You may have seen in a film that a samurai drinks up sake in a small shot glass. And you may have tried sake and felt it very strong. So drink up every shot of sake within a second? Wait. Sake is totally different from shot -it is more wine than gin or vodka. The proper way of enjoying sake is to enjoy its flavor and marriage with food.

Like wine has various labels from different regions, sake also has variety of labels. I’d give you some tips how to choose sake for sake beginners. Keep in your mind the terms daiginjo-shu, ginjo-shu, and junmai-shu which are type of flavors*. Very roughly saying (yes, this is very rough), daiginjo-shu is most fruitful and often has light sweetness. It is good

When you’ve been to a good Japanese restaurant in your country, you may have tried sake. But was it really good? Maybe yes, it should have been so fantastic. But if you were unlucky, you might have tasted something untasty. Why?

Unlike wine, most of sake (even the ones in foreign markets) do not contain sulfites or any other antioxidant. Which means, Sake is fragile to the change of temperature and air. Unstable temperature and oxygen easily damage the flavor and taste. Sake bottles should be treated very carefully to keep the temperature at the same level. And once the bottle was opened, you have to finish it within a day. However, some restaurants keep big bottles (1800ml bottle is common for

Since the high prestige sword is made-to-order, you have to decide the style of the sword. Style of a sword is composed with many elements such as total length, degree of curve, form of point, design of the blade, etc.. If you do not have specific idea, the best way is to leave the decision to the sword smith. After asking you several questions such as “Gift? Who? Relationship between you and him? He prefers simplicity or gorgeousness?”, he would start making perfect one for you. Or if you have a specific image, tell the details. If you have a photo or paintings of the sword you love, send it to

In Japan, sword is regulated by the Ministry of Culture. It defines that sword only made of special iron ore from certain region can be called “Japanese sword” or katana. Also, the number of sword that each sword smith can make is regulated. Considering the fact that there are less than 80 active sword smiths in Japan and that it takes at least one month to complete one sword, number of available new sword is such limited. Because of the situation mentioned above, sword smiths usually do not hold inventory at their place and they start making a new sword after receiving an order. So, if you decide to possess a sword, find a good sword smith and order a sword