Food Trip: Sake

To most people, a visit to Japan would not be complete without trying out the sake.

Sake
Sake is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin. It is made from fermented rice and is usually misreferred by English-speaking countries as "rice wine" when in fact it is made by the process called brewing (much like that of a beer).

Sake with a modern packaging
Sake with a modern packaging

Sake sold on Mt. Kongo (looks like perfume to me)

Shochu / Distilled Sake

For those who don't know, sake is the national beverage of Japan. It is often placed in a small earthenware or porcelain bottle called a tokkuri and sipped from a small porcelain cup called a sakazuki.

Kampai!

The origin of the sake is unclear. Some believed that the probable origin of the beverage is during the Nara Period (710 - 794 AD). because the beverage is mentioned several times in the Kojiki, Japan's first written history, which was compiled in 712 AD.

The more traditional sake packaging

Dassai 39 - 8.9.2022

Although I'm not a big fan of alcoholic beverages, I didn't let the chance slip by when I was offered sake by Mr. Toshi. I don't know if it's really that strong but two sake-filled sakazuki already made me tipsy. All I could say is that the taste of sake is comparable to wet rice mixed with alcohol.

How many of these should I eat to get drunk? 

Late-night sake with my wife and Japanese family!

Sadly, I hadn't had a chance to bring a high-grade sake back home to the Philippines because it's quite expensive. Regardless, by the mere fact that we tasted it, our trip was complete.

Location: Japan

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