Yamato Shizuku Yamahai Junmai

Finding a good izakaya with a good nihonshu list on Sundays presents a bit of a challenge because a lot of places are closed on the weekend, especially those in the central Tokyo business area. Rather than trying to search for a new place on Sundays, I start with Nozaki Saketen for a reservation.

Last night, a bunch of us sake fans from around the globe went out and had plenty of nihonshu and typical izakaya food. The last sake recommended by the restaurant was this bottle, Yamato Shizuku Yamahai Junmai brewed by Akita Seishu. The recommendation came after starting the night with summery sake from Tsuji Zenbee, Raifuku, and Mizubasho. Then we went on full bodied Akita streak with Ippaku Suisei and Mansaku-no-Hana.

For Akita sake fans, Kariho or Dewatsuru should sound familiar. Yamato Shizuku is the third brand from the same company, Akita Seishu, and it is dedicated to their original yago or brand name and logo from Edo period.

Actually, Nozaki Sakaten is a great lively, casual, and reasonably-priced place to sip from a good selection of sake any day of the week, but if you are at a loss on Sundays, try calling them first!

About Yamato Shizuku in Japanese: http://www.igeta.jp/yamato01.html

Nozaki Sakaten
A few minutes walk from JR Shinbashi Station Karasumori exit.
3-19-4 Shinbashi, Minato-ku;
Phone: (03) 6430-3329
Map and Directions: Please see this Japan Times article for directions.

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Nabeshima Summer Moon

If you find a theme, and that theme matches the season, and then a few nice co-workers send you a bottle or three, you might as well go with it. This bottle arrived by takkyuubin just before we left for Joy of Sake and it has been on my mind ever since. In particular, since Jon commented recently how he seemed to be on a roll with sake from Saga, I thought I’d pull this one out of the fridge, and was very glad I did. This sake gave us several tastes over time and temperature.

Nabeshima comes to us up in Tokyo in small quantities from Kyushu. They make around 450 koku per year–a pretty small brewery. And, what’s more, in the words of their owner-brewer, they pretty much started over from scratch just over ten years ago. But they make good, clean and full-bodied sake that did well with a little nama-ham for appetizer and Et-chan’s ratatouille for dinner.

On first tasting very chilled out of the fridge I got a sensational start and clean but slightly lingering finish–brisk and refreshing as as a “Summer Moon” sake should be on a hot August evening. I did feel inspired to open the back balcony doors and look for the moon, but no dice so I went back in under the aircon. It was at least 30ºC out there if not hotter as the concrete poured back all of the sun absorbed today. The only silvery moon for us was coming out of a bottle.

A little later, as it sat on the counter, another choko gave quite a bit more acidity, but still very balanced. It took almost another 30 minutes out of the fridge before Et-chan said “Now that’s Nabeshima!” A lot more sweetness came out, but with each change: more acidity, more sweetness, it was still in a good balance. Maybe a more refreshing drink chilled, but much more substantial an hour later–and warmer. I almost went for the stove to heat it up a bit to see how much more it would develop, but maybe tomorrow…

It’s been quite a while since I visited Kyushu, but if the sake itself isn’t attraction enough, Nabeshima has a very good website [Japanese only but with enticing photos]. They are promoting “Green Tourism” which includes rice planting, weeding, harvesting, and then of course brewing and drinking. Sounds a lot like the kind of hands-on program at Kinpou Shuzo that gave me a first taste of sake brewing.

This Summer Moon Ginjo was a Silver Medal winner at Joy of Sake in 2008 and I managed to sample the briefest sip in Hawaii last week. They seem to continue to do very well with this style.

If like for me, Saga is too far away right now, visit their website for an introduction, and have a look at Iimori-san’s blog too.

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After San Francisco and New York, Joy of Sake is coming to Tokyo for the first time on November 2nd! The main sake tasting party will feature sampling of over 300 kinds of sake, appetizers from 12 leading chefs from Tokyo and the US, and Hawaiian music. English-language sake and food tours in and around Tokyo are not to be missed!

For more information, please visit joyofsake.com

Foodies should take a peek at restaurants at Joy of Sake Tokyo
For more about optional English sake-scene tours before and after Joy of Sake Tokyo, please visit www.joyofsake.jp/tour2010.

There’s event coverage in the Japan Times too.

Tickets are available at Joy of Sake Web Site in English or Japanese e-plus in Japanese for residents in Japan

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Kaiun Daiginjo Hase Shokichi

This post marks one year of posting Sake of the Week. Yay! Well, considering we had some time away from Tokyofoodcast, it took a longer than one year to be exact, but we managed to write about 52 different sake we had each week.

On Friday, we opened a very special bottle of Kaiun which I thought to be perfect for our anniversary post. This rectangular bottle is actually what got me started with sake so many years ago. And, for us, this is most likely the last time we’ll enjoy Kaiun brewed by Hase Shokichi Toji. Last fall, I bought this bottle at Mitsuya and saved it in the fridge for a special occasion.

