Three Sheets: Japan

The Land of the Rising Sun, Japan is a country steeped in tradition and obsessed with modernity. Food and wine are considered high art in Japan, and meals are prepared with a reverence for custom and an utmost attention to detail. The city of Kyoto is, unlike most major Japanese cities, not on the sea. It is also the home to many Buddhist temples, and local cuisine incorporates an amazing variety of vegetables. Sake is Japan’s main brew, and Kyoto’s Fushimi ward is the second largest area in Japan in terms of sake production. Fushimi is renowned for its pure spring water, which gives its sake a level of distinction that’s been appreciated for ages.

WHERE WE WENT

Kyoto is the place to be when it comes to sake. In the year 794 the first sake brand was established here. Visit the famed Fushimi District, and try some authentic sake.

• Scmibi Izakaya — An Izakaya is a bar that serves appetizers as well as sake. Start here before a night of drinking to get some food in your belly.
• Momoyamagoryomae Station — This market is home to many sake shops, which offer different varieties of locally produced Fushimi sake. Try some of the more refined, or polished, sake varieties that are served at room temperature.
• Azakura Sake Bar — Pull up a stool and try some of the more unique types of Japan’s national spirit, like “aged sake” which gets its color from the carmelization of the sugars or “crude sake,” which is lumpy in consistently, unfiltered and carbonated and often considered the “champagne of sake.”
• Jurakusen — Located outside of Kyoto in Ono, this place serves up amazing food and top shelf sake. Try the Hanagaki Sake. Drink from an ochoko, a traditional sake cup that only holds a couple of ounces. Legend has it that if you drink the good sake, you won’t get a hangover.

Japan Fun Facts:

• Sake from Kyoto’s Fushimi District is called “Onna Sake” or “female sake” because of the delicate flavor attributed to the local waters.
• Most Sake brands have an alcohol content of 15%.
• In Japan, Sake is only heated if it is a less refined Sake with harsh taste. In other words,  heat the cheap stuff, so you can’t tell that it doesn’t taste as good.
•  It is customary to never fill your own glass, never let someone else’s glass get empty and to hold your glass with both hands when it’s being poured.
• Sake is made from rice. The more polished the rice the fruitier the Sake tastes.
• “San,” when attached to the first or last name of a person , is seen as a sign of respect equivalent to “Mr.” or “Mrs.”
• Wasabi produces vapors that burn nasal passages.
• “Kuchikami Sake” means “Sake chewed in your mouth.” Years ago, to begin the fermentation process, sake was chewed and then spit out.

How to toast in Japan

Kampai

THREE SHEETS TRIVIA

Be one of the first 5 to answer these questions in the comments below and you could win coupons for our store, eternal glory, and respect from your peers! (Winners will be randomly selected each month.)

• What other Three Sheets location claimed their drink would not give you a hangover?
• What other drink did Zane refer to as “a meal in a glass?” (hint: from Three Sheets Ireland)
• What is an izakaya?
• Who does Steve toast to with the golfers?
• What do Japanese generally do after taking a group drink.

HANGOVER CURE

Eat while drinking Sake the night before! Zane did not get a hangover!!!

Please Sir, I Want Some More

Learn more about Japan here.