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.
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"Ultimate guide to drinking in Japan." The Japan Times
"From sampling traditional awamori on Okinawa to roaming the legendary Susukino district in Sapporo, Drinking Japan is filled with a staggering amount of information ... (&) incredibly complete histories." Metropolis magazine
"There are many things to love about Japan, but its exceptional bars and drinking culture are among the things at the top of my list. Anyone with the same yen (heh) for Tokyo-and-beyond bars should check out "Drinking Japan: A Guide to Japan's Best Drinks and Drinking Establishments." Written by Chris Bunting after a year and a half of research (i.e., drinking his way across Japan) and published by Tuttle in April, the book combines a guide to Japanese spirits with reviews of the bars devoted to them." Los Angeles Times
"It is in Bunting's travelogue approach wherein we find Drinking Japan‘s greatest strengths. We journey with him from one bar to another, listening in on conversations with bartenders who proudly report on the provenance and aging of their prized liquors. We vicariously drink through Japan while nestled comfortably on a couch at home. Bunting does a fantastic job of putting each bar in context." LA Weekly
"An excellent guide for anyone interested in a drink." Japan Visitor
From the Author
Drinking Japan is written as a practical guide, but I hope it is also a fun read. There are loads of anecdotes covering all sorts of high-jinks through Japanese drinking history and lots of detail on the fascinating people who make the contemporary Japanese alcohol scene so special. The book is richly illustrated, and offers Japanese language support aimed at helping people who do not speak much Japanese to experience this fascinating drinking culture.
Please check out the video on my author page.
- Chris Bunting
Please check out the video on my author page.
- Chris Bunting
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More About the Author
Chris Bunting is a Tokyo-based journalist who has written for a variety of publications, including the London Times and the Independent. He currently works for a leading Japanese daily newspaper. He is a regular in bars in Tokyo's Shimbashi, Shibuya, Ebisu and Shinjuku drinking districts.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
By brian
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Thoroughly researched and attractively presented, Drinking Japan provides enough insights into the country's unique bar culture and beverages to establish it as a valuable reference both for newcomers and those more acquainted with the delights of Japanese liquor.
Delving into the history and traditions of the country's various brewed, distilled and fermented beverages, author Chris Bunting also highlights more than 120 standout examples from among Japan's countless superb licensed establishments.
Each chapter focuses on a major drink category - such as whisky, sake, shochu and Okinawan awamori - while listing bars specializing in it, complete with maps and directions from the nearest train stations. (Particularly useful in a country where rail is the primary mode of transport in major cities, and for readers who will likely be in no state to drive if putting the book to good use.)
Bar listings are conveniently arranged by location in the book's front inside cover, while listed alphabetically at the back. The majority of the featured bars are in and around Tokyo, however, there are several write-ups for bars in other areas popular with visitors such as Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima.
For visitors with little or no Japanese language ability, a section on useful words and phrases should make the Japanese bar experience much easier to navigate.
Delving into the history and traditions of the country's various brewed, distilled and fermented beverages, author Chris Bunting also highlights more than 120 standout examples from among Japan's countless superb licensed establishments.
Each chapter focuses on a major drink category - such as whisky, sake, shochu and Okinawan awamori - while listing bars specializing in it, complete with maps and directions from the nearest train stations. (Particularly useful in a country where rail is the primary mode of transport in major cities, and for readers who will likely be in no state to drive if putting the book to good use.)
Bar listings are conveniently arranged by location in the book's front inside cover, while listed alphabetically at the back. The majority of the featured bars are in and around Tokyo, however, there are several write-ups for bars in other areas popular with visitors such as Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima.
For visitors with little or no Japanese language ability, a section on useful words and phrases should make the Japanese bar experience much easier to navigate.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
From Rowley's Whiskey Forge:
Living in California where sushi joints are as common as coffee shops and devoting no small portion of my life to the study of distilling and drinking, I have some familiarity with Japanese whisky, shochu, and sake -- but only as an American understands these things. That is, I drink what I can get in the United States. Consequently, the breadth and depth of drinking choices in Japan itself has been a matter of trawling for hearsay, quizzing bartenders and distillers who have visited Japan, and reading.
For the last several months I have been trying to remedy that with a crash course in Japanese spirits and cookery.
One of the most useful books on drinking alcohol in modern Japan to come across my desk is, appropriately enough, Drinking Japan by Tokyo-based journalist Chris Bunting. Subtitled A Guide to Japan's Best Drinks and Drinking Establishments, Bunting's book is something of a revelation.
As with all guidebooks, some of its information -- hours, addresses, or staff, for instance -- is bound to be obsolete by the time it lands in your hands. Accept it and move on. The rest is a meaty mix of history; tips to avoid cultural misunderstandings (that extra charge on your bill isn't sneaky thievery -- it's there on purpose and everyone at the bar but you understands this); suggestions for dealing with unfamiliar drinking environments; warnings on harsh penalties lashed out to drunk drivers (and passengers of drunk drivers); pronunciation guides; detailed guides and maps to bars, distilleries, and liquor stores; and profiles of Japan's noteworthy alcoholists.
With so much of Americans' focus when it comes to Japanese drinking on sake and, to a lesser degree, whiskies, it was a surprise to me that Japan has a robust craft brewing scene. Obviously, Japan has breweries, but in California, I have known only light and, let's face it, undistinguished brands such as Kirin and Sapporo. Bunting devotes an entire chapter to what he calls the "glories of Japanese beer" and breaks down where to get it and how to drink it.
