[Sake][Wine] Sake Travel -Fukuoka/Sake Bar Wandering Edition Part 3-
Last night, I fought my way through an all-you-can-drink sake challenge for one hour and managed to return to my accommodation safely. The next morning, I felt refreshed with no hangover, and I'm ready to enjoy wandering through Fukuoka's sake bars again today!
That said, even the shops that open early don't open until 11:00 AM, so until then, I'll be doing some sightseeing outside of sake bars to work up an appetite.
This time, I'll also be introducing Fukuoka sake bars that I want you, as a fellow sake lover, to visit, so please stay with me until the end. It will definitely be a great reference for your travels and drinking.
After wandering around Kushida Shrine and other places, before I knew it, it was almost 11:00 AM! I'm heading to the first shop right away.
↓Here is the previous sake travel post. Please take a look if you'd like!
1st Shop: "Sakasho Sugawara," a liquor store that opens at 11:00 AM where you can also find maniacal Japanese wines
The first place I visited that day was "Sakasho Sugawara," a liquor store that opens from 11:00 AM. This is a liquor store that handles a lot of alcohol, including Japanese wine, sake, shochu, and whiskey. There is also a standing bar space inside, and the shop plays relaxing background music, so you can enjoy drinking leisurely surrounded by wonderful alcohol from the daytime.
The standing bar menu is also rich in variety, starting with the "Japan's Best Draft Beer" for 500 yen, as well as whiskey, liqueurs, shochu, plum wine, wine, and sake!
I was thinking of starting with sake again today, but I realized I hadn't tasted any Japanese wine on this trip, so I decided to have some wine.
The first drink I chose on the second day of my sake trip was Kumamoto Wine Farm's "Muscat Bailey A Barrel Aged 2021."
Since the grape variety is Muscat Bailey A, I thought it would be light, but perhaps because it was aged in French oak for one year, it had a solid flavor. The color of the wine was also a beautiful red that was transparent but slightly orange-tinged.
When I asked the staff, they said they specialize only in Japanese wine and have many rare Japanese wines that you can't find elsewhere.
According to the staff, Muscat Bailey A has been evolving recently, and there are some that make you think it's a Pinot Noir. In particular, "Domaine Hide" loves Bailey A so much (it's in the realm of obsession...) that they sell 7 or 8 types made only with Bailey A!
↓Looking at their website, the level of dedication and the amazing lineup... it's a wonderful winery that I'm curious about in many ways!
They even sell wine where the grapes used are Cabernet Sauvignon or Yama Sauvignon, but after making wine with Bailey A using the Amarone method (drying the grapes to concentrate them), they add the pomace to give it flavor. They are originally a natural wine type of place, and they also had a low-alcohol, slightly sparkling wine made from pomace. (It was also sold at this shop, and this was another first for me.)
Because they make various types of wine using Bailey A as a subject, there are many cases where one product is only 500 bottles, so I was able to encounter very small-batch, highly dedicated wines, which was very educational and allowed me to spend a fun time.
You can purchase not only wine but also rare whiskey, liqueurs, and shochu, and since there is a wide variety of tastings, it is an essential spot for sake lovers.
Looking at Google reviews, you are free to bring your own snacks, so it seems like a good idea to buy some light snacks at a nearby department store basement or convenience store before coming.
What I had at the 1st shop
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Muscat Bailey A Barrel Aged 2021 Kumamoto Wine Farm: 500 yen
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↓What a wonderful winery! This is also a place I would like to visit another time.
2nd Shop: "Tomosoe Honten," which goes beyond a bar with too many paid tasting options
Well, I'm still going to drink! I'm heading to the 2nd shop.
The 2nd shop is about a 10-minute walk from the previous shop, and it's a wonderful shop that also handles a lot of alcohol and allows paid tastings inside "Tomosoe Honten".
This place also opens at 11:00 AM! You can enjoy a leisurely daytime drink.
When I entered the shop, I was surprised by the variety of alcohol! There is a particularly large variety of sake, and they have various sake from all over Japan, not just Fukuoka and Kyushu.
And what's wonderful is that you can enjoy many types of alcohol with a paid tasting called "Choko Trial"!
Downloading the dedicated app is a bit of a hassle, but it's a style where you scan the QR code of the sake you want to taste and order it. Prices are listed, such as 280 yen per glass for cheaper ones and 500 yen for premium ones like Daiginjo.
There were so many types that I was really lost, but since it's a sake trip, I chose "Fukuoka Local Sake 3-Type Tasting Comparison: Plum Junmai Sake Set".
There are counter seats and sofa seats in the shop, and since a sofa was free, I sat on the sofa even though I was alone and enjoyed the sake slowly.
