An insider's guide to rare Japanese sake — the bottles, the bars, and the cups worth seeking out, from someone drinking it in Japan.https://thesakeencounter.com/https://thesakeencounter.com/blog/kumamoto-autumn-sake-festival-2026/https://thesakeencounter.com/blog/kumamoto-autumn-sake-festival-2026/Seven Kumamoto breweries, a three-ticket tasting set, and a plaza full of food stalls in front of JR Kumamoto Station. My notes on Chiyonosono Akikaoru, Koro Ryo, and Zuiyo Nananama, plus tips for visiting.Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thesakeencounter.com/blog/senkin-modern-tabimai-homashi-review/https://thesakeencounter.com/blog/senkin-modern-tabimai-homashi-review/A review of Senkin's Tabimai edition of Modern, a kimoto sake from Tochigi brewed with Kumamoto's heirloom Homashi rice. Gently fruity, lactic, and easy to enjoy on its own.Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thesakeencounter.com/blog/kutani-ware-sakazuki-shogetsu/https://thesakeencounter.com/blog/kutani-ware-sakazuki-shogetsu/A Kutani ware hira-sakazuki (flat sake cup) bearing the Shogetsu signature, bought for ¥9,000 at the West Japan Ceramics Fair. Its bird-and-flower painting, the turquoise underside, and how a wide, shallow cup changed the way Senkin Modern reached my palate compared with a guinomi.Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thesakeencounter.com/blog/nabeshima-harvest-moon-review/https://thesakeencounter.com/blog/nabeshima-harvest-moon-review/A tasting review of Nabeshima Harvest Moon, a tokubetsu junmai from Fukuchiyo Shuzo in Saga. Lightly sparkling, juicy, and the freshest of three autumn bottles from Saga I tasted this season.Wed, 07 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thesakeencounter.com/blog/what-is-hiyaoroshi/https://thesakeencounter.com/blog/what-is-hiyaoroshi/Hiyaoroshi is sake rested through summer and released in autumn. Learn how it is made, how it differs from nama sake and akiagari, and what real bottles taste like.Wed, 07 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thesakeencounter.com/blog/oribe-ware-guinomi-tatsunaga-yamamoto/https://thesakeencounter.com/blog/oribe-ware-guinomi-tatsunaga-yamamoto/A handmade Oribe ware guinomi by Tatsunaga Yamamoto of Shisuigama in Izumo, found for ¥1,100 at a ceramics fair in Kitakyushu and used with autumn sake at home.Tue, 06 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thesakeencounter.com/blog/amabuki-omachi-hiyaoroshi-review/https://thesakeencounter.com/blog/amabuki-omachi-hiyaoroshi-review/A tasting review of Amabuki Junmai Omachi Hiyaoroshi, brewed with cosmos flower yeast in Miyaki, Saga. Quiet in aroma, drier than expected, and best understood next to Shichida's Omachi hiyaoroshi.Mon, 05 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thesakeencounter.com/blog/tenryu-hagi-ware-mukozuke/https://thesakeencounter.com/blog/tenryu-hagi-ware-mukozuke/A blue Hagi ware plate by Tenryu Kiln, found by chance at a ceramics fair in Kitakyushu, now my go-to mukozuke-style dish for sashimi with sake.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thesakeencounter.com/blog/shichida-omachi-hiyaoroshi-review/https://thesakeencounter.com/blog/shichida-omachi-hiyaoroshi-review/A tasting review of Shichida Junmai Omachi Hiyaoroshi from Tenzan Shuzo in Saga. Omachi rice polished only to 75%, rested through summer, full of flavor yet surprisingly clean.Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thesakeencounter.com/blog/bizen-ware-guinomi-ryohei-sakai-la-bizen/https://thesakeencounter.com/blog/bizen-ware-guinomi-ryohei-sakai-la-bizen/A Bizen ware guinomi by potter Ryohei Sakai of La Bizen, found at a pottery fair in Kokura, Kitakyushu. Its unglazed texture, the three pale circles left by the firing, what the potter told me at his booth, and what happened when I poured Shichida hiyaoroshi into it.Mon, 28 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thesakeencounter.com/blog/nichinichi-yamadanishiki-review/https://thesakeencounter.com/blog/nichinichi-yamadanishiki-review/A tasting review of Nichi Nichi Yamadanishiki from Nichinichi Brewery in Fushimi, Kyoto. Low in alcohol, gently sparkling, and quietly full of umami.Tue, 15 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thesakeencounter.com/blog/nabeshima-summer-moon-review/https://thesakeencounter.com/blog/nabeshima-summer-moon-review/A