What's a trip to Japan without a decent sake experience? We make a visit to Tokyo's Japanese Sake and Shochu Information Center, located in the Toranomon Building near the Toranomon Station on the Tokyo Ginza Metro Line.

The Japanese Sake and Shochu Information Center works almost like a sake museum, and was established by the Japanese Sake and Shochu Makers Association to share their knowledge, history, and the joy of sake with the world. It's great experience to visit if you're in Tokyo and you love sake, shochu, or wonderful drinks. The Japanese Sake and Shochu Makers Association (JSS) was formed in 1953, and its members include sake brewers, shochu makers, awamori distilleries and hon mirin producers across Japan. The association seeks to protect and preserve Japan's liquor business, and also supports the production, promotion, and distribution of local Japanese liquor to the rest of the world.

Let's take a trip through the Japanese Sake and Shochu Information Center!

The entrance banner leading us into the Japanese Sake and Shochu Information Center.

Stepping in, you're greeted with a vast catalogue of informational sake brochures to walk you through the history and basics of sake and Japanese liquor.

Old sake traditional sake vessels.

A look at the different types of sake rice and varying degrees of rice polishing.

A visual representation of the size of sake rice across different rice polishing ratios.

The Japanese Sake and Shochu Information Center also has a spacious seating area for visitors to sit and have a rest, and enjoy sipping and tasting some delicious sake.

A generous and diverse selection of sake is also available for visitors to purchase and savour.

 Drinking on the go? A bottle carrier for your sake may just be what you need. 

Take a look at the different types of koji-fungi - koji is made by cultivating koji mold on steamed sake rice, and plays a crucial role in the fermentation process in making sake.

If you visit sake breweries in Japan (and if you visit the Japanese Sake and Shochu Information Center in Tokyo too), you'll probably see a large ball of cedar wood, also known as a cedar ball or "sugidama". The cedar ball changes colours over the four seasons, and its change in colour indicates when the sake has matured and is ready for bottling.

The Sake 101 set is a wonderful introduction to different sake flavour profiles to help you discover your preferences - and for an extremely affordable 500 yen ($3.90 USD) only!

 The tasting sets aren't just limited to sake either - have a taste of a variety of Japanese shochu and drink to your heart's content.

Kanpai!

Don't forget to pick up some beautiful souvenirs on your way out!

Japan is full of amazing sake breweries and sake experiences that are sure to be a visual and flavourful treat for your senses. If you're in Tokyo, the Japanese Sake and Shochu Information Center is definitely not to be missed if you're looking to learn a little bit more about sake, explore your palate, or even just have a merry drink!

Till next time, happy sipping!

@ChopstickPride