2/17/2009

This is it! for Sake lovers.

Sake means “liquor“ in Japanese, made from rice. That is the rice wine that represents Japanese spirit of the culture. For further information on the spirit, please refer to this web site. http://www.japansake.or.jp/sake/english/index.html

Nowadays, Japanese rice wine (hereafter “sake”) is loosing popularity in Japanese diners. That consumption has declined 40% over the recent decade. Can you guess why? Sake and Japanese original cuisine had a good marriage like cognac meets chocolate. As French cuisine got influence Japanese “light and lean” taste and very sophisticated presentation in dishes, Japanese cuisine, on the other hand, got a westernized a bit heavy and fat meet to some extent. (but it is still lighter than other cuisines). As a result, thus, we needed another marriage for new westernized Japanese cuisine. The new partner to that marriage is 'shochu' (white distilled liquor) made from potato, rice, or other various materials, which is growing in this decade.

I still love sake and I’d like to introduce a Japanese restaurant in Tokyo downtown, who devotes all the foods to appetizers for sake drink. The owner, Mr. Ohno, designed everything just for Sake lovers at affordable prices. Very unique restaurant it is and thus I’ love it. The reservation is strongly recommended, while Friday is first-come first served basis ( 5:30PM or after 9:00PM you may have a chance to get a few seats if you are very lucky).

According to http://www.att-japan.net/modules/tinyd1/rewrite/tc_37.html
it is described as:
Shimbashi Koju
Shimojima Bldg. B1, 1-2-17, Higashi-Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo
5 minute walk from JR Shimbashi Station
Tel 03-3575-0939
(If you want to really master sake, you should visit Shimbashi Koju. Its range includes many kinds of sake from the more famous brands to those much harder to come by. The food here is relatively cheap but delicious making it a popular spot for sake fans. So much so that reservations are again recommended.)

Here is a day story of my life.
Feb 16th was my special day. I had a very important presentation to the CEO, CFO, COO and other board executives form 8:30 AM in Tokyo. After having 30minutes discussion, fortunately I made it, and got through their approval for my project. Thanks friends and colleagues. To memorize this morning, I took two pictures from my Tokyo office. Tokyo Bay was shining and beautiful.
In the evening, I went to Shimbashi Koju, very casual, inexpensive and affordable Japanese sake restaurant as mentioned above, so as to celebrate the progress of my and colleagues’ achievements. At 6:30PM, unoccupied seats welcomed me. Toast to ours! Let’s call it a day!