About The Sake Encounter

Rare pours and the stories behind them.

There is a whole world of Japanese sake that never leaves Japan. Tiny breweries make a few hundred bottles a season; neighborhood bars pour them for regulars and almost no one else. The Sake Encounter is where I bring that world to you.

I live in Kyushu, the southern island where much of this story happens — close enough to Arita, Amakusa, and Hakata to go and see things for myself. Some of the best of what you'll read here begins at the counter of a small sake bar near me, where the owner opens something I've never heard of and tells me the story behind it. I taste it, I ask questions, and I write it all down — honestly, whether the bottle stopped me in my tracks or didn't quite land.

Sake is only half of it. The cup matters too. A cobalt-and-gold Fukagawa Seiji guinomi from Arita, a porcelain cup from Takahama in Amakusa with a dolphin hidden in the glaze, a Gen-emon soba choko that turns out to work just as well for sake — the vessel changes how the sake tastes, and the people who pour it know exactly why. Every piece I write about, I bought myself, use at home, and photograph myself.

What you'll find here

• Honest tasting notes on Japanese sake — from bottles you can order almost anywhere to rare jizake you can usually only dream about.
• The vessels that bring sake to life, and where to find pieces like them.
• How a real Japanese sake bar pairs a bottle with a cup and a dish — and how to recreate that at home, wherever you are.

A note on trust

I only write about things I've actually tasted or used, and I'll always tell you a product's limits, not just its charms. Some links on this site are affiliate links: if you buy through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. That never changes what I recommend or what I honestly think. You can read the full details on my affiliate disclosure page.

Please enjoy sake responsibly. This site is intended for readers who are of legal drinking age in their own country.

Questions, corrections, or an invitation — get in touch. New posts are announced on Instagram and pinned to Pinterest.

Written by Toshi in Kyushu, Japan.

Kanpai — and welcome.