Imagine the best sake brands from across Japan along with award-winning new sake from the National Sake Contest all under one roof! Well imagination met reality at the Sake Fair 2013. The event held at Ikebukuro Sunshine City in Tokyo on June 14 drew throngs of visitors who had been thirsting for this hugely popular annual festival of Japanese sake to return once again. Read all about the fun-filled day in our report on this major event that the Japanese sake industry pours its heart and soul into.

Sake Puts a Smile on Everyone's Face! Annual Sake Festival a Big Hit Once Again

Japanese

Sake

▾ The extravaganza kicked off at 10:40 in the morning with the

representatives of the event's organizers, NRIB president, Yasuzo

Kizaki, and JSS chairman, Shigeyuki Shinohara, opening the fair with

some rousing words. "Almost all the

brewers that were hit so hard by the March 11 earthquake are now back on track and able to deliver their products to the market once again.

While harmful rumorsabout radiation contamination caused bythe nuclear accident have not been fullystamped out, I can tell you that Japanesesake is, without a doubt, safe to drink. Soenjoy yourselves today, try the differentsake brands from around the country andcompare them to see how local climateinfluences how they taste."

"All of the

sake entries

at this year's

National Sake

Contest

(101st) were

in a word,

wonderful.

Each represented the perfect

harmonious balance of aroma and

delicate flavor. Enjoy these finely

crafted examples of the best daiginjo

sake there is to gain an even deeper

appreciation of what Japanese sake is

all about."

Sake mascot, Ochoko-kun, helps cut the ribbon at the fair's opening ceremony. From left, Kiyoaki Doi, committee chairman of the JSS Sake Technology Committee, Yasuzo Kizaki, President of the National Research Institute of Brewing, Shigeyuki Shinohara, chairman of the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association, and Koichi Saura, committee chairman of the Demand Development Committee.

Japan's National Brew Goes Global. Drinking in the World of Sake

Sake lovers rushing to the eventvenue (at the entrance)

This year's fair once again attracteda lot of media attention.

The Sake Fair is a fantastic dream-come-true event for sake lovers where it's double your pleasure, double your fun! Returning for its seventh consecutive year, the annual Sake Fair once again featured two events that allowed visitors to fully explore the world of Japanese sake. Organized by the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association (JSS), the All Japan Sake Exhibition held on the fourth floor of Sunshine City's World Importmart showcased locally brewed sake from 45 different Japanese prefectures, all proudly served up by local brewers' associations. The Public Tasting event at the fair featured every brand of new sake that won a prize at the 2013 National Sake Contest. This tasteful event, organized jointly by JSS and the National Research Institute of Brewing (NRIB), took place in the exhibition hall located on the fourth floor of Sunshine City's Bunka Kaikan. Through these two events, the Sake Fair demonstrated the potential of Japanese sake as it makes a great leap forward into the global arena with a boost from the Japanese government's Kokushu Project. It also showed visitors how the Japanese sake industry is working to guarantee a product whose quality consumers can trust as it moves out of the shadow of the March 11 earthquake. Both fair events combined attracted a total of about 5,500 visitors.

The 7th All Japan Sake Exhibition (11 a.m. - 8 p.m.) featured products from sake brewers associations in 45 prefectures (that includes every Japanese prefecture except Kagoshima and Okinawa), the Japan Federation of Sake Brewer Cooperatives, the Japan Sake Brewers Association Junior Council, and six other related organizations, as well as three co-sponsoring organizations from the miso, pickle and other industries. Visitors to the fair were treated to a unique experience at each exhibitor booth. The sake brewer associations who set up shop at the fair

spotlighted their vaunted sake with samples to whet visitors' palates along with local specialty snacks as the perfect taste compliment. On top of that were fun games with prizes and of course lovable mascots. Visitors to the fair were quick to note the friendly attitude of the brewers who were eager to explain all about their products. Exhibiting brewers were also happy to see such a positive response from the visitors. One satisfied brewer remarked through a beaming smile that, "We all put everything we had into lifting the spirits of both the visitors and our industry." (Visitors' comments can be found on page 6. There are photos of the exhibitors' booths on pages 7 to 9.)

