The Sakura Awards, Part 2: Encounters with the Ultimate in Terroir

In last week’s entry we reviewed a European wine that one of us tasted at the 2023 Sakura Awards tasting, which was held at the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo. This week we will focus on two wines produced by a Japanese winery. An impressive array of fine wines was laid out before me, the vast majority … Continue reading The Sakura Awards, Part 2: Encounters with the Ultimate in Terroir →

Sakura and the Sakura Awards, Part 1

Sakura, or cherry blossoms, have proven to be the gift that keeps giving for artists and writers. The blossoms have a tenuous grasp on the branches that quiver in the spring wind and eventually succumb to the inevitable and shed their petals like swirling snowflakes of pink. Sakura are symbolic of the impermanence of beauty … Continue reading Sakura and the Sakura Awards, Part 1 →

Macho: Con Fuoco

Osakazuki Macho Junmai Aiyama 80 (大盃　マッチョ　純米・愛山80) Call us old fashioned, but we have a thing about words. We find emoji-infused missives and the like not only irritating but inadequate, as well. Is that ubiquitous smiley face conveying happiness or smugness? Perhaps neither. After all, it bears a certain resemblance to the unchanging gaze of that … Continue reading Macho: Con Fuoco →

Confluence: Hirosaki, Music, Apples, and Gastronomic Tourism

This is the second editorial published by drinkingjapan.org. Last year we uploaded a multi-part series on eel (unagi), which culminated with an editorial exhorting Hamamatsu to use its reputation for eel to attract high-end tourists. The piece begins as follows: “The Japanese tourism industry was thriving until the crisis of 2020. Even during those boom … Continue reading Confluence: Hirosaki, Music, Apples, and Gastronomic Tourism →

Yoru Beer from Asahi

In recent years convenience stores have been popping up all over Japan like dandelions in spring. Some neighborhoods appear to be approaching or actually at the saturation point. Perhaps for this reason, some chains appear to be specializing, developing a reputation for certain products or services that will enable them to attract customers away from … Continue reading Yoru Beer from Asahi →

Kusatsu PLUS Project #006: The Importance of Tasting in a Pristine Environment

We have written about the wonderful world that is Kusatsu, a town containing one of Japan’s most famous hot springs. Visitors to this place will soon notice the scent of sulfur that permeates the air and is a major component of the silky salubrious waters bubbling up from the bowels of the earth. The name … Continue reading Kusatsu PLUS Project #006: The Importance of Tasting in a Pristine Environment →

Suntory’s Beer Ball (サントリー•ビアボール): A Variation on a Theme

As even most casual visitors to Japan will have noticed, highballs are hot here, figuratively speaking that is. Some may be curious as to how this highball craze might be maintained. Well, Suntory seems to have come up with a variation on a theme that could not only sustain the lifespan of its popularity but … Continue reading Suntory’s Beer Ball (サントリー•ビアボール): A Variation on a Theme →