Now, the staff brought the tasting set for me.
The lineup I was curious about is...
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・Ikekame Dry Junmai Sake
・Kikubijin Special Junmai
・Koragura Zen Junmai Sake
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Since it was written as "Choko Trial," I thought there wouldn't be much, but it contained a pretty solid amount. This is a happy surprise!
As for the taste... Ikekame had a sharp, dry flavor, giving the impression of a refreshing sake to accompany a meal that wouldn't interfere with the food, and it was a sake that went down smoothly.
Kikubijin had what you call a Junmai sake taste with a heavy aftertaste, so it seems best to pair it with food that has a strong flavor.
And Koragura also had a solid flavor, but the aftertaste was sweet, making it a satisfying sake to drink. It seems they use Fukuoka-grown Yamada Nishiki and Daichi no Kagayaki sake rice. It's a sake limited to special contract stores, so I'm glad I was able to drink it here. This is the real thrill of visiting the local area.
Personally, among these three, Koragura was my number one favorite taste. Thank you very much! I enjoyed another delicious daytime drink!
What I had at the 2nd shop
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Fukuoka Local Sake 3-Type Tasting Comparison: Plum Junmai Sake Set: 780 yen
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I ended up relaxing too much in the sofa seat, but it's still just past 1:00 PM, so I have plenty of time. My engine is starting to warm up, so I'm heading to the next sake bar!
3rd Stop: "Nidone," a place so delicious and cost-effective that I envy the people of Fukuoka
Well, it's past 2:00 PM and the taverns are starting to open!
The 3rd place I visited was "Nidone".
I arrived just after 2:00 PM, but it was already full of customers and seems to be a popular local spot, which really raises my expectations.
I chose this place because, in addition to being able to drink from the afternoon, they have a "Senbero Set"!
Believe it or not, it includes 3 drinks and one daily chef's choice dish for 1000 yen! There is a rule that you can only choose one sake out of the 3 drinks, but since one sake alone is 600 yen and you can also choose draft beer or wine which are 500 yen each, ordering 3 drinks normally would cost 1600 yen. Getting that plus a chef's choice dish for 1000 yen is incredible value.
By the way, today's chef's choice dish was "spicy menma" (bamboo shoots). These were thick-cut menma and were perfect for drinking!
The sake lineup offers a choice of 4 types, and since I'm in Fukuoka, I have to go with local sake! So I chose "Wakanami Kuro-Tonbo Junmai Ginjo".
They poured it until it was overflowing... Cheers!
It had a firm yet elegant sweetness, followed by a sharp kick of spiciness that left a clean aftertaste. This was another sake I felt I could drink forever...!
And the highlight of this shop is the sous-vide meat sashimi!
Raw meat and offal... they are my absolute favorites...
The meat sashimi options include tongue, creamy liver, fillet, omasum, heart, and heart yukke. Each is 500 yen individually, but for those who want to try everything, there is a platter, and this lets you eat various cuts for 600 yen!
This is too good for a solo drinker! I ordered it immediately!
And it arrived! It even had a raw egg on top and looked so beautiful... I wanted to just stare at it, but I wanted to eat it!
As soon as I tried the liver, it melted! Combined with the raw egg, it's the ultimate flavor❣️
How is this only 600 yen? It's so cheap!
The heart also had a firm texture and just the right amount of fat, making it incredibly delicious, and all the other meats were top-notch as well. By the way, for my 2nd and 3rd drinks, I had red wine. Well, this red wine felt like it came from a box and wasn't anything special, but the meat was so delicious that I had no complaints at all.
The meat sashimi platter was voluminous and filled me up, so I was truly satisfied!
What I had at the 3rd stop
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Senbero Set (1 sake, 2 red wines, menma): 1100 yen
Meat sashimi platter: 660 yen
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On the 2nd day of tavern wandering, I visited 3 places for a total of 3,040 yen! I was able to fully enjoy Fukuoka quite reasonably!
The bill for the 3 places on the 1st day was 4,670 yen, so it became a great value trip where I wandered through 6 taverns in 2 days for a total of 7,710 yen!
It's nice to spend money to eat and drink delicious things, but in this era of high prices, good cost-performance also greatly affects satisfaction. I think I was able to prove (?) that you can enjoy so much without spending that much money, so I hope those who love alcohol will use this as a reference for their next trip.
Finally, I finished safely with a lounge beer at Fukuoka Airport.
I am very satisfied that I was able to plan and execute such a wonderful sake trip myself...
With this, I can work hard on my Wine Expert exam studies again. I will continue to share information that will be useful to everyone regarding wine, sake, beer, etc., so if you'd like, please like and follow me, as it encourages me!