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Ten Years of CRAFT SAKE WEEK: Designing New Encounters with Sake
CRAFT SAKE WEEK, the sake event founded by Hidetoshi Nakata, marked its tenth year in 2026. In the first instalment of a three-part dancyu feature published on August 11, writer Atsuko Sando examines how the event was designed to reach people who had not previously engaged with sake and to connect the drink with food, craft, place and accessible information.
A Market Challenge Beyond Existing Sake Fans
After retiring from professional football, Nakata travelled through all 47 prefectures over approximately seven and a half years to learn more about Japanese culture and regional production. Sake became a central part of that journey. According to the article, he has visited more than 500 breweries over the past 16 years.
He also identified a structural challenge. Many tasting events were well attended, but their visitors were often people who already knew and enjoyed sake. Reaching a wider audience required more than increasing the number of labels available. It required a setting in which newcomers could encounter sake through food, design, information and direct contact with producers.
From a Tasting Event to a Cultural Experience
JAPAN CRAFT SAKE COMPANY, established by Nakata in 2015, launched CRAFT SAKE WEEK in 2016 at Roppongi Hills Arena. Rather than presenting every participating brewery at once, the event limits each day to ten breweries and each brewery to three selections.
The purpose of this structure is not maximum volume. A smaller field makes it easier for visitors to choose, compare and remember what they encountered. The original glass and coin-based payment system further separate each serving and dish into a deliberate decision rather than an unlimited tasting format.
Food is treated as part of the same experience. Participating restaurants create event-specific dishes and pairings, while architects and designers shape the venue using contemporary interpretations of Japanese materials and cultural motifs. Talks with brewers, chefs, craftspeople and other producers add an educational layer.
The 2026 Tenth-Year Edition
The 2026 event ran for 13 days, from April 17 to 29, at Roppongi Hills Arena. A total of 130 breweries participated, with ten appearing each day, alongside 20 restaurants. The article reports approximately 300,000 visitors in 2026, following cumulative attendance of about 1.25 million through the previous year.
The scale increased, but the daily limit of ten breweries remained unchanged. This continuity shows that the event’s core design is based on selection and context, not simply on placing more producers in one venue.
Information Designed for Newcomers
The event is linked with Sakenomy, the sake information application operated by JAPAN CRAFT SAKE COMPANY. Visitors can review concise brewery profiles, the names and characteristics of available sake, coin requirements, and recommendations for restaurants and accommodation in each brewery’s home region.
Visual explanations and short descriptions help people form an initial impression without requiring specialist vocabulary. English information supports international visitors, while the connection between the venue and the application allows an encounter at the event to lead to further learning after it.
Who the Event Reached
Figures cited by dancyu from JAPAN CRAFT SAKE COMPANY indicate that people in their twenties and thirties account for approximately 60 per cent of visitors, while international visitors represent around 10 per cent. Comments from participating brewers and returning visitors suggest that the event has become a recurring point of contact between producers and people who first discovered their sake at CRAFT SAKE WEEK.
The article presents the event as an example of market development through experience design: reducing the number of choices at one time, connecting sake with food and regional culture, and providing information at the moment curiosity begins.
