Few snacks go alongside beer better than nuts. Your hand seems to automatically reach for more as soon as you put your glass down. And if you’re drinking craft beer, it just seems right to be snacking on some smoked nuts made locally in the same spirit as your beverage. For those of us that live in Yokohama, that’s an available option. Sakura Smoked Workshop in Isogo-ku makes small batches of smoked nuts, all handmade by Yokohama native Kōji Takahashi and his wife Rie.
Craft beer fans that frequently visit the Noge area surely know Takahashi’s popular bar, Sakura Taps, opened in April of 2015. Its eight rotating taps are carefully chosen and it’s not uncommon for brewers themselves to show up there. Takahashi has spent most of his working life in the bar/restaurant business. Previously, he ran a shot bar in Kamiooka for about ten years. Some months after opening Sakura Taps, he decided to try making smoked nuts while tinkering with his menu. The first batch was a major hit with patrons, who encouraged him to make them a permanent fixture on the menu. The salty, savory nuts have a deep, smoky flavor with a tinge of garlic. They are seriously addictive.
Over a span of years Takahashi has experimented with the ingredients, smoking time, temperature and batch sizes. He settled on a mix of walnuts, almonds and cashews because they matched best with the smoky flavor. As they continued to be a customer favorite, he decided to take the operation a step further and sell to other establishments. In December of 2018 he opened the small Isogo-ku production facility. He now sells regularly to about eight shops and at local events. If you’d prefer to have them delivered directly to your home, Takahashi ships throughout the country and orders can be made online (see website above). We expect you’ll be nuts about them.
