April 18 (Saturday), a sake event called "SAKE MODE: AFTER HOURS" will take over SLOTH JINNAN, a culture space in Shibuya's Jinnan district. The catch: it's exclusively for people aged 20 to 39.
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newsAsia's 50 Best Restaurants 2026: 10 Japanese Restaurants Make the 51–100 List, With Kanazawa and Yamagata Debuts
The 51st to 100th positions of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2026 have been announced. Ten restaurants from Japan made the list. The rankings were published by William Reed Ltd via PR TIMES.
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newsIWC's SAKE Division Heads to Higashi-Hiroshima, the Birthplace of Ginjo
The SAKE division of the International Wine Challenge (IWC), one of the world's largest wine competitions, will be held in Higashi-Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture, from May 18 to 21, 2026.
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newsNanbu Bijin Brewery Tour: Become a Kurabito in a Wooden Kura Built in 1902
First up is Nanbu Bijin, in Ninohe City, Iwate Prefecture. The brewery is led by Kosuke Kuji, one of the protagonists of the documentary film "KAMPAI! For the Love of Sake.