Drinking Japan: A Guide to Japan's Best Drinks and Drinking Establishments

Japan is home to some of the world's most interesting alcoholic beverages and to a phenomenally energetic bar scene. Drinking Japan is the first wide-ranging survey in English of the country's unique alcohol culture, with detailed coverage not only of the well-known rice brew sake but of much less explored traditions like shochu, awamori, beer, wine, and Japanese whisky. The book is a practical guide, offering richly illustrated reviews of 122 drinking establishments in Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Hiroshima, Okinawa and further afield. The reviews are written with the newly arrived visitor to Japan in mind, with price guides, language help, advice on food and drink choices, and maps and directions to get you to the bars. Drinking Japan offers detailed background on more than 150 of Japan's best drink brands and the people that make them. There is a long chapter on the history of sake and the contemporary sake world, and the first extensive descriptions in an English-language book of Japan's indigenous spirits, shochu and awamori. Whole chapters are devoted to Japan's whisky, craft beer and wine industries, offering insights that have until now not been available to readers in English.