Happy Sake Day!

Posted: September 30, 2019 by Ovi

October 1^st is the World Sake Day and we are celebrating!

Made from fermented rice, sake is the national beverage of Japan. Sake can be served at the room temperature, hot or cold – depending on the type of sake. With 18% – 20% alcohol, sake is not a strong drink. Easy to drink, but so easy to get drunk!

Follow my “sake” story from wonderful Japan.

Sake Brewery in Takayama

Walking the streets of the old town of Takayama, I stumbled upon a sake store. Easy to recognize after the beautifully decorated bottles and big barrels of sake placed at the entrance of the store. The store has their own small sake brewery where you can taste different types of sake.

Takayama sake store and brewery

Hanging above the entrance is a cedar ball (“sugi-tama”) that indicates when the sake is ready for drinking (when the green cedar changes to brown),

Sake bottles

Sake brewery, Takayama

Cooling the sake

Drinking Sake

Sake is served in a decanter called “tokkuri” and you drink it from a small cup, “sakazuki”.

Cute sake”tokkuri” and “sakazuki” flask and cup

When eating sashimi, sake is a must!

My first night in Tokyo making friends in a small family restaurant. The sake was flowing and everyone was happy!

Tokyo celebration

Sake with Gold and Fish

Yes, there is the sake for celebrations called “Kinpaku” sake with real gold flakes floating inside!

And there is the hot sake with small dead-drunk fish inside that I found in a restaurant in Nagoya. I tried it by accident. From the restaurant’s poster, I thought it is a fish meal, so I order it. It was a surprise when I received the sake in a fish shaped bowl instead.