Time Day (Toki-No-Kinenbi)
– June 1, 2021 – June 10th is Toki-no-kinenbi, or Time Day, in Japan. Although it is not a national holiday, Time Day is known to every Japanese as the date to think about the importance of time and being on time. Time Day was created in 1920 by the Japanese Government to reinforce the…
New green tea leaves (Shin-cha) harvest
– May 1, 2021 – The beginning of May is a week-long national holiday season called “Golden Week.” An eventful period of celebration, the timing also culminates in Hachiju-Hachi-Ya, one the most important and exciting days of the season. “Hachiju-Hachi” means eighty-eight and “Ya” means night. It represents eighty-eight nights from Risshun, or the beginning…
New sake at Shiro’s
– May 1, 2021 – As summer approaches, we have added a new cold sake, Hiya, to our small bottle selection. Mizubasho Ginjo is from Nagai Brewery in Gunma Prefecture, about 70 miles north of Tokyo. Though Gunma is close to Tokyo, the area called Kawaba-mura, where the brewery is located, is full of nature…
Entrance Ceremonies & Welcome Parties
– April 1, 2021 – Entering school or the business world is a big event in Japan. As the calendar year starts in April, we see many 1st graders and Freshman in school, and Freshers or Rookies in companies all around. Sometimes they are quite noticeable in crowds, probably because of their uniforms or newly…
Dewazakura Ichiro
– April 1, 2021 – As temperatures gets warmer, colder sake becomes more and more favored. Springtime brings cherry blossoms, and “Dewazakura” means cherry of Dewa (ancient name of Yamagata prefecture), which brings us to our April sake feature! Dewazakura Ichiro is Junmai Daiginjo and won the champion sake award in International Wine Challenge in…
New Sake Stories at Shiro’s
– March 1, 2021 – When we re-opened our dining room last month, we introduced small bottle sake, which hold 300 ml (10.14 oz). While Japan officially adopted the metric system in 1891, there is also a traditional measurement system called Shakkan-hou, and many sake bottles are referred to as “go.” 1 go is about…