Izakaya Food Tastings(4)

I booked this tasting for my brother who is a fiend for sake, but my husband and I are not big drinkers. This was an incredibly fun adventure! Emiko is so knowledgeable about the entire process and brought laminated pictures to demonstrate her points! She's had such an interesting life and worked in several breweries herself! I knew nothing about sake aside that it was made from rice and now I can tell you all about that rice and what happens to it! And that was just the learning part! The drinking part was even better! Luckily at the location, she was able to grab them all so easily and then we could buy any of the ones we liked! It was so charming how much she new about the old AND new breweries. We tried so many different sakes I feel like an expert now! We got to learn about where each was made and their families of breweries! Emiko is so charming and personable I can't recommend this experience more! She even helped us find a restaurant afterwards to help soak up all the alcohol! If you're even minutely curious about sake you should definitely book with Emiko and get an unforgettable experience!!

My family from the US and I learned a lot about sake, and we got to try various delicious sake at the store. Eriko was a fantastic host. She explained the process of making sake and answered our questions with patience. I could feel her passion for sake from the way she talks about her favorite breweries in the country. The bar was a bit small but there was space for a big group of 5 (and we are not Japanese-sized!) We recommend this experience for those who are new to sake and are looking for an English-speaking guide.

This is a must do for anybody who would like to have an introduction to Japanese whiskey. Shugo, my guide for the whiskey journey, met me at the appointed place and brought me to the whiskey tasting room. He then told me about the origins of Japanese whiskey and how it has developed since. Then we started the tasting with Shugo seeking to get a feel for my particular whiskey taste so that he could select the appropriate Japanese whiskies to try. For me it was a great experience to be able to taste a wide range of Japanese whiskies from throughout Japan to understand the variety of aroma, simplicity or complexity of taste, and lightness or sharpness on the throat. Definitely so very interesting and unique whiskies. We had a good discussion and Shugo has perfect English which made for a very interesting sharing of whiskey experiences.

Eriko was an amazing host. She was so knowledgeable and so friendly, I would recommend this to anyone visiting. I learned so much in these 2 hours. If we’re back in Japan, we will definitely be there for the tour in April!

This was such a great experience! Eriko was SO knowledgeable about Sake. She helped us understand the process of making Sake and told us about some of the stories of the brewers. She was able to answer all of our questions about the nuances of brewing. We would recommend to all of our friends visiting Japan.