Having been aged for over one year total, this developed a more honey-like and thicker taste. Looking over my notes on the same brew in an unpasteurized version, I see that the velvety feel that rolls on the palette was still there. I enjoyed this aged bottle just by itself–no food–so that I could just remember the legendary masterpiece.

Six or seven years ago, I knew nothing about nihonshu, but I was totally impressed by the sake someone ordered for a group dinner at a sushi place in Akasaka. Kaiun literally blew my mind with the realization that sake could be so good. The rectangular bottle was easy to remember too. So, I remembered to look for the same green bottle when we stopped at Mitsuya Saketen in Ogikubo for the first time. We were actually looking at a gallery across the street and found Mitsuya by chance. One stroke of good luck after another! Since then, we have been going to Mitsuya once a month for a sake lecture and tasting lead by Takase-sensei. Considering how much of my time I devote to promoting nihonshu tourism after this series of coincidences, I don’t think it is over-dramatic to say Hase-toji’s work really changed my life.

“The toji at Doi Shuzo in Shizuoka since 1968, and known as one of the Four Guardians of Heaven of the Noto Toji, (Noto Toji no Shiten-oh), Shokichi Hase passed away on July 17. That is forty seasons as a toji – all at one kura. He helped make Kaiun and Takatenjin what they are, and was surely one of the most famous toji in the history of the craft. I am quite sure he took steps to see that the brew maintained its quality after he was gone. May he rest in peace, and may the Doi family and their sake not feel his absence too much.” Quoted from John Gaunter’s SPC Alumnae NL August-September 09

For sure, we will continue to enjoy Kaiun. But, I thought this obon week was the appropriate time to pay tribute to the greatest toji who had so much impact on me.

Previous post on Kaiun: Kubi 5 ro

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Anybody else going to be in Honolulu
next week?

I like going to Hawaii. I enjoy sampling from several hundred delicious sake. I also don’t mind trying a few special dishes paired with these sake by some very fine restaurants. I think this will be quite a lot of fun. [Please note how hard I am working to keep a calm, refined, understated tone.] W00t! We’re going to Joy of Sake! In Hawaii! [Damn. Lost control for a minute there. Won't let it happen again.]

At last check, the restaurants for 2010 still weren’t up on the website, but the food listings for 2009 are already making me hungry. There is still time to buy tickets online but don’t wait until the last minute. Or, if you don’t want to buy tickets for JoS online, you can get them at The Sake Shop.

And speaking of The Sake Shop, while we’re in Hawaii I’m also looking forward to getting a chance to visit and meet Malcolm and Nadine too. Their shop looks great and they always announce plenty of tastings and specials on Twitter.

Drop us a line if you’re going to be there. If they have wifi at the event, we’ll try to tweet as much as we can. Details below.

Event

Joy of Sake Honolulu
19 August 2010, 6:00pm-8:30pm
Flash-only site: Direct link to Honolulu info
Video preview

Location

Honolulu Academy of the Arts
900 S Beretania St
Between Ward Ave. and Victoria St.
Honolulu, HI, 96814
(808) 532-8700

Extravaganza of Joy of Sake social web geekery

Make friends with JoS on Facebook
Follow JoS on Twitter
Swap reviews on Yelp!
Check in at the event on Foursquare or Gowalla

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Note playground in the background:
Do not attempt to use recreational equipment after
consuming nihonshu!

I keep coming up with great summer nihonshu. Or, more correctly, it is hot as blazes here in Tokyo and somehow that brings out the best refreshing sake. This week’s was graciously provided by O—–sensei.

About once a month or so I get together with a group of teachers from around Japan to work on a faculty development project. We gather in Tokyo from all over the country: from Tohoku to Kyushu. It is my good luck that many of them are nihonshu otaku just like me. When we are done wracking our brains over how to improve English teaching, we close the books and head outside for what our non-imbibing colleagues have termed “The Homeless Party”. Everyone takes turns bringing an interesting bottle. We grab a few paper cups from the office and go sit in the park and enjoy a sip or three while the sun goes down. Besides the ready availability of a wide range of good sake, Japan (unlike the US) is quite flexible about where and when you may consume it. Very civilized!

O—–sensei’s pick was just right for the season. I tend to be less of a daiginjo fan but this was a treat from the south. Brewed by Gochouda Shuzo in Saga from Yamadanishiki milled to a very fine 39% (Thank you!) this bottle full of gentle fruitiness was delicious and the fine bubbles in this special nama bottle were just thing on a hot summer evening. I think it was the beautiful freshness of this unpasteurized bottle that really added to the appeal for me. Everyone enjoyed this one, even some of the less enthusiastic members who prefer winer to sake. We were all quite happy to be “homeless” this week.

The transparent blue bottle prepared us for a delights inside. Unfortunately, I only had my phone with me to grab a quick pic, but if you want to see more, the brewery website is beautifully designed. It is in Japanese only, but worth a look around for the design and images.

Links to Gochouda Brewing 五町田酒造

• Front page with very snazzy mouse-over image highlights
• Azuma-ichi Products Page (Including Daiginjo, but not this nama version)
• Contact information and blog
• Finally, the all-important shoplist. This is probably worth a visit just for the collection of links to liquor stores who carry this fine sake. In addition to the expected names like Hasegawa, you might just find a new sake shop to explore.

