Antenna Shops in Ginza

If you are looking for jizake or shochu from a small producer or an artisanal miso the first place to check out are the antenna shops. Markets that specialize in regional products, usually from a specific prefecture. The Okinawa antenna shop in Ginza has a huge selection of awamori and the Miyazaki antenna shop in Shinjuku brings in a limited amount of premium shochu on the first of each month. Seafood, meat, and fresh produce as well are often sold. Some of the shops will have a restaurant or an eat-in corner. The Yamagata antenna shop has a branch of it’s famous Italian restaurant using Yamagata products.

Here is a list of antenna shops in Ginza, the area with the most number of shops. Here is a list of antenna shops in Nihonbashi.

Osaka Hyakkaten

Over 600 items and an eat-in corner with takoyaki and butaman.

Chiyoda-ku, Yurakucho 2-10-1, Tokyo Kotsu Kaikan 1F

03-5220-1333

10:00 – 22:00

Tokushima and Kagawa Tomoni Ichiba

Sanuki udon, somen, Tokushima ramen, sudachi, jizake, and more.

Chiyoda-ku, Yurakucho 2-10-1, Tokyo Kotsu Kaikan 1F

03-6269-9688

10:30 – 19:30

Hyogo Waku Waku Kan

Tako no kamaage, oden packs, Higashimaru udon, vegetables, and more.

Chiyoda-ku, Yurakucho 2-10-1, Tokyo Kotsu Kaikan B1

03-6273-4133

10:00 – 19:00

Iki Iki Toyama Kan

Over 800 items including masu sushi.

Chiyoda-ku, Yurakucho 2-10-1, Tokyo Kotsu Kaikan B1

03-3231-5032

10:00 – 19:00

Wakayama Kishukan

Over 50 types of umeboshi, jizake, and fruit.

Chiyoda-ku, Yurakucho 2-10-1, Tokyo Kotsu Kaikan B1

03-3216-1615

10:00 – 19:00

Iwate Ginka Plaza

Over 1,500 items, including a Koiwa soft cream corner.

Chuo-ku, Ginza 5-15-1, Nankai Tokyo Bldg. 1F

03-3254-8282

10:30 – 19:00

Gunma-chan Chi

Produce, sweets, and jizake with an event space on the 2^nd floor.

Chuo-ku, Ginza 5-13-19, Duplex Ginza Tower 5/13

03-3546-8511

10:00 – 19:00

Oishii Yamagata Plaza

Jizake, fruits, vegetables, and an Italian restaurant incorporating Yamagata’s produce by star chef Masayuki Okuda at San Dan Delo.

Chuo-ku, Ginza 1-5-10, Ginza First Five Bldg.

03-5250-1752

10:00 – 20:00

Kagoshima Yurakukan

A large selection of shochu, restaurant, and much more.

Chiyoda-ku, Yurakucho 1-6-4, Chiyoda Bldg. 1-3F

03-3580-8821

hours vary

Tottori Plaza

Rakkyo, nagaimo, seafood, Italian restaurant featuring Tottori products, and more than 1,500 items.

Minato-ku, Shinbashi 2-19-4 SNT Bldg.

03-5537-0575

10:00 – 21:00

Ginza Kumamoto Kan

Fruits and vegetable, seafood products, and more than 1,000 items. ASOBI Bar on the 2^nd floor featuring Kumamoto shochu, basashi (horsemeat sashimi), and karashi renkon.

Chuo-ku, Ginza 5-3-16

03-3572-1261

11:00 – 20:00

ASOBI Bar 17:00 – 20:00

Marugoto Kochi

Sweets, jizake, and a restaurant on the 2^nd floor.

Chuo-ku, Ginza 1-3-13, Ri-burekkusu Tower

03-3538-4351

hours vary

Okinawa Ginza Washita Shop

An impressive selection of awamori in the basement and fresh produce such as go-ya.

Chuo-ku, Ginza 1-3-9, Maruito Ginza Bldg.

03-3535-6991

10:30 – 20:00

Shochu 101 – Part Two

Packaging Shochu in Miyazaki

There are many base ingredients that shochu is made from providing a wide variety of flavor profiles. The most commonly found are:

Imo 芋 – (sweet potato) is highly aromatic, can be smooth, and also slightly sweet on the palate. There are many varieties of sweet potato all contributing their own characteristics. Kogane sengan is one of the more popular potatoes used.

Mugi 麦 – (barley) is roasty, toasty, and often dry. Can be aged in barrels making it fuller on the palate and reminiscent of whiskey, but lower in alcohol.

Kome 米 – (rice) is light, crisp, and very food-friendly. This is a good shochu to start drinking as it is very smooth on the palate.

Soba そば – (buckwheat) buckwheat aromas are strong and it can be round on the palate.

