by Gil Kezwer
Sake or nihonshu--Japan's traditional rice wine that once restricted to Imperial brewers--is a glue that holds the heterogenous Japanese archipelago together.
Consumed by every adult, both male and female, not to mention many teenagers, the fortified liquor is sold from kiosk vending machines at practically every corner of the Japanese capital.
The elixir is celebrated at the Sake Museum in downtown Tokyo's Ginza district--a chic entertainment somewhat akin to Times Square in New York.
The Ginza, meaning the silver jewellery district, is Tokyo's famous shopping mecca. Back in the 1870s, it was one of the first areas of Japan to modernize, featuring a large number of novel (for Tokyoites of that time) Western-style brick buildings. It was here that the first department stores were built, and the first gas lamps installed.
Today the Ginza, though challenged by Roppongi as the most sophisticated entertainment district, remains the place where Japanese corporations put their best face forward to consumers. Free galleries in the area, sponsored by photo companies and automobile manufacturers, include the Nikon Gallery, the Canon Photo House Ginza, and showrooms for car giants like Honda and Datsun.
For many tourists however the most appealing attraction is the Nihonshu Center at 5-9-1 Ginza, Chou-ku, just down the street from the Sony Building and the Nissan Gallery. Here visitors may learn about the sake brewing process--and enjoy a complimentary tasting. The gallery spreads across three floors, depicting 2,200 of the most distinctive labels, while a library includes a staggering 4,500 volumes on the subject of sake.
However, for visitors 20 years old and older, the highlight is the tippling of the best of Japan's thousands of brands of rice wine. The variety is so varied that the centre itself doesn't even know how many legal brands are distilled across the country.
A blind taste test on the third floor of the nine-storey institution allows one to sample different flavours and then try to match them to their parallel brands on the other side of the counter. A spittoon is conveniently located for oenophiles who are expected to swirl the sake in their mouth and roll it with their tongue. But should one swallow rather than spit out the savoury wine...well, you can fill in the rest.
There are several major types of sake, including nigori (cloudy), nama (unrefined), and regular clear sake. The latter is the most common, and is divided into three grades: tokkyu (premium); ikyu (first grade); and nikkyu (second grade). Sake is served atsukan (warm) and reishu (cold), the former being more popular in the winter months.
The museum shop offers a variety of original merchandise including hiyatto (cooling decanters), tokkuri (wine vessels) and sake cups.
The Nihonshu Center is located at the A5 exit of the Higashi-Ginza Station on the Ginza, Hibiya, or Marunouchi lines. For more information call (03) 3575-0656.
A word of caution: don't overindulge the day before you have to grab a plane. At 17 per cent alcohol content, sake is likely to go right to your head, particularly the cheap stuff.