Unique Sales Spin and Samples Spotlight Sake from 45 Prefectures

A precious shot of Ochoko-kun andKumamon together

Yes! We won prizes.

Shiga Prefecture's Ninjaemon (left) and AkitaPrefecture's Sugitchi were also there.

The venue was wall-to-wall excitement. Theevent drew international visitors, too.

Serving local specialty snacks

"Kokushu" calligraphy by past

Prime Ministers

Japanese sake is safe! (exhibits highlighting the safety of Japanese sake)

The cafe area provided visitors with a great place to grab a bite to eat or justtake a break.

This year's All Japan Sake Exhibition once again included a seminar corner where visitors could learn all about sake.

Conducting the twice-daily, thirty-minute sake seminars were once again beverage consultant, Akiko Tomoda; JSS chairman, Yukio Hamada; as well as sports nutritionist and "sake stylist" Terumi Kobata. New to this year's exhibition was a talk show session featuring expert master brewers and young female master brewers.

The audience was all ears for the riveting conversations between the two old school male master brewers and the two young female master brewers who represent a new breed that is changing the face of the sake industry.

◄ In his seminar entitled "Four

Seasons of Sake," Mr. Hamada

served up some fascinating facts

about sake, Japan's national liquor

nurtured in a land of breathtaking

beauty. His seminar covered a

wide range of topics including the

power of yeast, brewing

techniques and methods, as well

as seasonal foods that pair well

with sake.

◄ In a seminar entitled "A Little

Sake Makes Everything Taste A

Lot Better," Ms. Kobata revealed

sake's amazing ability to make

food taste so much better and

boost your health. A participant

courareuted, "Even though I

always use sake for cooking, I was

surprised to learn that you can

even add a dash of sake to instant

noodles."

◄ The first of two one-on-one talks between an experienced master brewer and a young female master brewer, a new addition to the exhibition, featured Takao Sugawara (an advisor to Ishikoshi Brewery.) and Junko Kashiwagi (a master brewer at Hanaharu Shuzo.). Ms. Kashiwagi talked about the difficulties and joys of brewing sake from the perspective of a woman and homemaker while Mr. Sugawara shared his thoughts on the role of female master brewers in the industry.

◄ The next discussion pair included Yasuo Hirano (a production manager at Hara Shuzo Corporation) and Tomoka Imamura (a master brewer for Wakanami Shuzo). Their conversation, focusing on how sake brewing has changed over the years, was topped off Mr. Hirano's performance of Kazuban Uta, traditional brewery workers songs. The event provided the audience with a window on the world of sake brewingfrom which they were given a rare opportunity to hear the unique work songs while sipping samples of sake from the speakers' breweries.

► Ms. Tomoda's seminar entitled "Chilling with SummerSake" introduced some new ways to enjoy sake and beatthe summer heat at the same time. During the seminarparticipants learned how to make Ms. Tomoda's original,“sake & cassis” as well as “samurai rock” cocktails forthemselves. Ms. Tomoda says the cocktails are "a cooland stylish way to enjoy sake." She recommends "usingplenty of crystal clear ice to make the drink taste andsound even cooler." The seminar participants werecompletely wowed by what Ms.Tomoda had to say. Onenoted how uniquely Japanese the cocktails were, sayingthat "even the sound of them makes you feel cool."

Sake Seminars on Chilling Out and Heating Up (using Sake in Cooking), and more.Plus a Talk Show Featuring Seasoned as well as Young Master Brewers

Refreshing and delicious! sake & cassis

Ms. Tomoda

Wow, it's beautiful!

