DIRECTIONS: Walk east along Heiwa-dōri from the Peace Park. It is about 600 yards after the bridge. Take a left at the gasoline station on the corner. Hanamori is in the building next to the gasoline stand, immediately to your right, and is signed using the Roman alphabet.
Himonoya ひもの屋 03-3844-8088 e-808.com/himonoya
1F-2F, 1-11-1 Asakusa, Taitō-ku, Tōkyō
東京都台東区浅草 1-11-1 御所第 2 ビル 1 ・ 2 階
Open: 5 pm–5 am (but opening times vary between branches) Booking recommended? No
Credit cards? Most major cards English menu? No Table charge: 280 yen
Himono is dried fish. If you drive along the Japanese coast you can still see drying racks lining the roadside, with hundreds of salted fish drying in the open air (and car fumes). It used to be the most reliable way of storing the fisherman’s catch for sale, but it also happens to be a great way to prepare a drinking snack. The Himonoya chain, combining cheap and cheerful combinations of himono and good-value sake, has expanded quickly since it was set up five years ago. There are now 50 shops across the Kantō area. I was recommended the kimoiri maruboshi ika (whole-dried grilled squid, 480 yen) and the saba ishiru (fish marinated in soy sauce and dried, 630 yen) with a 180 ml tokkuri of “Tōjikan” (杜氏鑑, 600 yen) from the famous Hakutsuru brewery in Nada, Kōbe. Hakutsuru is Japan’s biggest sake maker and makes a lot cheaper sake for the mass market. This is a special honjōzō made on a smaller scale by their master brewer, Masao Nakazawa. The idea was to make a product that would appeal to the man in the street rather than the sake snob, and the result is an extremely mild, medium-dry sake, with a relatively suppressed fragrance. For someone who is finding it hard to like sake, “Tōjikan” might be worth one final shake of the dice. If it comes up sixes, you could move on to the “Jōzen Mizunogotoshi” (上善如水, 600 yen), a slightly drier but super smooth and clear sake from Niigata. I have heard it described as the Jacob’s Creek of sakes. Himonoya is unlikely to be top of the list for experienced sake heads, although there is usually some interesting jizake on the menu, but it is a fun and reasonably priced night out.
DIRECTIONS: Tsukuba Express Asakusa Station, Exit A1 (for Sensōji Temple, Kokusai-dōri). If you come out on a side road, turn left and left again. If you are on a main road, turn left, then take the fourth left (at the drugstore cosmetics shop sign). There is no Roman alphabet on the sign but the dramatic black and white design is easy to spot. From the Asakusa Tōbu/Metro Station, Exit 1, walk up Kaminarimon-dōri away from Azuma-bashi (and the Asahi Breweries HQ with the golden sperm on its top). Turn right at the T-junction at the top and then right again.
Isshin 一心 022-261-9888/022-261-9889 (for the Kagen Kan)
B1F Jōzenji Hills, 3-3-1, Kokubunchō, Aoba-ku, Sendai
仙台市青葉区国分町 3-3-1 定禅寺ヒルズ B1F
Open: 5 pm–12 pm; closed Sunday Booking recommended? Yes Credit cards? Most major cards
English menu? No Table charge: 1,500 yen plus 10 percent service charge
If you find yourself in Sendai, I cannot recommend Isshin highly enough. It is actually two separate establishments, side by side—a general sake bar called simply Isshin and the Isshin Kagen Kan, a sort of sake warmer’s heaven. Founder Kōki Yanagisawa says customers who are new to sake might want to start in the general bar and move next door when they are ready for a slightly more connoisseury atmosphere, but the chirori heating sets, complete with thermometers for precisely measuring what heat you are drinking your sake at, are such fun that some might want to take a plunge straight into the deep end. The two bars operate separately, so you will need to book a table at the Kagen Kan or Isshin, depending on the destination you have chosen (there are different phone numbers). A note on prices: at first sight, the 1,500 yen entrance charge looks expensive, especially given the extra 10 percent charged for service, but the otōshi dish that comes with that is really not so much a snack as a meal in itself. I would advise not ordering too much food beyond the otōshi and getting stuck into the real reason for visiting Isshin: extremely interesting sake, such as the big-boned, ricey “Haginotsuru” (萩の鶴, 750 yen for 180 ml), which Yanagisawasan picked out of the Kagen Kan’s sake list for me. Most of the sakes in both bars tend to hover around 750–800 yen for 180 ml and the more expensive drinks (up to 2,000 yen for 180 ml) can be ordered in small 60 ml glasses. In between sips, take the time to seek out the original prints by the famous sake manga writer Akira Oze, who gave them as gifts after featuring the bar in his stories.
DIRECTIONS: Kōtōdai Kōen Station, Exit Kōen 2. Walk about 150 yards straight up Jozenji-dōri away from the park. It is down the stairs next to the Lawson convenience store.
Juttoku 十徳 03-3342-0339 www.juttoku.com
B1, B2, New Sentoraru Biru, 1-5-12 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku ku, Tōkyō, 160-0023
〒 160-0023 東京都新宿区西新宿 1-5-12 ニューセントラルビル B1, B2
Open: 4 pm–12 pm; Friday–Sunday 4 pm–4 am; no holidays except New Year
Credit cards? No English menu? No Table charge: 350 yen
Kimiko Satō features in her izakaya’s logo: a cartoon figure of a well-padded motherly type holding a generous jug of sake. In person, she carries off the motherly image with aplomb but you get the definite feeling this is the sort of mother who gets things done. When we met up, she was as interested in finding out about British and American property prices and discussing possible openings for her company abroad as in telling me about her Tōkyō izakaya. She set up her original pub in 1982 with the idea of serving properly stored sake at good prices. There are now six shops under the Juttoku banner, including a shōchū bar and various restaurant ventures, but the basic philosophy of no-nonsense excellence is still in evidence. The lino-floored, green plastic-seated Shinjuku izakaya keeps a seasonally changing selection of more than 80 types of sake, and the reasonable prices, which rarely stray too far from the 400–600 yen range, make it an ideal place to get your sake footing. The three-glass tasting set (nomi kurabe setto, 飲み比べセ ッ卜) varies in price with the sakes featured, but it is usually excellent value at around 550 yen. The food is also pretty cheap for central Tōkyō. Try the selection of five skewers loaded with grilled meat and vegetables (go shurui kushiyaki moriawase, 450 yen) or the mountain vegetable tempura set (sansai tempura moriawase, 650 yen). You might perhaps wash it down with a glass of the classic “Hakkaisan” sake from Niigata prefecture (“Hakkaisan futsū seishu,” 八海山普通清酒, 550 yen). The best way to explain Hakkaisan’s place in the sake market is to compare it to Moët et Chandon’s Champagne brand. Someone looking for a safe bet for a bottle to take along to a swish party is never going to be embarrassed by “Hakkaisan,” because these brands build their reputations by consistently producing unimpeachable alcohol. The makers, Hakkai Jōzō, have been producing crisp, well-balanced sakes from the soft waters coming off Hakkaisan Mountain since 1922. The “Hakkaisan futsū seishu” is the least expensive sake in their range.