“Sake”, a famous Japanese alcoholic beverage, is made from rice. As rice farming began to take place, it became the staple food of this country. “Rice” was equated to financial strength. In the case of Japan, how much rice you can farm was equated to how valuable your territory was, which then determined how much power and right you had. It is no exaggeration to say that Japan’s history was a history of scrambling for rice. So it’s natural that rice will be the raw material for traditional Japanese sake. There are various theories as to when this sake was actually made, but it was a long time ago… this is certain. “Yashio-Ori-no-Sake,” it appears in the defeat of the “Yamata-no-Orochi” by Susanoo-No-Mikoto (one of the famous Japanese gods). If this is already liquor made from rice, then that means it’s as old as Japanese mythology. Well… anyway, it’s a very traditional drink.

The basic ingredients of sake are rice, rice bran and water. It is made by fermenting milled rice with rice bran. Naturally, the actual manufacturing process is not something that can be easily explained, but it is a process unique to Japan. Because the history of sake is long, the trial and error was probably overwhelming. The depth of this is, many people say, “You understand if you drink.” Is that so …? Maybe, that’s right. There are two main ways to drink sake. There’s Cold sake and Hot sake. “Cold sake (reisyu)” is a chilled (around 5℃) and “Hot sake (atsukan)” is a heated (around 50-60℃). Depending on the brand and season, the drink temperature varies. You may also want to ask the bartender for a recommended drink. Everyone, please try various ones.

In addition to the stocks generally distributed in the market, there are also locally-produced sake from all over the country. It’s the sake of the land. This is what you would call, the taste of a trip, right? Again, we’re envious of those who can drink.