This Ao was purchased at the Gonoi Sake Shop in Aizu Sakashita, Fukushima Prefecture.
I was excited from the moment I saw the store because of the large lineup.
I bought this O while asking the store staff about various things. The bottle has a strong gassy feeling, so much so that it says to be careful when opening the bottle because it will blow out.
The taste, despite its light nigori color, is quite sweet. It has a sharp taste and is easy to drink.
If it tastes this good, you will want to drink the other medals one after another!
Purchased at a liquor store in Aizu Sakashita
If you look closely, you can see that it is a 23rd year production.
The yeast seems to be Fukushima Kirai.
It is slightly cloudy, sweet, and fluffy, but it is dry and has a slightly effervescent acidity that is typical of the original sake. After that, there is a gentle sweetness.
The sourness is not sour at all. It is very easy to drink, like a non-sweet Suzune.
The lightness of Yamada-Nishiki is a nice touch.
It seems to be a great first toast!
I am always surprised when I wonder if this is a PB sake from a liquor store!
Long-awaited trip to Fukushima 🚗.
After 15 years? I finally made it to Fukushima after 15 years?
If I could go to Fukushima,
I would have researched sake shops in advance.
The last time I visited, I was not that much into sake.
I was looking forward to it so much!
I was looking forward to it!
I bought 4 bottles this time.
I will drink them in order.
This one is from the Gonoi Sake Shop.
I have a relative's house in the same town,
I went there.
This sake is full of sweetness.
The alcohol content is 16%,
It is very strong and drinkable.
It's also very tasty.
Price: ¥1875 (720ml)
Gonoi Sake Shop
Good morning, Jaynobi.
It's been a while since I visited my parents' home & visited their grave.
Fukushima is the best ♫
I'm glad to see that you are getting older.
I'm looking forward to seeing them again.
I want to try Aizu's horse sashimi again 🐴.
When I opened it, I didn't feel the gas stirring on its own, the lees were sticking to the bottom of the bottle a bit 🤔.
The aroma is pear-like 🍐.
When you drink it, it's full of juice 🍹.
The fine bubbles popped in my mouth and it was pleasant!
Not too sweet.
The body is very mellow.
There is a refreshing sourness like lemon and a slight bitterness and astringency in the aftertaste.
Very tasty!
The middle never betrays you!
This year, the Japanese saury 🐟🐟 seems to be in great abundance and the news said the size is very fat!
I was so happy to be able to buy saury flown in from Nemuro to Taiwan at my usual fish shop.
I made saury with soy sauce and liver 🤗.
I watched a lot of videos on YouTube 😝😝 on how to cut fish,
I tried to cut the fish into three pieces for the first time, took off the bones, wrapped it around and put it on a skewer.
I don't have a grill at home, so I grilled it in an air fryer instead, and brushed it with liver soy sauce as it grilled 😋.
It didn't look too good, but tasted great! ✌️
I paired it with sake and it really went well with it!
Good morning, superbebe!
Good morning, superbebe! I'm so glad you enjoyed it 🙂.
Looks so delicious! 🤩
It looks like it would go well with alcohol too. 😋
Hello..., Hanapin.
Thanks for the compliment.
When you dip saury in liver soy sauce, it is salty, a little bitter, and really delicious 😋.
Unfortunately, imported saury from Japan is a bit expensive.
Ao Fukuro-hashidare Junmai Ginjyo Nakakumi-gumi
Fukushima "Kohaku" yeast
Rice: 100% Yamadanishiki
Polishing ratio: 50
Unfiltered unpasteurized sake
Alcohol content: 16
After the spiciness that hits the nose, a thick umami flavor arrives with a refreshing aftertaste.
I finally was able to purchase a bottle of O, which I have been wanting to try for years. After much deliberation, asking the liquor store staff which type I should try, I settled on the Black Label Rough Ride.
It has a fizzy, fruity, but more of a rice flavor with a clean aftertaste. This is delicious 😋.
The store owner told me that my first "O" should be at least a junmai sake. Someday I would like to try the gold label Junmai Daiginjo.
Summer Travel in Northeast Japan (2)
This summer, Niigata Airport→Sendai Airport✈️
This summer, I went on a trip to the southeastern part of Japan, connecting Niigata Airport to Sendai Airport.
I was the only driver this time.
So I was told to keep the alcohol consumption to a minimum 😭.
The second bottle is Chuo's Black Label R4BY.
It is a souvenir sake from Gonoi Sake Brewery limited edition sake brewed by Akebono Shuzo nearby.
It is a light cloudy color with big bubbles of shuwashu and cream color as R4BY.
The top aroma is sweet, apricot-like malt aroma, hinoki (Japanese cypress), and rice aroma of ori.
The taste is refreshing, with a bitter bitterness and a full-bodied koji rice flavor.
The dryness with bitterness was not in my image of Akebono sake brewery👍.
On the first day, we drove east from Niigata to Aizu on the Ban-Etsu highway.
Then we went sightseeing from Aizu Yanaizu to Aizu Sakashita.
First, we went to Aizu Yanaizu Station on the Tadami Line.
I fell in love at first sight with Hitarito's red baby doll, who has a papier-mâché workshop in the station building, and whose backside made me happy.
Then, we went to Aizu Sakashita for a full lunch of horse meat, including horse sashimi and sakura yakiniku, and then to Gonoi Sake Brewery.
However, while getting the midori,
I made the mistake of forgetting to see Akebono Sake Brewery! There are three breweries within a 100 meter radius of Gonoi's 💦.
