hongo555
After enjoying a full course of chicken dishes at Tori Tanaka, I came to Asakusa from Koganeguchi. I have a restaurant in mind that I want to take today's guests to. At this time (before 11 pm), most of the shops around Nakamise Street are closed, but on the north side of Inari-ura in Asakusa, it's the time when things start to get lively. I head straight to the warm sake I'm looking for. I've visited this place several times since it moved near the old location, and it's a very cozy place to sit on the tatami mat counter, leisurely drink warm sake, and enjoy some delicious food. The owner of the shop, who is the only staff, is frankly unfriendly (lol), but as long as you follow the unspoken rules of this place, you can enjoy delicious sake and snacks. Today, there are four of us, so we were seated at the table in the back. I usually come alone or with my wife, so it's my first time sitting at the table in the back. Like the tatami room at Tori Tanaka, this place feels like entering a friend's house. It's nice and relaxing. It may be hard to believe, but even people who run or work in restaurants may not know how warm the sake should be. Warm sake is generally categorized by temperature in approximately 5-degree increments as follows: - Hito-kiri Kan: 55 degrees and above - Atsu-kan: around 50 degrees - Jo-kan: around 45 degrees - Nurukan: around 40 degrees - Hitohada-kan: around 35 degrees - Hinata-kan: around 30 degrees - Hiyazake: 20-30 degrees - Suzu-hie: around 15 degrees - Hana-hie: around 10 degrees - Yuki-hie: around 5 degrees In addition to these, there are also chilled sake and various other temperature variations. Changing the temperature can change the taste and mouthfeel, making sake quite versatile and enjoyable. Personally, I prefer to drink sake warmed up, regardless of the season. Today, I'm having Shishinosato warmed up. I'll also enjoy the mellowing effect. Shishinosato doesn't have any unnecessary flavors or aromas, just the natural sweetness of the rice and a light acidity, making it a sake that "warms up" nicely. It used to have a low production volume, and I had to go all the way to the Noto Peninsula to buy it, but now it's available in Tokyo and online as well. Today, I'm savoring it slowly in a sake cup labeled "Nurukan." It's delicious... Recently, there has been an increase in breweries that prefer to use yeast that produces a fragrant aroma. These sakes have citrusy or milky aromas. Some sakes are even described as having a banana aroma. Popular ones include Mutsu Hassen, Senkin, Shinsei, Nabeshima, Tenpuku, Hohoemi, and more. Personally, I'm not particularly fond of such sakes, and I prefer sakes that pair well with snacks and food. So I prefer Junmai and Tokubetsu Junmai (both can be called Junmai if the rice polishing ratio is 60% or less) over Ginjo and Daiginjo. By the way, the rice we eat daily has a rice polishing ratio of over 90% ===