Kokuto 黒糖 – (brown sugar) is sweet on the nose and on the finish. Kokuto jochu is only made on the islands between Kagoshima and Okinawa. This is also a good starter shochu as it is slightly sweet on the palate.

Awamori 泡盛 – (Thai rice) is full body from the black koji. This pairs well with rich and well-seasoned foods of Okinawa where it is produced.

Other base ingredients are:

Kuri 栗 – (chestnuts) can be slightly sweet and aromatic like marron glace.

Goma 胡麻 – (sesame seeds) has a nutty aroma and a round mouth feel. Try this mixed with milk on the rocks for a unique cocktail.

Shiso しそ – (perilla leaves) has the undeniable aroma of minty shiso leaves.

Shochu can also be made from a variety of vegetables, sake kasu, kombu, and much more.

Shochu 101 part one.

Shochu 101 part three.

Shochu 101 part four.

Shochu 101 – Part One

Shochu

SHOCHU 焼酎

Shochu, the distilled spirit native to Japan, is made from a variety of base ingredients including sweet potatoes and barley. Shochu has the misnomer of “Japanese vodka”. Vodka often is 45 degrees in alcohol but shochu is typically 25 degrees. It is made using koji kin (a mold) that gives it a unique aroma, and the different base ingredients create many different flavors. Shochu can be consumed straight, on the rocks, with hot water, or as a mixer. It is the base for a popular cocktail chuhai. Chuhai comes in a variety of flavors as it is mixed with fruit juices, is sold in cans like beer, at about half the price. Shochu can also be pronounced jochu when referred to as imojochu (sweet potato shochu) or komejochu (rice shochu).

The famed distilled spirit of Japan that has outsold nihonshu (sake) since 2003, is one of the beverages that is still not available much outside of the country, as it is only exported to a handful of countries. Shochu is often consumed mixed with water so the alcohol drops from 25 degrees to about 12-14 degrees, which is comparable to a glass of sake.

Shochu can be mixed with hot or cold water, both resulting in different profiles and impacts on the palate. On a cold winter’s day, nothing warms the body like a cup of hot shochu.

Perhaps the most interesting part of shochu is the variety of base ingredients that it can be made from. Sweet potatoes (imo) can be funky, chestnuts (kuri) may be aromatic like roasted chestnuts and there is even a Japanese basil (shiso) shochu that is easily recognizable by its minty aromas.

Okinawa is famous for its local version of shochu, awamori, which is made only from Thai rice and specifically with a black koji mold that gives it an earthy and heady aroma. There are three types of koji mold used in making shochu. Black gives it an earthiness, white creates a softer shochu and yellow brings on floral aromatics.

Shochu 101 part two.

Shochu 101 part three.

Shochu 101 part four.

Kagoshima Yurakukan Antenna Shop in Yurakucho

Japan is a small country, about the size of California, yet each prefecture and region has its own local food and the Japanese treasure these regional products. There is no better expression of the diverse terroir of Japan than its local commodities. Kombu harvested from the rich mineral waters of Hokkaido. The southern prefecture of Kagoshima is famous for its sweet potatoes, which are the base for its heady imo jochu (sweet potato shochu).

Antenna shops act as both stores offering items that are often hard to find outside of the region as well as public relations office offering brochures about the local area. From local beverages like sake or shochu, pickles, sweets and meats, these antenna shops offer great finds and are worth carefully perusing. If you are looking for pottery from a certain region, for example the pastel glazed Hagiyaki from Yamaguchi, then these regional antenna shops are a good place to start.

Some shops will have restaurants featuring local foods, kyodo ryori (郷土料理) and these too are a great way to try food you normally would not have the chance to.

Kagoshima Yurakukan

Kagoshima Yurakukan かごしま遊楽館

Chiyoda-ku, Yurakucho 1-6-4, Chiyoda Building 千代田区有楽町１−６−４千代田ビル

Tel. 03-3580-8821

10:00 – 20:00 (10:00 – 19:00 weekends and holidays)

www3.pref.kagoshima.jp/foreign/english/profile/gaiyou/yurakukan_main.html　(English)

Kagoshima also on Kyushu is famous for its shochu, in particular imo jochu from sweet potatoes, of which the shop has an unusually large selection. The cuisine is rich with kurobuta (Berkshire pork) products, Satsuma age fish cakes and more. The restaurant on the second floor, Ichi nii san, serves up a kurobuta based menu in a variety of presentations including tonkatsu or shabu-shabu.

Kappabashi Gotta Gets

Shochu Cups

I love these shochu cups in the winter when I drink shochu with hot water. These have the type of base ingredient written on the cup 芋 for imo jochu (sweet potato shochu) or　黒糖 for kokuto jochu (brown sugar shochu).

Teacups

These teacups will get lots of use in any home. The cup on the far right has different types of sushi drawn on the cup. The second from the write, the white cup with blue calligraphy, has the popular types of fish written on it, as could be found at sushi restaurants.

