Raise A Toast On Your Tokyo Tour! Say “Kanpai”

A trip to Japan won’t be called complete until you say Kanpai! (Cheers). This exotic country boasts some of the most offbeat beverages. The country’s number one alcoholic beverage is sake or rice wine, pronounced as sa-kay. Sake is available in most restaurants, but if you want to experience the real pleasure of drinking this unique Japanese drink in all its authenticity, you must go to an “izakaya”, a type of drinking establishment that serves different kinds of sakes, including the exclusive type called jizake that is not commonly available. The serving of sake is quite generous in izakaya as compared to other Japanese eating joints. This drink is so popular among the locals that there are more than 2,000 different brands of sake produced only Japan.

The types of sake that you can try out during your Japan tour are:
Amchuki: Sweet
Karakuchi:  Dry
Tokkyu:  Superior class
Ikkyu:  First class
Nikkyu: Second class

The pricing differs according to the type of sake.

Some of the Japanese terms that come handy while ordering sake:

•    Room temperature: Nurukan
Sake tastes in its most natural flavor when drunk at room temperature
•    Heated Sake: Atsukan
•    Sake with rice: Rokku De
•    Sake is served into tiny cups called “choko” and poured from small ceramic vessels “tokkuri”
•    Junmaishu Sake: This type of sake has a strong and distinctive flavor

The other indigenous alcoholic beverage that gives fierce competition to this hugely popular drink is “shochu”. Unlike sake, shochu is distilled and the most common ingredients used to produce it are sweet potato, rice, soba (buckwheat), and barley. Although shochu has not received the same international recognition as sake, over the last couple of years, shochu  is enjoying massive popularity than beer and sake. The contributing factor of shochu’s popularity is: It is a low-calorie beverage that has the ability to produce enzymes which reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Shochu has its origins in Kagoshima, on the island of Kyushu. Till date this prefecture of Japan is loyal to their shochu heritage. It is the only destination in Japan that solely produces shochu and does not brew sake at all.

Which one of these exotic drinks do you think cuts the mustard? Whether it is Sake or Shochu, here’s raising a toast to your vacation in Japan….Kanpai!