Japan

Tokyo

Sake

Japanese

Shingo

Tokyo is an excellent place to enjoy Japan’s national drink, sake. For centuries-long, Japan has brewed and drunking sake. Known as ‘nihonshu’, sake is fermented alcohol made from two essential ingredients: rice and water. There are many places in Tokyo where you can enjoy Sake, with their own environments, cuisines, and tasting styles.


Japanese house producer and sake enthusiast Shingo, Shingo Nakamura, takes us on a sake tour through Tokyo's hole-in-the-wall bars, and local favourites. The city has a wider variety of sake at more affordable prices compared to overseas and Shingo has selected his favourite sake bars that are unique, comfortable, and reasonably priced.

Everyone drinks sake during the day, so you can enjoy it without worrying about what other people think! Some of the bars don't have many seats, so besides Sake Street, I recommend trying to make a reservation just in case!

Sake Street is actually a liquor store, not a bar. But you can taste a variety of sakes at affordable prices. The store's Instagram has descriptions of the sake in English.

You can freely pour and compare from around 80 different brands of sake here. Find your favourite one while enjoying all-you-can-eat sushi.

Each week, they feature a different sake brewery. This is nice because the offerings change all the time, so it's always something new there!

Yorokobi is a sake bar, but the real star of their menu is the delicious udon noodles. Both the sake and the food is outstanding there.

The restaurant has been around for over 150 years and is famous for its soba noodles. It also offers a wide variety of sake and Japanese food that pairs well with sake.

Yodare is a restaurant that serves Izakaya (Japanese style pub) food. There is a wide variety of sake available, and even hard-to-find sakes such as Aramasa and Denshu at reasonable prices.

This is a store for "Hakkaisan", one of the most famous Sake brands. Here you can enjoy a Hakkaisan tasting, as well as snacks made with koji (malted rice).

This is a standing bar where you can drink the sake that was just made in Tokyo Station. I recommend the doburoku (unrefined sake) made at the Tokyo Station Sake Brewery next door.

Hakkaisan Sennen Koujiya

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