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Sake Cups

Different kind of sake cups You’ve bought your bottle of sake/nihonshu but you realized that you don’t have any sake cups, those cups were you probably enjoyed in a Japanese restaurants. What should I do? What kind of glass should I enjoy my sake with? Are there different ways to enjoy sake? From traditional to modern cups, sake is most typically enjoyed in sakazuki, guinomi, ochoko, masu or even in a wine glass! Let’s check them out! SaKAZUKI sake cups Sake served in Sakazuki cup during a Japanese traditional ceremony Sakazuki is a type of traditional Japanese sake cup that has been used for centuries in Japan. The term “sakazuki”… Read More »Sake Cups

sake-sakura-japan-buy-sake

Buy Sake Directly From Japan

BUY RARE AND DELICIOUS SAKES FROM JAPAN Sake, like wine, comes with different flavor, quality, grade but also rarity. Just like wine, some of them are only produced in little quantity, a few hundreds for some, and they are only made available within the region where its produced. The master brewers who don’t mass produce their sakes have better control in their brewery, and often, they have a higher quality than the bigger brands.      At The Nihonshu, we are collaborating directly with some of the local producers, who brew sake annually from a few hundreds to a few thousands bottles every year.They were carefully selected and their little… Read More »Buy Sake Directly From Japan

Sake_is_popular

Sake Popularity In The World

SAKE IN JAPAN For those who are not familiar with Japanese sake, called Nihonshu in Japan, it is an alcoholic beverage made from rice, koji mold, and water. For thousands of years,  Japanese brewers have been making this alcoholic beverage with fermentation and maturation techniques distinct to the nation. It used to be drunk by most people over 30 years old but nowadays, it’s also popular among younger people. Thanks to social networks, more and more people are discovering and enjoying sake with their meals. Many varieties and flavors of sake are produced as well and it’s very popular among women.    You will find sake inside most Japanese restaurants… Read More »Sake Popularity In The World

nagayao

Nagayao – A Millennium Sake Recipe From Nara

Nagayao, a Prince from NARA PERIOD (684 – 729) The Prince Nagaya, called Nagayaō in Japanese, was a Prince in Japan from more than 1300 years ago. In the 1980s, a wooden tablet with six recipes for making sake were excavated from the site of Prince Nagaya’s residence in Nara City. The sake recipes have more koji than it is today, has a strong sweetness, and is golden. Nakamoto brewery is using one of this millennium recipe and has recreated perfectly one of the sake that was drank by the Prince. Nagayao is a golden colored sake, extremely sweet (smv -48), easy to drink and we recommend you to drink… Read More »Nagayao – A Millennium Sake Recipe From Nara

kikizake - art of sake tasting

Kikizake – The Art of Tasting Sake

KIKIZAKE – SAKE TASTING Kikizake – or sake tasting – is the term for tasting sake, from its colour to the final after-taste. Usually when you go to a sake bar, you will have the choice to choose your sake by region and they often serve it at room temperature, but sometimes you can also find sake tasting with chilled sake (reishu kiki) or warmed up sake (kanshu kiki).  Sake bartenders will serve you a set of sake into tasting cups (kiki choko). It is visually very interesting and good for taking pictures! You can first see the different colours inside each cup.  Now it’s time to check the colour… Read More »Kikizake – The Art of Tasting Sake

Japanese Sake - Summer Sale 20% Off

JAPANESE SAKE – SPECIAL SUMMER SALE 20% OFF

JAPANESE SAKE – SPECIAL SUMMER SALE 20% OFF!  To celebrate this summer, we are offering you an exclusive 20% OFF on all Nishioka’s sakes if you buy two bottles or more! Use our special coupon code KURE20 on the checkout page to get the discount. The promotion is available until August 31st 23:59 Japan Standard Time. Enjoy drinking the premium and rare sakes produced in limited quantity selected by The Nihonshu. Offer Ends In (D/H/M/S): See Terms & Conditions Save 20% on The Rarest Sakes Get the best Japanese sakes for you and the sake lovers around you! Nishioka’s sake brewery was founded in 1781 and is the oldest one in Kochi… Read More »JAPANESE SAKE – SPECIAL SUMMER SALE 20% OFF

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NISHIOKA SAKE BREWERY SINCE 1781

The Oldest Brewery In Kochi Prefecture Nishioka brewery is located in the small town of Nakatosa in Kochi Prefecture and was founded in 1781! The brewery is a rarity in modern sake production terms, producing only small quantities at a time which ensures quality in every bottle. For the past 240 years, Nishioka brewery has polished and mastered its dry sake brewing techniques despite the warm and wet climate of southern Japan. Among all the sakes available at Nishioka sake brewery, we’ve selected our top 5. They are all typical dry sake from Kochi prefecture (SMV +5) but with different grades and aromas. The sakes below are are all produced… Read More »NISHIOKA SAKE BREWERY SINCE 1781

Momotaro sakes

Top 5 Momotaro Sakes

INTRODUCTION Fumimoto Sake Brewery was founded in 1903 and was stated as the best sake brewery in town. At that time, there were about eight sake breweries, but now only Fumimoto Sake Brewery is remaining in the area. At first, Irikoma was their signature brand but later on they made a brand new one called Momotaro. It is their signature brand since 1966. A Sake For All The name “Momotaro” was chosen by the people living in the town. When you hear the locals talking about Momotaro in the town, they are referring to Fumimoto Sake Brewery. In general, when Japanese people talk about Tosa’s sake, they often describe them… Read More »Top 5 Momotaro Sakes

Sweet or Dry Sake

Sweet or Dry Sake? How to know?

What does Sake Meter Value (SMV) mean? Nihonshu-do (日本酒度) or Sake Meter Value (SMV) is the way to measure the density of Japanese sake. They can be heavy or light and are compared with water. In Japanese sake world, the specified temperature for water is set at 4°C and they’ve set to 15°C for sake, probably because in Japan, the room temperature is around this temperature.   A high SMV means that the sake’s weight at a specified temperature is lighter than the water at this specified temperature. If you have a low SMV, your sake is heavier. Understanding sake’s weight  Sake has a different amount of sugar so its weight will… Read More »Sweet or Dry Sake? How to know?

sushi and sake pairings

Sushi/Sashimi and Sake Pairings: The Ultimate Guide

Sushi/Sashimi and Sake pairings guide Japan is world famous for its delicacies and yet, it is quite difficult to choose the right sake to go with your dinner. Just like for wine, there are different types that match more or less your food. In this blog article, we will talk about how to pair your favorite sushi and sashimi with your sake. We will give you some useful recommendations for each type of sake. Let’s check it out! Assortment of sushi Japan offers different varieties of fish, mollusks and shellfish, where you can find them raw in supermarkets ready to eat. How much do you know?  SUSHI or SASHIMI? Traditionally, sashimi… Read More »Sushi/Sashimi and Sake Pairings: The Ultimate Guide