This week, Cindy Bissig and Frank Walter sit down with Takashi Eguchi, better known in the sake world as Umio, to explore Shiga Prefecture’s vibrant sake scene and its potential as a sake tourism destination

Together, they discuss breweries across the region that welcome visitors, from formal tours to shops and lively brewery festivals, along with practical tips on how to visit. Umio shares some of his favorite breweries to visit, including ​​Uehara Shuzo in Takashima City, along with two izakayas located in Otsu City: Nao and Hanabi. While Cindy adds Okamura Honke, makers of Shinkame (the golden turtle), and Happy Taro, in Nagahama, one of her favorite doburoku makers.

The conversation also ventures into sake vessels as Shigaraki, Shiga’s renowned pottery town, is a must-visit for anyone trying to get their hands on some beautiful sake cups.

As always, if you have questions or comments, please do share them with us at questions@sakeonair.com or send us a message on our Instagram, Facebook, or Substack!
We’ll be back very soon with plenty more Sake On Air.

Until then, kampai!

Sake On Air is made possible with the generous support of the Japan Sake & Shochu Makers Association and is broadcast from the Japan Sake & Shochu Information Center in Tokyo. Sake on Air was created by Potts K Productions and is produced by Export Japan. Our theme, “Younger Today Than Tomorrow,” was composed by forSomethingNew for Sake On Air.

Every February, the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association holds the Sake and Shochu Academy, a week-long course that teaches students everything they need to know about Japan’s national beverages. Think Hogwarts for sake. The teachers are not wizards in a literal sense, but are top representatives from various official sake industry and research bodies, the equivalent of wizards in the sake world perhaps. The students are an elite group of professionals from different corners of the alcoholic beverage industry.

For the last four years, Chris and Miho have been working as interpreters at the academy. Set up to train future ambassadors of the beverages in Japan, the academy is now in its 10th year. It’s an extremely popular course, with this year seeing over 50 entries, and with such a high standard of entries it must have been a challenge to whittle that down to the 14 spaces available. This year’s lineup appeared to be mainly focused on people working in importers or suppliers, but there was a real mix of nationalities. Most of the course is held in the old HQ of the National Research and Institute of Brewing, the old red brick brewing building in Oji, Tokyo. But the last day consists mainly of brewery visits, a sake-focused one and a shochu-focused one.

Join Chris on the bus on his way to the first brewery where he took the opportunity to find a bit more out about some of this year’s students and get some feedback about the course.

As always, if you have questions or comments, please do share them with us at questions@sakeonair.com or send us a message on our Instagram, Facebook, or Substack!
We’ll be back very soon with plenty more Sake On Air.

Until then, kampai!Sake On Air is made possible with the generous support of the Japan Sake & Shochu Makers Association and is broadcast from the Japan Sake & Shochu Information Center in Tokyo. Sake on Air was created by Potts K Productions and is produced by Export Japan. Our theme, “Younger Today Than Tomorrow,” was composed byforSomethingNew for Sake On Air.

In the second of our new format “Bulletin” episodes, Chris reports back from the JSS’s annual press conference, sharing current export figures, and strategies to increase exports further. The press conference was held at the JSS headquarters in February 2026, and presented by our very own Shuso Imada and Hitoshi Utsunomiya. With domestic consumption flailing, all eyes are on the rest of the world. Is the future for sake exports bright and rosy? Were there any surprises? Which new export country holds the most exciting potential? And what new export trends did the conference reveal?

As well as answering these questions, the conference also shed light on the JSS’s strategies to grow exports and leverage the current tourism boom.

Short, concise, detailed and to the point, that’s what these bulletins are all about.

As always, if you have questions or comments, please do share them with us at questions@sakeonair.com or send us a message on our Instagram, Facebook, or Substack!
We’ll be back very soon with plenty more Sake On Air.

Until then, kampai!

Sake On Air is made possible with the generous support of the Japan Sake & Shochu Makers Association and is broadcast from the Japan Sake & Shochu Information Center in Tokyo. Sake on Air was created by Potts K Productions and is produced by Export Japan. Our theme, “Younger Today Than Tomorrow,” was composed byforSomethingNew for Sake On Air.