Now I have another reason to go back 🤣.
There is one more brewery in Aizu.
Good evening, Hirupeko 😃.
When we went to Aizu family trip by train 🚃, we went sightseeing but couldn't stop by a liquor store, so I'm jealous 🥹Next time we will travel by car 🚙 for overnight sake drinking! I'm aiming for that 🤗
Good morning Peco-san🌞.
Akebono sake brewery is not so much of a sake brewery as Hiroki and Toyokuni, so it is easy to miss it. When I went there in spring, I passed it by once too 😂.
Good evening, Jay & Nobby. You must be jealous of the sake brewery 🤗 I would say, but I went to Aizu and didn't get to visit the sake brewery at all😭When shall I take a revenge?
Good evening, Matsuchiyo-san. Akebono Brewery has a modest storefront, doesn't it? Hiroki caught my eye right away - too frustrating 😭Next time I'll take my time touring the breweries 😤.
Good evening, Hirupeko!
I enjoy reading about your wonderful trip to the south, east and north... Actually, I made the mistake of going as far as Gonoi-san, but inadvertently forgot to visit Akebono-san, Hiroki-san and Toyokuni-san 💦I'll have to go back there someday 🤣.
Ou (kingdom in China during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Period of the Warring States Period)
I got this at Aizu's store Home in Asakusa.
It is said that "Au" means "center" or "middle" and was named with the meaning of the core of the collaboration between Gonoi Sake Brewery and Tenmei no Akebono Sake Brewery.
Clear and sweet! Mouthfeel and throat feel like juice. But it is a bit strong. Neutralize it with some salty snacks, such as Karasumi or stir-fried horse's finger nails.
Yamaoka Family Activities
Burnt Soy Sauce Ramen
Korocha, Nori topping
I've been eating it because it's a limited time offer and people are talking about how good it is 🍜.
It's pretty good 😋‼️ everyone should try it too!
I entered the restaurant in the evening sun, but there were no customers because it was too hot 🤣.
Let's all eat even in the heat 🫠.
Leftover drink from the ataokas ③.
The aroma is slightly aged aroma🍂.
Taste is quite fruity compared to the aroma 🍂 From the lychee type fruity sweetness and acidity prior, a hint of deliciousness and sourness again, generally refreshing ‼️
It's good 🫶.
It's good, but I think I personally prefer the pink label when it's not aged. ☺️
Good evening, Mr. Manachy😄.
Oath ‼️
No one can stop my love for ramen🍜 even if it's hot💕.
I pledge to keep my love for ramen 🍜 as much as I can this summer 😤.
July 8, 2025
Representative of ramen🍜 lover 🇯🇵
T.KISO
Good morning, T.KISO 😃that means you don't eat chilled chuka, cold noodles, soba or somen noodles and go with hot ramen for all summer noodles 🤣I can't do it 🤣.
It is Aizu's souvenir of Aizu.
I bought a bottle of last year's sake, as it seems that the new sake will be available a little later.
The first aroma is a sweet aroma of rice with a slight sense of maturity.
In the mouth, there is a juicy sweetness of rice with a hint of acidity.
It is refreshing, juicy, sweet and delicious, but the overt aroma is also a bit mature 🤔.
I would have given it 100 points if this was not the case.
Oh well, but it was delicious 😉 🍶.
This is a peach label drinking comparison of Aizu souvenirs.
First, let's start with the transparent bottle on the left.
The top aroma is a sweet aroma of rice.
The top clear aroma was sweet with a hint of rice.
The first sip has a juicy sweetness with a hint of acidity and nigori.
The bitter taste is not noticeable when it is mixed, but it is balanced out.
When mixed, the bitterness doesn't bother me, it's well-balanced and delicious 😊.
On the second day, it became fruity and I finished the four-pack in two days, which is unusual for me.
(I usually drink only about 1 gou at home)
Then the top of the tea bottle.
The top aroma is fruity.
When you put it in your mouth, it has a clear and beautiful ripe fruit sweetness.
This one is sweet and dry, contrary to the rough running after the second day 🤔.
I wish I could have bought it, but I gave up because there was only one bottle of yellow label left 🥹.
Good evening, Mr. Matsuchiyo!
I like the Aizu souvenir drinking comparison: ⤴️
There are still many sakes from Fukushima that I haven't tried yet, and now that I've seen them all together in your review, I'm suddenly very interested in them 😋.
chika-san, you can ask Mr. Muro or mail order from Mr. Gonoi.
I recommend the nigori (nigori is a type of rice wine).
If you mix them, there is no unpleasant bitterness.
Mizuho Kogane, a rice product with a name you may not have heard of.
I've never heard of this rice called "Mizuho Kogane".
I enjoyed it.
It is sweet but has a grapefruit-like flavor.
but it also has a grapefruit-like flavor.
It was clean and refreshing without leaving any sweetness behind.
It was refreshing without leaving any sweetness behind.
My husband commented that it tasted like yogurt.
Since we drank it at the store, we drank it in a well-mixed state.
I would like to try it in two ways: with only the supernatant and with the lees mixed in 🍶.
Hi Mihopanda 😃
I would like to try a bottle of O-san once! I wish I could go to Aizu to buy this 😌.
There are many other sake breweries and izakayas 🏮 that I would like to visit: ‼️
Good evening Jay & Nobby😃!
Tenmei is relatively easy to find, but Ao is hard to find outside of Fukushima 🤔Aizu was a very nice place, so please visit ✨Fukushima is full of delicious sake, I need more liver 😂.
