In Which I Visit the Japanese Embassy

Today I had the distinct pleasure to visit the Japanese Embassy in New York for a Sake tasting. The attending group was surprisingly small, the Sake was amazing, and the sushi was some of the best that I have ever had.

One of the most surprising facts that I learned was that the Japanese Sake industry is in deep decline. Before World War 1 Japan had over 60,000 Sake makers in its 38 prefectures. Today it has just over 1,400 with an annual LOSS of 5-6 a year. The culprit appears to be an influx of foreign beverages, Beer, Scotch, and Whiskey especially.