I used to think I did not like sake. For years, the only sake I had tasted was the hot stuff served in cheap ceramic cups at mediocre Japanese restaurants back home, the kind that tasted vaguely like warm rubbing alcohol. Then a Japanese friend took me to a standing sake bar in Shinbashi, Tokyo, poured me a chilled glass of junmai daiginjo from Niigata, and my entire understanding of this drink was rewritten in a single sip. It was clean, slightly fruity, with a finish so smooth it barely registered. “This is sake?” I remember saying. He just smiled.
Sake is one of the great beverages of the world, and Japan is the only place to experience it at its source. Here is everything you need to know to taste it, order it, and bring it home.
The Four Types You Need to Know
Sake classification can get complicated, with terms involving rice polishing ratios and brewing methods. But as a beginner, you only need to understand four categories that will cover 90 percent of what you encounter.
Junmai: Pure rice sake. Made with only rice, water, yeast, and koji (a fermenting mold). No added alcohol. Tends to be fuller bodied and richer. Great with hearty food like grilled meats and stews. Typically 400 to 800 yen per glass at a bar.
Junmai Ginjo: Rice polished to at least 60 percent (meaning 40 percent of each grain is milled away before brewing). This extra polishing creates a more refined, aromatic sake. Fruity and floral notes are common. A good entry point for beginners. Usually 500 to 1,000 yen per glass.
Junmai Daiginjo: Rice polished to at least 50 percent. The premium tier. Extremely smooth, complex, and aromatic. These are the sakes that make people’s eyes widen on the first sip. Often served chilled. 800 to 1,500 yen per glass, sometimes more for rare bottles.
Honjozo: Similar to junmai but with a small amount of brewer’s alcohol added. This is not a quality shortcut; it is a legitimate technique that lightens the body and enhances aroma. Honjozo tends to be versatile and food-friendly. 400 to 700 yen per glass.
The word “junmai” before ginjo or daiginjo means no alcohol was added. Without “junmai,” some brewer’s alcohol was used. Both can be excellent.
How to Taste Sake (Without Pretending to Be an Expert)
Forget everything you know about wine tasting. Sake has its own ritual, and it is simpler and more relaxed than you might expect.
Temperature: Different sakes shine at different temperatures. Daiginjo and ginjo are almost always best chilled (reishu). Junmai and honjozo can be excellent at room temperature (hiya) or gently warmed (nurukan, about 40 degrees Celsius). The cheap stuff from your local sushi place was probably served scalding hot (atsukan) to mask its lack of quality. Good sake rarely needs to be that hot.
Vessel: The glass or cup changes the experience. A wine glass concentrates aromas and works well for aromatic ginjo and daiginjo. An ochoko (small ceramic cup) is traditional and works well for warmed sake. A masu (wooden box) is ceremonial and fun but the cedar flavor can overpower delicate sakes.
Tasting steps: Look at the clarity (good sake is almost always clear). Smell it gently; you might catch melon, apple, banana, rice, or floral notes. Take a small sip and let it sit on your tongue for a moment before swallowing. The finish (how it feels after you swallow) is where many great sakes reveal their character. That is the whole process. No swirling, no spitting, no pretension.
Where to Drink Sake in Japan
Standing sake bars (tachinomi): These are my favorite way to explore sake. You stand at a counter, the staff pour small glasses, and you can try multiple varieties without committing to a full bottle. Prices are reasonable because there is no table service overhead.
In Tokyo, Nihonshu Stand Moto in Ebisu offers flights of three sakes for around 1,200 yen, with excellent English explanations. Sake Stand Moto in Shimbashi (yes, same owners) is a tiny standing bar with a rotating selection of around 30 sakes. In Osaka, Sake Bar Hanagatami in Namba has over 50 sakes available by the glass (from 400 yen) and the owner speaks English and loves explaining sake to beginners.
Sake breweries (sakagura): Visiting a working brewery is the best way to understand sake. Many offer tours and tastings.
Fushimi in Kyoto is one of Japan’s premier sake districts, home to Gekkeikan (founded 1637) and Kizakura. The Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum (600 yen, includes tasting of three sakes) walks you through the brewing process in a beautiful historic building. Afterward, walk along the canal to Kizakura Kappa Country for a free tasting and their excellent restaurant.
Nada in Kobe is another major brewing district. Hakutsuru Sake Brewery Museum (free admission, free tasting) and Sawanotsuru Museum (free) are both excellent, and the Nada Gogoshu district has five major breweries within walking distance.
In Niigata, Japan’s top sake-producing prefecture, Ponshukan at Echigo-Yuzawa Station is legendary. For 500 yen, you get five tokens to use at a wall of sake vending machines offering over 100 different Niigata sakes. It is the most fun you can have with 500 yen in Japan.
