Drinks with a sense of place.
Browse local sake, shochu, craft beer, wine, tea, umeshu, and other local drinks by category and prefecture.
Local drinks
Regional drink culture
Hiyashiame
39 Kochi
A local drink from Kochi Prefecture made by cooking rice syrup, sugar, and ginger juice in a kettle into a syrup and diluting it with water. It has a fresh ginger note and is sometimes mixed with soda. In winter the syrup is diluted with hot water as ameyu. Hiyashiame was a popular summer drink in the Kansai region from the Edo period, and the use of Tosa ginger is said to be part of why it took root in Kochi.
Local drinks
Traditional style or method
Miki
46 Kagoshima
A lactic-fermented drink long handed down on Amami Oshima. It is made from rice flour, raw sweet potato, and sugar, and has a thick, porridge-like texture. Freshly made miki is sweet, and as fermentation continues it gains a yogurt-like sourness. The name is said to come from miki, sacred sake, and on Amami Oshima it has been made for the August harvest festival and village festivals on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month.
Local drinks
Regional drink culture
Ryukyu Moromisu
47 Okinawa
A drink from Okinawa Prefecture, registered as a geographical indication (GI) by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. It is a still, amber drink made from the moromi lees of Ryukyu awamori. Its main acid is citric acid, so it is tart without the sharp smell of acetic vinegar. The lees come from awamori brewed with black koji by the all-koji method (zen-koji shikomi), which leaves them rich in citric acid.