conversation to liven up a cup of sake (esp. in the context of a tea ceremony)

Hakobayashi, a family-run gas station in Iga City, Mie Prefecture, has been in business for 60 years. In 2021, third-generation owner Hodaka Hakobayashi (46) remodeled the waiting area into a canned food dining area, revamping the station into one where customers can enjoy rare alcoholic beverages. This is by no means a gimmick...

Sonic Aging Nishihira Shuzo, a brown sugar shochu maker in Amami City, Kagoshima Prefecture, is experimenting with "sonic aging," a method of aging shochu while listening to music. Speakers attached to the barrels play six different types of music, including reggae, rock, and Okinawan folk songs, and the vibrations from the sounds subtly aging the shochu inside the barrels...

Mina Ishiwata, president of Hoppy Beverage, emphasized the environmental advantages of glass bottles at Drink Japan on November 22. Glass bottles, which are also used for the company's signature product, Hoppy, are made from earth-derived raw materials and can achieve the 3Rs (reuse, reduce, recycle)...

Omi Shoji, a game center operator in Kagoshima City, has developed a "1.8L bottle megaphone" with a shochu label. Made of polypropylene, it creates an atmosphere of enjoying "dripping" shochu, making it enjoyable even for those who don't like alcohol. In collaboration with shochu manufacturer Mitake Shuzo, the megaphone features two varieties: "Mitake" and "Aiko."

A "Can Badge Design Contest" was held to promote the attraction of "Nada-no-sake," which boasts the largest production of sake in Japan, and the work by Kazuto Honda of Nada-ku was selected as the grand prix winner! The work expresses "Nada-no-sake" using a boar's mouth, a sake cup, and a snake's eye. The work expresses "Nada-no-sake" using a boar's mouth, a sake cup, and a snake's eye.

In Taiki Town, Hokkaido, Takafumi Horie and others established Taiki Cosmic Glen Distillery, a whiskey production and sales company that uses only ingredients produced in the town. They will build a distillery in the vicinity of Bansei Onsen, and aim to begin production in 2025, with the whiskey to be released in 2028. Taiki Cosmic Glen Distillery will use Taiki Town-grown dent corn and pi...

Muscle Suit Soft-Light Nakano Sake Brewery, headquartered in Handa City, Aichi Prefecture, has introduced to its manufacturing site "Muscle Suit Soft-Light," a supporter-type assistive suit developed by Innofis Corporation, a start-up company from the Tokyo University of Science. This su...

Saitama Prefecture is the fourth largest sake-producing region in Japan, with 31 sake breweries producing a variety of unique sake. December...

Four shopping streets along Kokusai Street in Tokyo's Taito Ward have launched the Tokyo Kokusai Street Promotion Association, promoting the street both domestically and internationally as Japan's new longest shopping street. Kokusai Street stretches approximately 3 kilometers from the northern part of Taito Ward to the west side of Sensoji Temple. During the Showa period, it ran in front of the Asakusa International Theater.