How to Order Sake at a Restaurant or Izakaya
At most izakayas, the drink menu will list sake options. Here is what to say:
“Nihonshu onegaishimasu” (Japanese sake, please) is the basic order. If you want a recommendation, say “Osusume no nihonshu wa nan desu ka?” (What sake do you recommend?). Staff will usually ask if you prefer sweet (amakuchi) or dry (karakuchi), and cold (reishu) or warm (atsukan).
Many izakayas list sake by the “go” measure: ichigo (one go, about 180 ml) is standard, often served in a small carafe called a tokkuri. Some places serve by the glass. Prices typically range from 500 to 1,200 yen per go depending on the quality.
A useful trick: if an izakaya has a sake menu you cannot read, look for the rice polishing ratio (seimaibuai) listed as a percentage. Lower numbers mean more polishing and generally more refined (and expensive) sake. 50 percent or below is daiginjo territory. 60 percent is ginjo. 70 percent and above is table sake. This works even if you cannot read the Japanese names.
One cultural note: in Japan, you do not pour your own sake when drinking with others. You pour for your companions, and they pour for you. Hold your cup with both hands when someone pours for you. When pouring, support the tokkuri with both hands. This mutual pouring is one of the lovely social rituals of Japanese drinking culture.
Buying Sake to Bring Home
Here is the part where I save you from the mistake I made my first year: buying a beautiful bottle at the airport duty-free for 4,000 yen that I later found in a regular liquor store for 1,800 yen. Airport sake is overpriced and the selection is limited.
Where to buy: Department store basement floors (depachika) have curated sake sections with knowledgeable staff. Isetan Shinjuku, Takashimaya Nihonbashi, and Daimaru Kyoto all have excellent selections. Staff will often let you taste before buying. For the widest selection, visit a specialty sake shop like Hasegawa Saketen in Tokyo Station’s Gransta underground (stunning selection, English-speaking staff) or Tanakaya in Mejiro (a legendary shop among sake enthusiasts).
What to buy: For souvenirs and gifts, I recommend buying sakes from the region you visited. Kyoto sake from Fushimi, Hiroshima junmai, Niigata daiginjo, Akita junmai ginjo. A good bottle of junmai ginjo runs 1,500 to 3,000 yen for 720 ml. Daiginjo starts around 2,500 yen and goes up. A solid everyday junmai is often just 1,000 to 1,500 yen and can be fantastic.
Packing: Wine bottle bags designed for checked luggage work perfectly for sake. Wrap bottles in clothing and place them in the center of your suitcase. Many department stores will bubble-wrap bottles for you if you ask. Sake is sturdy because the bottles are thick.
Customs limits: Most countries allow one to three liters of alcohol duty-free. Check your home country’s specific allowance. The US allows one liter duty-free per person over 21. The EU generally allows two liters of alcohol under 22 percent ABV (most sake qualifies). Additional bottles are subject to duty but the fees are usually modest.
Sake Festivals and Seasonal Events
If your timing is right, sake festivals are incredible experiences. The Saijo Sake Festival in Higashihiroshima (October) features ten breweries within walking distance and all-you-can-taste passes for 2,500 yen. The Niigata Sake no Jin (March) brings over 500 sakes together under one roof for a 2,500 yen entry fee. In Kyoto, the Fushimi Sake Festival (spring) lets you sample from the district’s dozen-plus breweries.
January through March is new sake (shinshu) season, when breweries release the first batches of the year. Brewery open houses during this period often include free tastings, food, and a festive atmosphere. Look for a sugidama (ball of cedar branches) hanging outside a brewery entrance; a fresh green one signals new sake is available.
Quick Reference for Your Trip
Three sakes to try first: Kubota Manju (Niigata, daiginjo, clean and elegant), Dassai 45 (Yamaguchi, junmai daiginjo, the one that converted me), Hakkaisan Tokubetsu Junmai (Niigata, junmai, perfect with food).
Budget for a sake evening: A standing bar tasting of five to six sakes with small snacks: 3,000 to 5,000 yen. A brewery tour with tasting: 500 to 1,500 yen. A bottle to bring home: 1,500 to 3,000 yen.
Sake is not just a drink in Japan. It is offered to the gods at shrines, shared at celebrations, sipped quietly at counters by people unwinding after work, and perfected by brewers who have dedicated their lives to something most of the world has never properly tasted. You do not need to become an expert. Just walk into any sake bar, tell them you are a beginner, and let them pour. That first glass of something cold and perfect will do the rest. Now go try it.
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