Journal

Blog

Stories of makers, ingredients, places and the decisions behind Japan's most compelling drinks.

Drink

Broadening the Brewing Season, Narrowing the Selection: HANEYA KIRABI, Four-Season Brewing, and Nakagumi

Sake is made in winter. Many people may still carry that image. In Japan, brewing concentrated in the colder months, known as kanzukuri , has indeed been practiced for centuries.

Drink

Rice Polished to 27%, Sake Held at −5°C for One Year: The Design of Shichiken Hakushin

What do 27% rice polishing and one year at −5°C reveal about Shichiken Hakushin? Read the decisions linking Hakushu rice, water, temperature and time.

Drink

Choose by the Table: Food, Serving Style, and Occasion

An educational framework for comparing sake, shochu, liqueur and other distilled spirits through food structure, service variables and dining format.

Drink

How to Read a Japanese Bottle Label Without Knowing Japanese

A practical guide to four fields that explain a Japanese bottle: category, ingredients when shown, alcohol content, and producer.

Drink

Selecting Your First Bottle: A Thoughtful Guide for the Curious Mind

A beginner's guide to choosing Japanese sake, shochu and spirits — four simple ways to narrow the choice without memorizing technical terms.

SAKE HUNDRED

Connecting Expertise Without Owning a Brewery

How Clear Inc. built SAKE HUNDRED without owning a brewery, connecting specialist brewing partners, brand design and fermentation research across Japan.

CRAFT BEER

From Rice to Malt: How the Same Water Connects Sake and Beer— HEIWA CRAFT Pale Ale

Follow how Heiwa Shuzo connects sake and HEIWA CRAFT Pale Ale through the same Wakayama water, while koji and malt take different paths to fermentation.

AWARD : SAKE

A New Measure Beside Technical Mastery

For many years, sake competitions have placed great weight on precision in brewing and the quality of the finished sake: how carefully the rice is polished and how clearly and elegantly the sake is made. The Junmai Daiginjo category represents this emphasis on technical skill. At SAKE COMPETITION 2026, another category stood alongside it with a different measure. Modern Natural evaluates not only the finished sake, but also the philosophy behind its production.

Drink

How Can We Read a Gin’s Connection to Place? Four Clues in the Official Information for ohoro GIN Standard

Read four official clues that connect ohoro GIN Standard to Niseko: production, local botanicals, Hakkaisan Group ownership and legal labeling.

Drink

Layering Yuzu and Sea Salt over Sake

Explore how Shio Yuzu layers yuzu and sea salt over sake, and how infusion shapes its aroma, structure and legal category as a Japanese liqueur.

Age Verification