One of the more engrossing chapters for me concerns awamori, an Okinawan distilled rice spirit that can be traced clearly to the early 1500s, but in all probability is older even than that. Awamori was, from its earliest days, an aristocratic drink. Bunting writes "Only forty individuals were given permits and all distilling was done under royal patronage; the stills and the ingredients were owned and loaned out by the kingdom and all of the liquor had to be returned to it, save for 5.4 liters left as payment with each maker. Unlicensed distilling brought the death penalty and transportation of the culprit's family to a prison island." This, naturally, suggests that moonshining was enough of a problem that draconian laws were put in place to stem the flow from illicit stills (or perhaps a little side action on those royal stills when nobody was looking). Awamori had its ups and downs since the 18th century -- not unlike American moonshine -- but modern distillers seem to understand that the success of the class is anchored in quality product.
An almost heart-wrenching section -- that is, from a drinker's point of view -- describes the utter destruction during World War II of awamori stocks that were well over 100 years old. After a bombardment by the battleship USS Mississippi annihilated the center of awamori making in Okinawa, "[S]tocks of black koji spores necessary for making awamori destroyed. After a desperate search, a straw mat with traces of koji on it was found under the rubble of one distillery and, after several failed attempts, the mold was successfully cultured." Koji (Aspergillus oryzae) is not much used in the West, but the fungus is essential for converting starches to sugars in several traditional types of Japanese fermented food and beverages.
At the time of printing, Bunting noted only 46 awamori distilleries remaining. Fortunately for the curious traveler or Japan-based drinker, he profiles a number of bars that specialize in the spirit. One of these days, I will get to Japan and I will sample awamori in situ. And Japanese whiskeys. And sake. And shochu.
Until then, I have Drinking Japan to help me plan where and what to drink when I get there.
Cheers, Mr. Bunting, for the read.
Living in California where sushi joints are as common as coffee shops and devoting no small portion of my life to the study of distilling and drinking, I have some familiarity with Japanese whisky, shochu, and sake -- but only as an American understands these things. That is, I drink what I can get in the United States. Consequently, the breadth and depth of drinking choices in Japan itself has been a matter of trawling for hearsay, quizzing bartenders and distillers who have visited Japan, and reading.
For the last several months I have been trying to remedy that with a crash course in Japanese spirits and cookery.
One of the most useful books on drinking alcohol in modern Japan to come across my desk is, appropriately enough, Drinking Japan by Tokyo-based journalist Chris Bunting. Subtitled A Guide to Japan's Best Drinks and Drinking Establishments, Bunting's book is something of a revelation.
As with all guidebooks, some of its information -- hours, addresses, or staff, for instance -- is bound to be obsolete by the time it lands in your hands. Accept it and move on. The rest is a meaty mix of history; tips to avoid cultural misunderstandings (that extra charge on your bill isn't sneaky thievery -- it's there on purpose and everyone at the bar but you understands this); suggestions for dealing with unfamiliar drinking environments; warnings on harsh penalties lashed out to drunk drivers (and passengers of drunk drivers); pronunciation guides; detailed guides and maps to bars, distilleries, and liquor stores; and profiles of Japan's noteworthy alcoholists.
With so much of Americans' focus when it comes to Japanese drinking on sake and, to a lesser degree, whiskies, it was a surprise to me that Japan has a robust craft brewing scene. Obviously, Japan has breweries, but in California, I have known only light and, let's face it, undistinguished brands such as Kirin and Sapporo. Bunting devotes an entire chapter to what he calls the "glories of Japanese beer" and breaks down where to get it and how to drink it.
One of the more engrossing chapters for me concerns awamori, an Okinawan distilled rice spirit that can be traced clearly to the early 1500s, but in all probability is older even than that. Awamori was, from its earliest days, an aristocratic drink. Bunting writes "Only forty individuals were given permits and all distilling was done under royal patronage; the stills and the ingredients were owned and loaned out by the kingdom and all of the liquor had to be returned to it, save for 5.4 liters left as payment with each maker. Unlicensed distilling brought the death penalty and transportation of the culprit's family to a prison island." This, naturally, suggests that moonshining was enough of a problem that draconian laws were put in place to stem the flow from illicit stills (or perhaps a little side action on those royal stills when nobody was looking). Awamori had its ups and downs since the 18th century -- not unlike American moonshine -- but modern distillers seem to understand that the success of the class is anchored in quality product.
An almost heart-wrenching section -- that is, from a drinker's point of view -- describes the utter destruction during World War II of awamori stocks that were well over 100 years old. After a bombardment by the battleship USS Mississippi annihilated the center of awamori making in Okinawa, "[S]tocks of black koji spores necessary for making awamori destroyed. After a desperate search, a straw mat with traces of koji on it was found under the rubble of one distillery and, after several failed attempts, the mold was successfully cultured." Koji (Aspergillus oryzae) is not much used in the West, but the fungus is essential for converting starches to sugars in several traditional types of Japanese fermented food and beverages.
At the time of printing, Bunting noted only 46 awamori distilleries remaining. Fortunately for the curious traveler or Japan-based drinker, he profiles a number of bars that specialize in the spirit. One of these days, I will get to Japan and I will sample awamori in situ. And Japanese whiskeys. And sake. And shochu.
Until then, I have Drinking Japan to help me plan where and what to drink when I get there.
Cheers, Mr. Bunting, for the read.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent resource and a great read
Overall, I found Drinking Japan to be an excellent read. While it is specifically billed as a guide to drinking establishments, it also contains a lot of great information on the... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Claire
5.0 out of 5 stars
Drink it Cover to Cover....
Drinking Japan is a tour de force of everything in Japanese drinking. While there are great all Sake (nihonshu) guides out there, Chris Bunting vets everything to drink under the... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Bengoshi
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good choice
I dont know how up-to-date the book is.
The history reviews are excellent, filled with unique and colorful details as to the history of drinking culture in Japan, which makes... Read more
The history reviews are excellent, filled with unique and colorful details as to the history of drinking culture in Japan, which makes... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Oron Lerner
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