Skip to content

Drinking Japan

Eat, drink, travel Japan.

Drinking Japan
  • Sake
    • Sake Field Guides
    • Sake Tastings
    • Beyond the Flight
    • Brewery Tours
    • Kobe & Nada
    • Saijo, Hiroshima
    • Sake & Food
    • Wagyu Pairings
  • Whisky & Beer
    • Whisky Field Guides
    • Whisky Tastings
    • Breweries
    • Craft Beer Tours
    • Shochu & Awamori
  • Izakaya & Bars
    • Izakaya Field Guides
    • Bar Hopping
    • Pub Crawls
    • Izakaya Food Tours
    • Nightlife
    • Shinjuku Nights
    • Shibuya Nights
  • Cities
    • City Guides
    • Tokyo
    • Kyoto
    • Osaka
    • Sapporo
    • Kobe
    • Hiroshima
    • Nagano
  • Tour Reviews
    • All Tour Reviews
    • Drinking Tours
    • Cooking Classes
    • Workshops
    • Walking Tours
    • Evening Plans
  • Food & Culture
    • Food Field Guides
    • Drinking Culture
    • Markets
    • Field Notes

Sake

Field guides · 16 from the ground

Sake

Japanese rice wine — breweries, regions, tastings, food pairings.

Why Tohoku Took Over Japan’s Sake Scene

May 8, 2026 by drinkingjapan
CitiesWhy Tohoku Took Over Japan’s Sake SceneThe trip almost didn't happen. I'd booked an Aomori brewery visit at the end of a rushed week, the second…27 min read
Categories Cities, Sake

Why Kansai, Not Niigata, Is the Sake Capital

May 8, 2026 by drinkingjapan
CitiesWhy Kansai, Not Niigata, Is the Sake CapitalHyogo and Kyoto produce more sake than the next eight prefectures combined. Two of Kansai's six prefectures, side by side,…22 min read
Categories Cities, Sake

What to Drink With Sushi in Japan

May 8, 2026 by drinkingjapan
FoodWhat to Drink With Sushi in JapanThe third nigiri at Sushi Sho in Yotsuya was where it landed for me. Hokkaido shima-aji, brushed with a single…24 min read
Categories Food, Sake

Otoso, Bonenkai, and the Hush of Shogatsu

May 8, 2026 by drinkingjapan
Drinking CultureOtoso, Bonenkai, and the Hush of ShogatsuThe first person to write the recipe for otoso was a third-century Chinese physician named Hua Tuo, and he wrote…30 min read
Categories Drinking Culture, Sake

What to Drink at an Onsen Ryokan, and When

May 8, 2026 by drinkingjapan
Drinking CultureWhat to Drink at an Onsen Ryokan, and WhenThe first sound is the knock of the wooden bath bucket against the stone rim, and then the slow tip…32 min read
Categories Drinking Culture, Sake

Hot Sake in Japan: A Field Guide to Atsukan

May 8, 2026 by drinkingjapan
Drinking CultureHot Sake in Japan: A Field Guide to AtsukanThe first time hot sake actually surprised me, the steam came up off the cup before I tilted it, and…20 min read
Categories Drinking Culture, Sake

Hiroshima for Drinkers: Sake Town to Oyster Bay

May 8, 2026 by drinkingjapan
CitiesHiroshima for Drinkers: Sake Town to Oyster BayHiroshima Station to Saijo by local train: 31 minutes, ¥420. From the platform, you walk five minutes to a thousand-year-old…24 min read
Categories Cities, Food, Sake

Niigata Brews More Sake Than Any Other Prefecture

May 8, 2026 by drinkingjapan
CitiesNiigata Brews More Sake Than Any Other PrefectureNiigata Prefecture has 91 active sake breweries, more than any other prefecture in Japan. The next-densest, Hyogo and Kyoto, are…26 min read
Categories Cities, Sake

How to Eat and Drink Your Way Through Kanazawa

May 8, 2026 by drinkingjapan
CitiesHow to Eat and Drink Your Way Through KanazawaThe bowl came down on the counter at Amatsubo just before nine on a wet March evening, kaisendon piled until…25 min read
Categories Cities, Sake

How to Read a Japanese Sake Label

May 8, 2026 by drinkingjapan
Drinking CultureHow to Read a Japanese Sake LabelYou're standing in the basement of a department store in Shinjuku, holding a bottle of sake by the neck, and…25 min read
Categories Drinking Culture, Sake

Cold Sake and a Tarp at Cherry Blossom Time

May 8, 2026 by drinkingjapan
Cherry blossoms in full bloom at Yoyogi Park, Tokyo
Drinking CultureCold Sake and a Tarp at Cherry Blossom TimeThe first thing you notice is the smoke. Charcoal smoke, the lighter-fluid kind nobody admits to using, drifting between the…25 min read
Categories Drinking Culture, Sake

What to Eat With Sake on a Trip to Japan

May 7, 2026 by drinkingjapan
FoodWhat to Eat With Sake on a Trip to JapanThe first time I really understood sake pairing, I was sitting at the counter of a tiny seven-seat kappo in…23 min read
Categories Food, Sake

Tours & tastings we’ve reviewed

See the ranked list →
★ 5.01-Day Snow Monkeys, Zenko-ji Temple & Sake in NaganoFrom $151
★ 5.03-Hour Kyoto Insider Sake Brewery Tour with Tastings & PairingsFrom $84
★ 4.9Nagano: Snow Monkeys, Zenkoji Temple & Sake Day TripFrom $1358 - 12 hours
★ 5.0Kyoto: Insider Sake Brewery Tour with Sake and Food PairingFrom $873 hours
★ 5.0Kyoto Sake Brewery & Tasting Walking TourFrom $98
★ 5.01.5-Hour Kyoto Insider Sake Experience with 7 Tastings & PairingsFrom $68
★ 5.0Ramen and Sushi Cooking Class with Sake Pairing Set in TokyoFrom $79
★ 5.0Sake Tasting Masterclass in Shinjuku (8+ Varieties with a Pro)From $72

Keep browsing

Sake Tasting130Bar Hopping Tours59Breweries38Izakaya Food Tours41Tokyo119Kyoto43
Older posts
Page1 Page2 Next →
© 2026 Drinking Japan • Built with GeneratePress

The night is young everywhere in Japan.

Browse all tour reviews →
Drinking Japan

Sake from Fushimi and Nada, whisky from Yoichi, Sapporo beer at the source, and izakaya nights everywhere in between. Japan drinks regionally; this site follows the map.

Sake

Sake TastingsBrewery VisitsBeyond the FlightKobe & NadaSaijo, HiroshimaSake & FoodWagyu Pairings

Beer & whisky

Brewery ToursCraft BeerWhisky TastingsWorkshopsMarket Visits

Nights out

Bar HoppingPub CrawlsIzakaya Food ToursNightlifeShinjukuShibuyaEvening Plans

Cities

TokyoKyotoOsakaSapporoKobeHiroshimaNagano

The field guides

SakeWhiskyIzakaya & BarsDrinking CultureFoodCity Guides

Popular tour types

Sake TastingsBar HoppingPub CrawlsIzakaya FoodBreweriesSake KuraCooking ClassesWalking ToursNightlife ToursWorkshopsEvening PlansCraft BeerWhiskyAll-You-Can-DrinkDiningHistory Walks
Home Sake TastingBar Hopping ToursBreweriesTokyoKyotoTour ReviewsAboutContact
© 2026 Drinking Japan · Eat, drink, travel Japan.Tokyo · Kyoto · Osaka · Sapporo