Shinanomainichi Shinbun (The Shinano Daily Newspaper)

From the 6pm news to a magazine to a newspaper. A minor media stir surrounding my employment in the sake industry. Now all that is left is to learn how to make delicious sake!
Newspaper article- test your Japanese

‘Kura’ magazine

Two weeks ago, a writer and a photographer from ‘Kura’, a magazine dedicated to Japanese food, sake, and onsens (Hot Springs) in Nagano prefecture and the surrounding area, came to the brewery.  They were doing an article focusing on the people of sake breweries,and particularly those people who differ from the normal perception of kurabito (蔵人) (brewery worker), which is basically old men.  Anyway, in addition to our brewery (where they were happy to report about a foreigner working in a sake brewery), there were lots of young men and women working in breweries, trying to give a sake new face.  With the growing popularity of wine and other imported alcohol, sake is often seen as a drink for ‘old people’ amongst the young in Japan.  It is also interesting that most people equate wineries with tastings and tours, but not sake breweries.  I write this as just yesterday, I saw a trailer for a Japanese re-make of ‘Sideways’.  I guess the brewers in Japan have to kick in some funds to come up with their own witty comedy about two guys on bachelor’s weekend tearing up sake country, and taking their good share of hot spring baths along the way- for things to change!

B-day day off

It just so happened this week that my day off fell on my b-day, so I got to do something I have never done on my b-day- golf! My girlfriend also took the day off and we went to a very well-known course in the neighbouring city of Karuizawa (軽井沢). This course is frequented by businessmen from Tokyo on the weekend, with green fees around $250, but because it was a weekday, and the season is winding down, we played for $60 each (including cart, delicious lunch, and hot spring)- quite a bargain. It was a beautiful sunny day and also quite empty, so we played at a leisurely pace with no one in front, and no one behind. I would love to have included a picture of the several we took with the snow-capped volcano in the background, but due to a mental lapse, there was no SD card in the camera. Luckily, that is the only thing that has gone wrong today.
And to keep in line with this blog’s theme, I am just about to open a bottle of Junmai Ginjo from a local brewery, with b-day cake, of course.

b-day cake and sake