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Sake of Fukui / Part-1 / One of the Greatest Sake Breweries, “Kokuryu”

2016.05.30

Sake

Japanese sake is mellow and some has strong body.

The taste and texture of sake is similar to the character of Japanese people

which is generally said that many Japanese people are humble, not assertive,

quiet and our actions say more than words which make the existence of us powerful.

 

Sake is usually served before and/or during meals

so cups and bottles of sake usually sit next to the meal quietly and humbly

but the existence of it is very powerful.

 

Also, it is said that sake is similar to wine that depending on brewers, years

and locations of making sake, the flavor, texture and everything between can be varied.

 

There are many sake breweries in Japan and all of them make their own sake with their own styles. Each sake has its own characteristic and flavor.

Today, I would like to introduce “Kokuryu brewery” which is one of the greatest sake breweries in Japan.

 

Kokuryu brewery was founded by Nizaemon Ishidaya, established in Eiheiji-cho, Yoshida-gun, Fukui Prefecture, in 1804. Since then, they have been making “good sake” for over 200 years with their motto, “if we make good sake, people will support it”. Their motto sounds very simple and easy to do, but it is very difficult to do so, especially for such a long time.

 

“Kokuryu” was named after the river called “Kokuryu river” which is the old name for “Kuzuryu river” (Nine-Headed Dragon River)

 

A kanji for “koku” means black, and a kanji for “ryu” means dragon in Japanese.

 

In general speaking, the flavor of Kokuryu is fruity, pure, clear and mild, and it still has strong sake taste but it’s not too heavy at all. It is actually lighter than many other sake in Japan

so it is recommendable even for people who don’t usually drink sake. My favorite sake from Kokuryu is Shizuku.

If you never try drinking sake of Kokuryu, how about enjoying one?

 

For more information about Kokuryu

Kokuryu-Official Site

 

Please enjoy our previous blog
Sake, Kokuryu

 

 

T.F

Cafe that you can relax in Japanese rural scenery opened in Fukui City

2016.05.29

Gourmet

A nice cafe “Kisaki CAFE” opened near a popular cosmos garden in the suburbs of Fukui City on 20th May.
This cafe is a sister shop of “Kidoriya” of Katamachi(restaurant and bar area in Fukui City),
which is popular for grilled Miyazaki local chicken.
So they provide “lunch menus” using their specialty Miyazaki local chicken.
Also, they serve cakes of “Sanshuen”, which is a cake shop of long standing in Fukui City,
so that also makes girls who love sweets happy.
How about spending some time at the cafe, feeling comforted in the countryside of Fukui
with the lush greenery?
They also have a terrace. (H.S)

 


Fukui’s rural scenery is beautiful, isn’t it? (From Kisaki CAFE's Facebook page)

 


Lunch using Miyazaki local chicken

 


Spaghetti with Miyazaki local chicken and cabbage

 


Inside the cafe. Looks nice for dinner as well.

 

Zen temples and Daruma

2016.05.26

Charms of Japan

I saw a powerful painting of Daruma when I went to Daianzenji Temple in Fukui City.
I wasn’t quite sure why Daruma was hung at a Zen temple, so I checked it out and found
that Daruma was the founder of Chinese Zen Buddhism, who was an Indian Buddhist monk.

 

It is said that Zen was introduced to China by the Daruma,
and it split into the five Zen sects such as Rinzai and Soto.
Then it also had a significant influence on religions in Japan.
Therefore, at Zen temples, they usually hang hanging scrolls depicting Daruma
as a kind of Buddha statue.

 

It is also said that Daruma faced a wall and continued meditating for nine years,
so in the end his arms and legs necrotized.
Daruma dolls which are familiar to Japanese represent the sitting figure of the Daruma,
and it is still widely popular as a lucky charm not only in the Zen sect. (H.S)

 

Night Views of Japanese Factory

2016.05.25

Places to visit

In Japan, factory night view tours have become popular for the past 10 years.
There are tours and conferences are held as well.

 

The most appealing aspect of the factory night view tours is the secenery which looks powerful and breathtaking, especially at night.

 

The tours are conducted by bus and shipping companies.
It is usually about 4,600 yen for about 90mins.

(It depends on companies and their tour contents.)

For both bus and cruise ship tour, they are usually fully booked up one month in advance.

 

If you have a chance, how about enjoying the factory night view tour in Japan?

 

I would like to share a video of “beaphoto1”,

“【4K Timelapse】Yokkaichi industrial area, Factory night view. Japan”. Please enjoy!

 

 

T.F

I awoke to writers from Fukui Prefecture

2016.05.24

Books

如何なる星の下に

I am sure that there are many writers who are from Fukui Prefecture

or writers associated with, including Natsu Miyashita

who recently received Japan Booksellers’ Award and became a topic of conversation in public,

but I have never read their books.

 

The other day, as I reprinted the video of PR for Fukui, “Visiting Takami Jun”

onto GEN website, I became interested in his books and read one.

It was very interesting. I was fascinated by the images of Asakusa district in Tokyo

in the book, Ikanaru Hoshi no Moto ni (“Under Whatever Star”) which has in common

with the adolescence trilogy by Makoto Shiina.

 

雁の寺

I just reprinted another video of PR for Fukui today,

“Following in the footsteps of Tsutomu Mizukami”.

And I read his mystery novel, “Temple of the Wild Geese”

which is based on the temple in which he spent his childhood was very interesting.

It was coincident for me to know about Takami and Mizukami who both are from Fukui Prefecture at the same time, even though I should have known about their books earlier, which made me want to read all of their books.

 

 

T.S

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