On the 1st June our Taste with the Toji Session 5, hosted by the lovely Sake Mistress, Simone, took us to the idyllic seaside town of Ine, in the north of Kyoto Prefecture, to a wonderful quirky brewery as unique and as lovely as the Toji who makes the sake there. Mukai Shuzo has been…
Punks Not Dead… And Nor Is Sake
Last Sunday night we had the pleasure of virtually visiting an extraordinary sake brewery in Japan that is definitely the rebellious teenager of the sake world. Miyoshikiku Shuzo is situated in Tokushima, in Shikoku, and the sake is as charismatic as the Toji, Ryoichiro Mamiya. This event was the 6th in the Taste with the…
Gozenshu…Taste with the Toji with an ancient twist
Last year, somewhere between sitting our WSET Level 3 exam and receiving our results, Super Sake Boy and I had the privilege to be asked to pour sake at the Melbourne Sake Matsuri. It was a great deal of fun. It was also an excellent learning experience and we had the opportunity to work alongside…
Another exceptional sake experience…Taste with the Toji- with manga and a frog
From the moment we heard that Simone, the Sake Mistress, was hosting another Taste the Toji session, this time with Rumiko Moriki of Moriki Shuzo, we were excited. Super Sake Boy and I had met Rumiko-san and her husband, Hideki-san, at an excellent afternoon at Tamura Sake Bar in Melbourne. Hosted by Black Market Sake,…
Taste with the Toji- an online, lockdown, sake experience like no other…
My friend Simone, the Sake Mistress, is a clever and creative being. She was on a trajectory when COVID-19 hit and we were on our way to sip much sake and tour breweries together when international travel was pulled from current reality. She is a sake educator, but also has a hospitality background, and hosts…
Uniquely Japanese- Kuchisabishii 口寂しい
This unique Japanese word may be more relevant at the moment, as we are all spending a lot of time at home and some of us are struggling with lack of social contact and boredom. I was tagged in a kuchisabishii meme by a lovely friend of mine, who is in an apartment in Manhattan,…
Guesthouse Soi- My Home Away From Home
My first time travelling in Japan was just over five years ago. We travelled for a month and I tried to see as much as I could. We stayed in Tokyo, Osaka, Hiroshima, Kamakura and had booked to stay in Hakuba. We also stayed in Kyoto. For only four short days. We had loved Tokyo,…
Love in the Time of Coronavirus… or The Quiet Ryokan
Twenty five days ago I wrote a blog about our impending trip to Japan. It feels like a year ago. Needless to say our plans have been completely disbanded and even if we wanted to leave the country, we could not. I am somewhat relieved we were not stuck in a difficult situation of being…
Kansai Style Sukiyaki Don Recipe
This sukiyaki don is another staple meal in our house. Don is short for donburi which simply indicates it is a meat, fish or vegetable dish served over rice, in one bowl. It is super easy, super, super quick and very delicious. It is a couple of minutes of preparation and then very quick to…
Uniquely Japanese- Kodawari こだわり
Google translate translates kodawari as meaning commitment, but this simple translation certainly lacks understanding of the nuance of the word. Kodawari is an uncompromising and relentless pursuit of perfection. In craftsmanship, in skill, in creativity, in the everyday. This is an attribute you can witness in every aspect of life in Japan. One that can…
Travel and the Coronavirus
As a young person, probably in my late teens, I became somewhat obsessed with epidemiology and read voraciously about viruses, the CDC and Ebola, in particular. The Hot Zone, Virus X and The Coming Plague still sit on the shelf in our study. I feel like I have been waiting for the Coronavirus, without knowing…
Uniquely Japanese- Gochisousamadesu ご馳走様です
When people finish eating in Japan they will usually say ご馳走様です(gochisousamadesu) or ご馳走様でした (gochisousamadeshita) as a way of saying thank you for the food. Like itadakimasu, (read about that here) this saying is a way of showing gratitude to all involved in the preparation of your meal. Again, the farmers, fisherman and so forth. The kanji…
