Our Top 5 Widely Available Sake (In Japan)

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For those of you in or coming to Japan, specifically Tokyo, we wanted to list up some of our favorite sake while striking a balance between some of the better stuff out there and what’s actually easy to find. Here’s what we settled on!

Kaze No Mori 風の森

One of the great gateways to sake addiction, Kaze No Mori can be found at many sake shops, including places like department stores and Imadeya (which itself is in a department store). It might be slightly harder to find than the rest of the brands in this list, but if you’re truly gung-ho, we recommend you go out of your way to find and try their offerings! Their sake is unpasteurized and tends to be packed with melon, pineapple, and other big fruity flavors, plus it usually has a nice bit of sparkle from the fermentation as well.

You can check out one of Kaze No Mori’s flagship bottles here.

Suigei 酔鯨

Ah, the “drunken whale”! If you’re looking for a drier, perfectly executed, classic sake at a decent cost with wide distribution (deep breath) then look no further! Suigei has a wide variety of offerings, but we’re partial to their plain old tokubetsu junmai, which can be fairly easily found at grocery stores, so keep an eye out!

You can see the drunken whale here in all its glory.

Kubota 久保田

Perhaps a contender for easiest to find in this list. Their black-labeled bottle of junmai daiginjo can be found at supermarkets and sake shops alike, and we can vouch for it’s deliciousness. It’s a crisp, floral, fruity sake that should jibe with just about anyone.

You can view the bottle of Kubota in question here.

Dassai 獺祭

The old reliable. Dassai can be found in most liquor stores, most department stores, and most other places that have some sort of special sake section. You might not find it in your local grocery store however! Even if you’re not looking to buy a full bottle, you can try this at a whole lot of Izakaya, so if you see Dassai, try it!

You can view the always-lovely Dassai 45 here.

Dewazakura 出羽桜

Dewazakura is always a solid choice. Their bottles tend to have a solid amount of floral and umami, and sometimes you can find their junmai ginjo in small bottles at 7-Eleven! Keep a look out for what’s in their fridges — it’ll usually be near the bottom of the alcohol section.

Here’s that bottle of Dewazakura Junmai Ginjo for reference.

Hopefully, todays short blurb was useful. Until next time, enjoy your sake!