After the awesome afternoon tea at Higashiya, we took a wander around Ginza to not only walk off all the confectioneries we had at afternoon tea, but more importantly, we are determined to see as much of Tokyo as we can. I mean, without wanting to sound like a broken record, but, we are only here for 6 days and you best believe we are making the most of this trip!
We had as part of the cultural experience to have a sake tasting, I mean come on, you cant be in Japan and not have Sake[1]? Preposterous! Our initial choice was at a place that offered an ‘all you can drink sake taster’ and it was bring your own grub. Sounds perfect right? Only problem was location and I just could not be arsed! We needed a plan B with a closer location and behold Ginza Kenyo Sake Cellar.
I know you read cellar and expected well, a cellar. Not quite, space is premium in Japan so no chance of a proper cellar with oak barrels and what not. Instead we have a charming shop that had wall to wall fridges with different sake labels of various sizes. As part of the taster service, you were given a selection of small bites paired with a particular type of sake. Thank heaven because sake being a colourless liquid most of the time, you rely heavily on your taste buds but you also get drunk real quick on an empty stomach. Yep, the alcohol content is strong in these and they really hit the spot. We tried about 9 different kinds of sake and I was ever so glad to have the small bites that accompanied each sake.
As the evening progressed, we struck up conversation with a lovely couple from Singapore. Who, like us, felt like fish out of water because no one else spoke English. We ended up having even more sake here till we got kicked out lol.
We didn’t stop here though; they graciously extend an invite to us to come check out an Okinawa place nearby which we did and it was awesome. The owners of the place welcomed us like we were old friends, rustled up some food (even though kitchen was closed) and gave us even more alcohol! T’was such a good vibe and the best highlight of this trip yet. Plus, through them, we managed to get a seat at a sushi master’s table tomorrow for lunch! yaaass! Thank you guys!
Ahh Tokyo, I am loving you so much right now!
Kanpai
Ndidi
[1] Sake a Japanese alcoholic drink made from fermented rice, koji and water
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