Japan abounds with foreigners attracted by its cultural opportunities, who live in the country and eventually make a livelihood by specializing in attributes the country has to offer. Scattered across the world, their counterparts reside in towns in Europe or America, those who, after spending time in Japan, try to bring something of the country back with them to their native lands.
One such person is Johnnie Stroud, who together with his Japanese wife, Taiko, started Sake Nomi, a premium sake shop and tasting bar, in Seattle.
"Sake Nomi's purpose is to demystify sake, to make it not so scary and foreign to people. We also wanted to expose people in Seattle to traditional Japanese culture," Stroud says. The interior of the shop echoes that of a traditional sake brewery with understated elegance, and many customers compliment the couple on their successful rendering of "a piece of Japan."
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