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Kinkon Junmai Usu-nigori

“Are there any breweries in Tokyo?” Not only visitors from overseas, but even locals ask this question with a tone that tells me they expect a “No”. That’s my favorite moment to come back and respond, “Actually, we have some really good sake breweries in Tokyo….”

Last Monday was the monthly tasting at Ichibe in Ogikubo where they featured Toshimaya Shuzo from Tokyo who brew Kinkon and Okunokami. We visited the brewery in March last year as Tokyo Sake Meetup and had a great time.

For the opening kanpai, Tanaka-san from Toshimaya Shuzo, selected this bottle, Kinkon Junmai Usu-nigori. It’s a very dry bubbly light nigori, which is perfect for a first drink on a hot summer evening. The brewer selected Akebono rice, or regular table rice, to brew this bottle last season and experimented with the ratio of moromi added to the brew to get the right balance of bubbly action and the taste he wanted.

About Toshimaya Shuzo in English

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The latest article, “Sake Rewards the Adventurous Drinker” by Eric Asimov in Wednesday’s New York Times gives advice for people worried about being overwhelmed by getting started with sake,
“For overcoming that obstacle, I can think of no better solution than a visit to Sakaya, 324 East Ninth Street. This area of the East Village has many Japanese businesses, which give Mr. Smith a local customer base and opportunities to find interesting pairings. “

Last Saturday, the Japan Times introduced our friends from Washington to readers in Tokyo in “Seattle pair put sake on local map” For anyone who read the popular manga, CLAUDE 蔵人 by Oze Akira about an American guy from Seattle in Shimane, Johnnie’s picture should look familiar. Yes, he was in volume 10!

Finally, Melinda Joe talked about trends in sake scene in Japan in her “Events spur on a new generation of sake drinkers” last Friday in the Japan Times.
“At 5:30 p.m. on a recent Saturday evening, the line of people at the entrance to the Smile Nihonshu sake event was six deep. Inside the bar, groups of young people in their 20s and 30s clinked glasses and nodded along to a bouncy rendition of Bob Marley’s “Buffalo Soldier” under a green-lit disco ball.” Yes, our favorite event, SMILE Nihonshu was featured in the story. And she mentions our Tokyo Sake Meetup, too!

SAKAYA NYC
Saké Nomi
Smile Nihonshu (in Japanese)
Tokyo Sake Meetup

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Kozaemon Yuzu

“I just got a couple of bottles of Yuzu-shu from Kozaemon. I’ll bring one in next time,” I told the chef as I was leaving Igarashi in February. Since I’d found out he hadn’t tried my favorite citrusy yuzu-shu yet, I promised to bring him one next time. Igarashi-chef is a big Kozaemon fan. To give you some idea of the extent of his fandom, the table water he serves his patrons is Kozaemon shikomi mizu, brewing water shipped all the way from the kura in Mizunami, Gifu.

For the past five months, that last bottle of Kozaemon nihonshu blended with the pungent yuzu citrus juice from Kochi was laying on the top shelf of our fridge. As the weather got closer and closer to being perfect for this very light, summery drink, the bottle stared back at me and I thought, “It is time”. Every time I opened the fridge was a daily reminder to myself of my promise and that summer was coming.

This week, when Kazuko said she wants to go for good, authentic Japanese food, Igarashi was my first choice. Luckily, they had a table open that night. It took me a long time to live up to my promise, but, finally, I packed the bottle with ice gel to protect it for the two-station trek on the Yamanote!

Chef Igarashi and Yuzu-shu

At the end of the meal, Chef Igarashi came out to the table to offer us to try some as well. How could we say no to this fresh, light, and refreshing drink-perfect for a hot summer night!

About Kozaemon on Tokyofoodcast
About Igarashi

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Ayu Gohan at Igarashi

Despite the ruthless heat and humidity, there are may things I really look forward to in the summer – all of them food related. Some are as simple as juicy peaches, boiled corn in season, or the inviting sensation of a whiff of the burning smell of sweet sauce from unagi grilled on the charcoal when passing by a restaurant.

Last night, I had my first ayu gohan of the season at Igarashi. This simple dish, lightly grilled fresh water fish cooked with rice in a clay pot, is so distinctively summery to me and I especially appreciate the bitter taste of the sweetfish with rice.

I love how Igarashi-san masterfully balances the bitterness with other subtle flavors. That’s one reason I called them yesterday as the place for a dinner reunion with my best friend who just returned from New York. But, there was another reason I had to visit them….

Igarashi

Address: Hagiwara Bldg. 2F, 4-9-15 Ebisu, Shibuya, Tokyo
東京都渋谷区恵比寿4-9-15 ＨＡＧＩＷＡＲＡ　ＢＬＤＧ．５　２Ｆ
Phone: 03-3447-9893
Map and information in English: bento.com
Please take a look at the July summer course menu at Igarashi. And, to match the summer theme, we started with Kozaemon Tokubetsu Junmai Origarami.

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