Returning for its seventh edition, the annual Craft Sake Week is running until April 29 at Roppongi Hills Arena in Tokyo.
The event is the brainchild of Hidetoshi Nakata, a former soccer star who made it his mission to promote Japanese sake here and abroad. Since its launch in 2016, the festival has grown steadily in popularity.
The event has retained its signature format of showcasing 10 different sake producers each day, grouped around a specific theme. For example, April 24’s “New Wave Sake” will spotlight unconventional sake such as Iwate Prefecture-based Asabiraki's Black Style, a beverage made with black kōji (mold); April 25’s “Sake Diversity” will feature sips like Masuizumi Platina, a namazake (unpasteurized sake) from Toyama Prefecture’s Masuda; and April 28’s “Sake Loved by Artisans” will flaunt respected labels like Yuki No Bōsha’s junmai daiginjō (sake made from rice polished down to at least 50%) from Akita Prefecture’s Saiya.
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