20,880 Temperature Records Tell the Story of a Cold Chain from Japan to Bangkok
Let’s start with one number: 20,880. That is the number of temperature readings recorded by a single temperature logger inside one refrigerated shipping container as it traveled from a warehouse in Japan to a warehouse in Bangkok—every two minutes, over roughly 29 days. The logger’s serial number was EFI248110104. The recording period ran from March 27, when cooling of the reefer container began, through April 24, when the doors were opened in Bangkok. The lowest temperature recorded was −2.3°C, the highest was 16.9°C, and the overall average was 0.4°C.
Quietly embedded in this data is a fundamental truth for preserving the brewer’s craft: the precise temperature the beverages were exposed to at every moment in transit, and how long they remained under stable storage conditions. Those 20,880 records tell that story in chronological order.
March 27–28: Cooling Begins At 2:33 a.m. on March 27, the logger recorded 16.9°C. This marks the starting point of the recorded period. It is likely the moment when the container doors had been closed and the reefer unit had begun cooling.
The temperature dropped sharply from there: 7.3°C by noon that same day, then 3.5°C by nightfall. On March 28, it moved from 3.5°C during the day to 0.6°C by night. On the graph, the line falls at a nearly vertical angle toward the subzero range. In roughly 36 hours, the temperature had plunged by about 16°C.
March 29–April 23: 26 Days of Silence For approximately 26 days, from March 29 to April 23, the temperature remained stable within an extremely narrow range: −2.3°C to +1.3°C. The average during this period was −0.3°C. Even when the graph is expanded, the average daily fluctuation is less than 1°C.
Before shipment, the container’s internal temperature was set at −2°C. The recorded range shows that the refrigeration unit kept the interior steadily around the set temperature, with only a few degrees of variation on the positive side. The lowest reading, −2.3°C, was recorded at 10:33 p.m. on April 1—the moment during ocean transit when the cooling was at its deepest.
This is a record of a reefer container doing exactly what it was meant to do. For sake, umeshu, and delicate liqueurs, strict cold storage suppresses oxidation and preserves the fragile aromatic compounds carefully crafted at the brewery. If they can be maintained near the freezing point for 26 days, their quality at the time of shipment can be preserved with stability. During the ocean voyage, time inside the container was, for all practical purposes, almost standing still.
April 24: Into Bangkok Air, Then Into −7°C On April 24, the graph begins to rise sharply again. This was the moment the container doors opened and Bangkok air entered. Within the same day, the temperature rose from 0.7°C to 16.8°C. The long journey of the single logger that had kept recording throughout the voyage ends here.
But 16.8°C is not the final destination. Upon unloading, the beverages are immediately transferred to a specialized cold-storage facility in Bangkok. That warehouse is maintained at −7°C—an environment 5°C colder than the container’s temperature setting during ocean transport. The cold chain that continued for 29 days does not break here; it is handed over to an even deeper cold-storage environment.
By coincidence, the departure temperature of 16.9°C and the arrival temperature of 16.8°C are almost identical. Between those two numbers lies 26 days of silence, followed by storage at −7°C. The moment when 16.8°C was recorded was one of the rare points in the 29-day journey when the beverages were exposed to the outside air.
20,880 Records: The Sum of an Invisible Promise The line drawn by those 20,880 points is usually invisible. A temperature logger is not placed beside each bottle that reaches a counter in Bangkok. Customers do not see the graph.
Even so, that line was very real. From 16.9°C on March 27, through 26 days of stability inside a container set to −2°C, to 16.8°C on April 24—and then onward into a −7°C warehouse. Across 29 days, those 20,880 records faithfully tell the story of how a single bottle was protected. This graph represents an invisible commitment—a quiet dedication to ensuring that the delicate nuances intended by the makers reach Bangkok exactly as they left Japan. (Mr. Bacchus)
This article is intended solely to explore the cold chain logistics and temperature management practices in international beverage shipping, and does not aim to promote or encourage the consumption of alcohol. / บทความนี้จัดทำขึ้นเพื่อนำเสนอข้อมูลเกี่ยวกับการขนส่งแบบควบคุมอุณหภูมิ (Cold Chain) และการบริหารจัดการอุณหภูมิในการขนส่งเครื่องดื่มระหว่างประเทศ เท่านั้น มิได้มีเจตนาเพื่อส่งเสริมหรือโฆษณาเครื่องดื่มแอลกอฮอล์ สำหรับผู้มีอายุ 20 ปีขึ้นไป โปรดดื่มอย่างรับผิดชอบ