Every year, October 1st marks the start of the sake brewing season in Japan (officially called “Sake Day”). Yokohama is home to many places where you can enjoy delicious, high-end sake, but we have an unusual one to recommend: Sankeien, the beautiful historical gardens in the Honmoku neighborhood.
More specifically, you can sip away at Taishunken, a very special cafe located within the gardens (which we reported on early this year, in YSM189). To recap, the cafe is housed within one of Sankeien’s traditional structures featuring aged wooden architecture and views of the surrounding greenery. Taishunken is known for its “Sankei Soba” which is a unique culinary noodle dish created by Sankei Hara (1868–1939), the influential businessman who called the expansive property home before it became an internationally recognized destination. There are of course other tasty bites on the menu.
And there is also sake, really good local sake! The current menu offers a variety of selections from three breweries in Kanagawa prefecture: Kumazawa Brewery (Tensei brand), Izumibashi, and Koganei Brewery (Sakarimasu brand). 180ml glass servings are just ¥650 to ¥700, 300ml small bottles are ¥1100, while 720ml bottles for group sharing are ¥2650 to ¥3800 (prices and varieties are subject to change). Best of all, you can enjoy your sake cold, at room temperature, or warmed. There are other alcohol items (and non-alcohol drinks) on the menu, but this time of year and into winter, there’s nothing like fresh sake!
Note that Taishunken occasionally hosts live jazz events and that the next, featuring the group Infinity Echoes, is on 11/14 from 1:30pm. Check out their Instagram page for more information. Sipping sake to snappy jazz tunes sounds like a great way to spend an autumn Saturday.