Drinking Japan. Chris Bunting
(50 types) on offer here might have earned Buchi a mention in either of the chapters devoted to those drinks, but the 30 types of “cup sake” (カップ酒) provide an excellent way to try a range of good sake in a very low-stress environment with an English menu. The cup sake is itself a reinvention. This most unpretentious of serving vessels was developed by the makers of the cheapest plonk. Nowadays, though, an increasing range of premium sakes are available in cup form. When I visited, they had an “Okuharima” (奥播磨) yamahai junmai from Hyōgo prefecture (600 yen). The Shimomura brewery is known for its dry, well-balanced sakes, but this bottling (like the kimoto “Okuharima” we met at Amanogawa, page 48), is a bit special: the labor-intensive yamahai method (see page 41) gives richer, wilder tastes than the normal “Okuharima.” The first bottling of this sold out as soon as it was released in 2007. Buchi say it works well warmed or otherwise and recommended their senba dōfu (tōfu, 500 yen) to slip down with it.
DIRECTIONS: A bit of a walk from Shibuya Station. From the Hachikō statue (a statue of a dog used as a landmark in Shibuya’s chaos), head west up the road to the right of the building containing L’Occitane en Provence and then bear to the left of the Shibuya 109 building up Dōgenzaka (Dōgen slope). When you reach a large overpass, do not go under it but bear to your right past the AM/PM convenience store. Buchi is to your right when you come to a wide junction.
Buri ぶり 03-3496-7744
1-14-1 Ebisu-nishi, Shibuya-ku, Tōkyō
東京都渋谷区恵比寿西 1 丁目 14-1
Open: 5 pm–3 am Booking recommended? No Credit cards? Major cards
English menu? No Table charge: 200 yen
Like Buchi in Shibuya (see page 49), Buri is one of the new breed of standing bars that have been opening up since 2004. In fact, Buri and Buchi have the same meaning in the Hiroshima dialect (approximate translation: “very”) and, although not the same chain, there is some unfathomable link between the investors in the two projects. The concept is also similar: a modern, casual environment serving cup sake of high quality and good, no-nonsense food. There are usually 30–40 types of shōchū and about 20 types of sake on the menu. A fun diversion is their “Majikōru” refrigerator, which cools 12 types of sake so that it is turned into a jelly-like consistency. I can’t say I understand the science behind the trick but Buri claims it produces a very mild-tasting drink that works well on one of Tōkyō’s grimy summer days. The food is a mix of Japanese standards (a delicious smell of yakitori met me as I entered) and Western dishes (“Rebā Pēsuto”, chicken liver pâté, 450 yen), but the beauty of these standing bars for me is that you are not expected to gorge yourself while you are drinking in the time-honored Japanese fashion. Owner Mitsuyuki Shioiri recommended a “Hitakami” (日高見) junmai cup sake from Miyagi prefecture. It is named after an ancient, semi-legendary kingdom in the north of Japan, which is mentioned in the old chronicles as being particularly fertile. The makers, Hirakō Shuzō, use long, low-temperature fermentation, meticulous washing and steaming of the rice (which they say determines 80 percent of a sake’s flavor) and refrigerated storage to produce polished and refined sakes that are designed to go particularly well with seafood (try the kimoiri surume, dried cuttlefish, 500 yen). Buri’s restroom is a little hard to find. A hint: look carefully at the cup sake-covered wall.
DIRECTIONS: JR Ebisu Station (Yamanote Line), West Exit (west side). Cross to the right of the taxi ranks, with the fountains beside you. Cross the big road and continue down the street beside the KFC. Follow the road for about 150 yards. Buri is on your left. From Ebisu Hibiya Line Station Exit 1, reverse your direction as you come out of the exit and follow the instructions above.
Chokottoya ちょこっと屋 082-245-7770
12-26 Kanayamachō, Naka-ku, Hiroshima-shi, Hiroshima, 730-0022
〒 730-0022 広島県広島市中区銀山町 12-26
Open: 7 pm–5 am, occasional irregular one-day holidays Credit cards? Visa, Master and JCB, not Amex or Diners
English menu? No Table charge: 300 yen
Chokottoya is in a seedy part of Hiroshima. It faces an establishment offering “school girl play” and I am pretty sure we are not talking cat’s cradle and skipping games. The izakaya’s multicolored, corrugated scrap metal façade adds to the slightly bizarre first impression. Inside, though, the aesthetic is more country farmhouse than Mad Max and the selection of more than 120 Hiroshima sakes is unrivaled. The staff are knowledgeable and friendly. If in doubt, I recommend leaving the selection of sake to them. They may surprise you. “The image is perhaps that Hiroshima sake has a sweet taste, but that is a thing of the past,” Chokottoya’s manager Yasutaka Sakumoto says. “Nowadays, it really varies with the kura. There are some very dry Hiroshima sakes.” By way of example, he recommended “Ryūsei karakuchi junmai” (龍勢 辛口純米) from Fujii brewery in Takehara city. It is quite dry but has a mildness to it that really develops when warmed. Sake drinkers talk about kan agari, the quality in some sakes of developing new, alluring tastes with heating, and this one is definitely kan agari. It is designed to work with food and there could be no better accompaniment for a Hiroshima sake that the local speciality, anago tempura (conger eel tempura, 680 yen). Also try the gyū no yukke (raw seasoned beef, 800 yen).
DIRECTIONS: Kanayama-chō Hiroden tram stop (Station No. M5). Head down Yagenbori-dōri (the road with the UCC coffee-sponsored gate). Take the fourth left (at the crossing with the K2 building). The sign is entirely in Japanese characters, but the corrugated iron-covered shop-front marks it out from the sex traders.
Donjaka 呑者家 03-3341-2497 r.gnavi.co.jp/g873801
3-9-10 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tōkyō, 160-0022
〒 160-0022 東京都新宿区新宿 3-9-10
Open: 5 pm–7 am Booking recommended? Yes Credit cards? No
English menu? No Table charge: 400 yen
This place is part of a group of very reasonably priced izakaya in this area of Shinjuku. There is another branch around the corner in Suehiro-dōri with 65 seats and a nautically themed variation, called Dora, a few paces down the road with 100 seats. Together with the 45 seats available at this branch, you would have thought there would be plenty of space for Donjaka’s customers. You would be wrong. Booking is definitely a necessity on Fridays. Donjaka’s alcohol and food menus are well-judged and fairly cheap. Manager Kazutoyo Uematsu recommended the yakitori set (yakitori moriawase, 500 yen) and, for those who like small fry, the potato and fish fry (chirimen jyako to potato no kara-age, 550 yen). Both the shōchū and sake selections are excellent, offering between 20 and 25 bottles of both types. The sake-tasting set, with generous samples of a varying line-up of three jizake (kikizake seto, きき酒セツ卜, usually around 650–750 yen but varies with the line-up) represents a particularly good opportunity to expand your Japanese alcohol horizons.