Rikubetsu Symposium

One year ago: November 8, 2017, at the symposion (ceremonial banquet) 

of the 20th Anniversary Symposium of Rikubetsu Observatory with colleagues and friends in Rikubetsu, Hokkaido (Japan)

Drinking beer with Tsutomu Nagatsuma from the Space Environment Laboratory of the National Institute for Information and Communications Technology.

Drinking sake with Kazuo Shiokawa from the Center for International Collaborative Research of ISEE/Nagoya University.

With Yohsuke Kamide, Director of the Rikubetsu Space and Earth Science Museum, Professor Emeritus of Nagoya University and former Director of STELab.

With Hiroyuki Tsuda, photographer of the Hokkaido red aurora

Yohsuke Kamide addresses the symposiasts

Kazuo Shiokawa addresses the symposiasts

The (excellent) sake of the symposion

Sashimi and beef for the sake

Nagasaki izakaya

"Classic" Japanese dinner at the izakaya Syukora in Nagasaki, November 2017

Mainly sashimi ...

 

 ... and live crayfish

 

 

Indeed live!

 

Video 1 (https://youtu.be/ailE2S8uJBM)

 

Video 2 (https://youtu.be/Pr8EKoTiyEU)

plus excellent sake

 

Video 3 (https://youtu.be/Jrg0fC95xB8)

Yururi izakaya in Kyoto

Japanese dinner at Yururi, a small cozy izakaya of Kyoto

Sake serving

How sake is served in Japan

Izakaya Syukora, Nagasaki

video 1

Izakaya Yururi, Kyoto

video 2

Izakaya Gaya, Nagoya

video 3

The making of sake

As already mentioned in the previous post, toji (sake brewer) Shigeki Matsui kindly offered a brief tour of his sake brewery, with an introduction to the making of sake.

Sake, a Japanese rice wine, is made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the protein and oils from the exterior of the rice grains, leaving behind starch. The more the grains are polished, the stronger the sake will be - but it will have less aroma, therefore a balance is being pursued.

These are whole rice grains and polished grains (to 65% or 35% of their initial volume)

Unlike wine, in which alcohol (ethanol) is produced by fermenting sugar that is naturally present in fruit, typically grapes, sake is produced by a brewing process more akin to that of beer, where starch is converted into sugars which ferment into alcohol. 

Here is an inox tank with fermenting rice pulp

Back home, it is time to reveal the precious Kagura bottle. Please note the lovely packaging.

 The motto of Kagura: Enthusiasm is contagious !

Sake from Kyoto

Besides magnificent temples and gorgeous gardens, Kyoto also has excellent sake.

We had the opportunity to enjoy some during the World Data System Conference in September 2017.

There was a special sake barrel breaking ceremony, with Prof. Toshihiko Iyemori of Kyoto University as ceremony master

Here you may watch a more glamorous sake ceremony, with Robert De Niro participating

Back to our humble sake party

 

This is the sake we enjoyed: Kagura by Matsui Sake Brewing, Kyoto

Of course I had to visit this brewery and Ms Yoko Odagi of Kyoto University kindly arranged this. So here we are with Shigeki Matsui over an inox tank with fermenting rice pulp.

Matsui Sake is a small but exquisite sake brewery (click here to see next post)

Προσκύνημα

Compulsory pilgrimage to the Glenmorangie Distillery, Scottish Highlands

Οι χάλκινοι άμβυκες - οι ψηλότεροι σε σκωτσέζικο αποστακτήριο

Κίτρον Νάξου

Εξαιρετικό παραδοσιακό απόσταγμα κίτρου. Στο Χαλκί της Νάξου.