tasting review of Nabeshima Summer Moon, a seasonal ginjo from Fukuchiyo Shuzo in Saga. Light, clean, and built for the dinner table rather than the aroma glass.Mon, 07 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thesakeencounter.com/blog/senkin-senko-hanabi-2026-review/https://thesakeencounter.com/blog/senkin-senko-hanabi-2026-review/A review of Senkin Senko-Hanabi 2026, a seasonal sake from Tochigi enjoyed at a Kumamoto izakaya, and why its lingering, fading finish makes the name feel just right.Mon, 31 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thesakeencounter.com/blog/smv-sake-meter-value-guide/https://thesakeencounter.com/blog/smv-sake-meter-value-guide/What does +14 mean on a sake label? A guide to the Sake Meter Value, what nihonshudo actually measures, and why a single number cannot explain how a sake tastes.Fri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thesakeencounter.com/blog/mii-no-kotobuki-fuku-vs-plus14/https://thesakeencounter.com/blog/mii-no-kotobuki-fuku-vs-plus14/A side-by-side tasting of two Mii no Kotobuki sakes from Tachiarai, Fukuoka: the elegant, fruity Junmai Daiginjo Fuku and the sharp, dry Junmai Ginjo +14, paired with cured ham.Fri, 21 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thesakeencounter.com/blog/gen-emon-kiln-soba-choko-sake-cup/https://thesakeencounter.com/blog/gen-emon-kiln-soba-choko-sake-cup/Discover a Gen-emon Kiln soba choko from Arita, Japan, and how I use this versatile porcelain cup for sake, somen, small dishes, and dessert.Tue, 11 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thesakeencounter.com/blog/takahama-ware-dolphin-guinomi/https://thesakeencounter.com/blog/takahama-ware-dolphin-guinomi/This Takahama Ware guinomi hides a dolphin beneath the sake. It connects my memories of living in Amakusa with the region's porcelain stone and ceramic tradition.Fri, 07 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thesakeencounter.com/blog/fukagawa-seiji-botan-kinmiru-guinomi/https://thesakeencounter.com/blog/fukagawa-seiji-botan-kinmiru-guinomi/I found a Fukagawa Seiji Botan Kinmiru guinomi at the brand's Hakata store. Here is how its cobalt blue, gold details, thin rim, and white porcelain interior shape the sake experience.Wed, 05 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thesakeencounter.com/blog/muroka-nama-genshu-sake-guide/https://thesakeencounter.com/blog/muroka-nama-genshu-sake-guide/What do muroka, nama, and genshu mean? Learn how unfiltered, unpasteurized, and undiluted sake differ, using bottles I actually tasted in Japan.Mon, 03 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thesakeencounter.com/blog/kaze-no-mori-akitsuho-657-review/https://thesakeencounter.com/blog/kaze-no-mori-akitsuho-657-review/A hands-on Kaze no Mori Akitsuho 657 review, following its fruit, rice-driven umami, natural fizz, and flavor changes from opening day to one week later.Sat, 01 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thesakeencounter.com/blog/sumiyoshi-shuhan-hakata-tasting-flight/https://thesakeencounter.com/blog/sumiyoshi-shuhan-hakata-tasting-flight/A quick sake tasting at Sumiyoshi Shuhan inside Hakata Station: four Kyushu junmai daiginjo, a wooden masu, mentaiko with mozzarella, and thirty minutes before the shinkansen.Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thesakeencounter.com/blog/nabeshima-omachi-vs-yamada-nishiki/https://thesakeencounter.com/blog/nabeshima-omachi-vs-yamada-nishiki/Two Nabeshima Junmai Ginjo—Akaiwa Omachi and Yamadanishiki—tasted side by side to compare aroma, texture, finish, and food pairing.Tue, 28 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thesakeencounter.com/blog/kagura-ruri-sake-matsui-shuzo-kyoto/https://thesakeencounter.com/blog/kagura-ruri-sake-matsui-shuzo-kyoto/How a bottle I kept meeting at my local sake bar led me to Matsui Shuzo's Kagura Ruri in Kyoto — an unfiltered, undiluted junmai that went on to win a trophy at IWC 2026.Sun, 12 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thesakeencounter.com/blog/nabeshima-sake-saga-fukuchiyo-shuzo/https://thesakeencounter.com/blog/nabeshima-sake-saga-fukuchiyo-shuzo/A personal introduction to Nabeshima sake from Fukuchiyo Shuzo in Kashima, Saga — the bottle that changed my mind about nihonshu and started The Sake Encounter.Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT