Saga Sake (Rice wine)
Did you know Saga is the Japanese prefecture that has been ranked first in terms of sake consumption per household?
Kyushu is known as the land of shochu (distilled liquor), but blessed with good quality water, Saga Prefecture is home to sake of exquisite taste and fragrance. Nihonshu (rice wine) made of 100% Saga-grown ingredients and water, qualify for the ‘SAGA certified sake’ appellation of origin, and its popularity has grown in recent years.
If you are a sake fan, the pop-up SAGA BAR in JR Saga Station’s Eki-Machi is a must. It serves a monthly selection of 12 sake labels. It offers sake tastings and appetisers served in traditional regional ceramics of Arita-Yaki and Karatsu-Yaki. The pop-up bar is open until March 2020, so don’t forget to bookmark it for your upcoming trip to Kyushu!
Enjoy local saké in the local Imari-Arita ware.
Koimari Shuzo in Saga Prefecture is a brewery famous for producing the nationally recognised saké called One Cup, most often than not found in Japanese convenient store and other shops offering cheap alcohol. While a regular blue-labelled One Cup can be found anywhere, picking up a cup in Imari brings extra flavour and fun to the mix. Imari is famous for the beautiful Imari-Arita ware. So in places like the brewery or Okawachiyama’s pottery village, visitors can pick up a One Cup NOMANNE (pictured above), that comes in this pottery ware.