Ms. KobataMr. Hamada

Mr. Sugawara

Ms. Kashiwagi

Mr. Hirano

Ms. Imamura

Since its start in 1911, the National Sake Contest has helped enhance the quality of sake and brewing techniques. The 2013 National Sake Contest, which was the 101st, awarded prizes to 426 (with 233 entries receiving gold prizes) out of 864 entries. A wide variety of fine quality sake was produced thanks to the master brewers and others engaged in sake production. Each worked tirelessly over the last year against the backdrop of a scorching heat wave that, according to the NRIB, yielded a poor harvest of only tough grains of rice. The Public Tasting event featured virtually every winning entry from the contest (423 varieties of sake in all) for visitors to sample (in a two-part event, with Part 1 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Part 2 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., where visitors were allowed to attend either session).

It was the only event in Tokyo that made all the winning entries from the contest available for the public to taste. Sake lovers who were eager for a sip of the award-winning sake waited patiently at the doors well before the event opened. Once inside their wait was well rewarded with a mesmerizing close-up look on what it takes to make top quality sake along all eight blocks of the fair that was divided by region.

2012 National Sake Contest

The Public Tasting Event

Offering All 423 of the Award-winners from the 101stSake Contest

A long line of visitors waitedoutside for the doors to open

Attracting the attention ofinternational visitors

Tasting new and old kijoshu, sake specially brewed by the NRIB, was apopular attraction.

Various exhibits about the National

Sake Contest, sake brewing, etc. also

attracted a lot of attention.

From the mouths of the visitors

・I enjoyed the event to the fullest again this year. While I miss the past: the booths from the different prefectures used to be all different. I remember some were built like Western or Japanese style bars. After all this is a festival, so if they made it as festive as possible, it would double the fun. (At the All Japan Sake Exhibition, general public, male)

・I totally support the idea of Japanese sake going global. It should be promoted outside Japan much more. Although the word, Kokushu, has a rough image, daiginjo sake is very smooth and would definitely be popular overseas. It's a national treasure. (At the Japan Sake Brewers Association Junior Council booth, general public, female)

・I'm more interested in the All Japan Sake Exhibition. The Public Tasting was a bit too much for me since I'm just a novice. I like the Sake Fair because it has all kinds of snacks that go with sake, and also because the brewers are friendly and very informative. (At the All Japan Sake Exhibition, general public, female)

・The new sake is great again this year. I especially loved the sake from Fukushima and Niigata. This is the third time I've come to this event. I can't get to see everything because there's so much to see, but this event is very informative for me since I run a bar. It would be even better if there were more chairs for resting though. (At the Public Tasting, bar owner, female)

・I love this event because I love exhibitions featuring local specialties. I come to this event every year with the girls I work with. What's great about this event is of course the sake and the fact that it makes me feel like I'm traveling all around Japan in one day. (At the All Japan Sake Exhibition, general public, male)

・I came here with my friend from Shimane. I'm originally from Fukuoka. I was happy to encounter the familiar tastes of my hometown for the first time in a long time. I wish the event were at least three days long. I might not be able to come if the one day it's held fell on a work day. (At the All Japan Sake Exhibition, general public, female)

・I've been living in Japan for five years. Ramen and sake are my favorites. Both represent the wonderful culinary culture of Japan. I prefer sake to whiskey and beer. I only drink sake at home. I may not be your typical American. (At the All Japan Sake Exhibition, American, male)

"It's like traveling all

around Japan in one day."

"The brewers are all so

friendly." "I wish it was a

three-day event!" etc.

- Comments and Requests

★Booths of brewers associations from different prefectures

★Booths of related organizations

★Booths of co-sponsoring organizations

Japan Sake Brewers Association Junior Council

Japan Federation of Sake Brewers Cooperatives

Slow Food Japan Heated Sake Contest

The Fine Sake Awards, Japan

Sake-Ricepower Network of Japan

Association for Long Term Aged Sake

Committee to Promote the Great Taste of Sake

Tokyo Noudai Hanakoubo Kenkyukai

All Japan Federation of Pickle Manufacturer Cooperatives

All Japan Federation of Chinmi Merchant and Maker Cooperatives

Japan Miso Promotion Board