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The Sake Brewery That's Aging Their Sake Underwater: Otokoyama Honten
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The Sake Brewery That's Aging Their Sake Underwater: Otokoyama Honten



Join the tour! Check out the Sake in the Sea experience in Kesennuma: https://www.byfood.com/experiences/sake-in-the-sea-immersive-sake-storage-voyage-in-kesennuma-381

OTOKOYAMA HONTEN SAKE BREWERY

In this video, Shizuka Anderson meets 5th generation sake brewer Hiroki Sugawara and learns about the process of brewing sake. He tells her about the story of the brewery and they visit the local oyster farm where their sake is stored underwater.

Established over 100 years ago, Otokoyama Honten Sake Brewery in Kesennuma continues to innovate. In 2006, they began storing sake underwater at a local oyster farm. After much trial and error, they found the proper packaging and depth for the sake, allowing it to mature for 6 months to a year and letting nature take care of the rest.

Following the 3/11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011, the staff at Otokoyama Honten got back to work the very next day. Fortunately, they were all safe and the brewery itself was undamaged. As a symbol of their resilience, they continued brewery operations, receiving support from their community and even strangers from other parts of Japan who heard what they were doing.

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🎬CREDITS:
HOST » Shizuka Anderson
DIRECTOR » David Woo
VIDEO EDITOR » Edvin Mulalic
PRODUCER » Serkan Toso

40 Comments

  10. MNTMAN

    My goodness she's gorgeous. Thank you Ms. Anderson, for spending time with us and sharing your Japanese heritage with everyone.

  11. 04_JT EM

    SIck and tired of people wearing mask when conversing. I know it's for 'safety' but it's just takes out the personality of the person you're talking to. No smiles, no facial expressions etc.

  14. Yeiner Alarcon

    Hello 👋 shizuka
    That was excellent video 👍
    I like everything bout you 😇
    For me ! you are the best host
    God blessed you 🙏

  18. Julius Tan

    I wonder why would the sake be different. If it's due to pressure below sea level, we can introduce a pressure change in storage. Very interesting. Or maybe temp , we can get that too but why under the sea hmmm guess I have to be there to find out. Japan is so beautiful ❤️

  19. b9brutality

    Shizuka-sama, could I make a bit of a selfish request? Could you do a "tour" of flavored sake (nihonshu)??? Like matcha, apricot, plum , etc…

  21. Fred Nicolas

    Amazing achievements imagine the talents passed on from generation to the next. If the Italians does their spirits with grapes, the Filipinos uses coconut to harvest their fun getting high known as "Tuba". I wonder if there is anymore. Thanks Shizuka for your excellent presentation, very educational.

  23. Calm1mind

    Love watching you Shizuka and your food videos – you should ask JapanbyFood for a roadtrip to Hawaii 🙂 there are plenty of Japanese/Korean/Asian food here – shoutout to Atlanta GA my hometown where 6 Asian women lost their lives yesterday – you have a lot of U.S. followers maybe you can mention Asian U.S. Issues on your other channels

  24. Eugene Justin

    Thanks for the brewery factory tour. 👍
    I bet that underwater sake taste nice, but I hope I don't get sea sick after drinking it. 😊
    Ms. Shizuka really good as a host.

  26. Mike Williams

    I do love the host, she's great! But woof, there's too much of a disconnect between the craft and her personality. You need a broader variety of hosts to report on these facets of life that are more in line with the hosts' beings. Like Bon Appetite was lol

  30. Keith TKO

    Pictures he showed are really helpful. This guy is ready for tours. Oysters and sake? What a job you have. It’s like a dream.

  31. NiceRage2009

    The guy giving the factory tour seemed a bit nervous. Can’t blame him. I’d be nervous too if I had the cutest Asian girl ever interviewing me🤷🏻‍♂️☺️

  38. Leandro Scarpin

    Shizuka-san is great. Not only is she a natural host. One can tell by her perception and disciption of the subtle differences between the two sakes, that she is the real deal!

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