Lacquer Bowls

These lacquer bowls are most often used for miso soup but we also love them for serving ice cream.

Natto Bowl and Chopsticks

For natto (fermented soybean) lovers this bowl and chopsticks are indispensable. Natto is put into the bowl and stirred up with special chopsticks that bring out the slippery and slimy texture of the natto.

Shochu Basics

Shochu

While I love nihonshu (Japanese sake), my preference is for the locally distilled spirit, shochu. While working at Takashimaya the company paid for those of us in the sake department to cross train in other areas of specialty. As a sommelier (wine specialist) I could choose from nihonshu or shochu and selected shochu, as there was no one that I knew of that time who was writing in English about shochu, and because I enjoyed it so much.

The coursework was very intense. First of all it was only in Japanese (no surprise here) and the text was filled with kanji (Chinese characters) that were new to me. While I feel comfortable reading Japanese cookbooks the shochu specific Japanese language was a big challenge. One benefit of working in the sake department at Takashimaya is that we talk about shochu, sake, wine, and spirits everyday at work. Also, we were privy to many tastings at the store, and any good salesperson tastes as much as they can to form their own opinions for different beverages. A good friend at the store also was studying for the shochu exam so we studied together. She taught me the kanji and I was able to teach her about the technical process (from my sommelier training).

The exam was intense, a blind tasting, a multiple choice test, and a written exam on service, sales, and promotion of shochu in both retail and restaurants. I passed and shochu is an integral part of my life now.

This article first appeared in Metropolis magazine and highlights the basics on shochu:

http://archive.metropolis.co.jp/tokyo/712/localflavors.asp (text follows)

As the weather cools down, I stay warm with a hot drink—and it’s not tea. What I do is fill up my teacup halfway with some hot water, then top it off with a nice imo jochu.

Shochu is a distilled spirit that can be made from over 60 different base ingredients, which is one of the great splendors of the drink. Among the many flavors are aromatic sweet potato, funky awamori, or ambrosial chestnut. Shochu has been outselling nihonshu since 2003, and while many people refer to shochu as “Japanese vodka,” they often forget to mention that shochu is lower in alcohol. While vodka is typically about 40-60 percent, shochu comes in at a nice 25-40. When cut in half by adding some hot (or cold) water, the shochu all of a sudden becomes 12-20 percent alcohol, or similar to wine.
Shochu is an easy drink to understand, and the tips below will make you an expert in no time.

• Some of the base ingredients used to make shochu include sweet potato, cane sugar, rice, chestnuts and barley. Other varieties are infused with flavorings such as sesame seeds or shiso.

• There are two types of shochu. One has otsurui or honkaku shochu on the label, and the other has korui. Otsurui and honkaku shochu are distilled only once, and retain the aromas and flavor of the base ingredient; they’re meant to be consumed straight or on the rocks. Korui is used for making mixed drinks.

• There are three types of koji mold that can be used to make shochu: white, yellow, or black. This information is not always stated on the label, but if it is, consider it an indicator of the kind of drink you’ll get. White koji (shiro koji) is the standard variety and creates a softer, lighter, easier-on-the-palate shochu. Yellow koji (ki koji) is the same mold that’s used for making nihonshu; shochu using the yellow variety are floral on the nose and also lighter on the palate. Black koji (kuro koji) makes a big, brash, bold shochu that lingers on your palate.

• Familiarize yourself with the names of the prefectures in Kyushu, which is the heartland of shochu (so much so, in fact, that when locals says “sake,” they are often referring to shochu, not nihonshu). Names to look for include Kagoshima, Miyazaki, Oita, Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Amami Oshima and Okinawa.

• Some prefectures are associated with certain base ingredients. Okinawa is famous for awamori made from Thai rice and black koji. Amami Oshima is known for sugar cane or brown sugar. For sweet potato shochu, look for Kagoshima, and for mugi (barley) try Oita.

• How to drink shochu? There are no rules, and this is where you can have fun. Enjoy it on the rocks, or with some water, soda or fruit juice. If you are interested in shochu but aren’t quite ready to start drinking it straight, consider mixing a shochu cocktail. Try some tonyu (soy milk) with some goma shochu (sesame shochu) on the rocks.

• My appreciation for shochu has grown dramatically over the last 20 years. First of all, there is a much wider variety available at the shops around town these days. Shochu is also very food-friendly and often finds its way to my table. And, because it’s distilled, shochu will keep for several months after the bottle is opened. Invest in a bottle, try it several ways, and see if you, too, will become a fan of shochu.

If this whets your appetite, check-out the website www.theshochu.com, which offers the best information on the topic in English.

Shochu cheat sheet

白麹 shiro koji
黄麹 ki koji
黒麹 kuro koji

乙類 otsurui
本格焼酎 honkaku shochu
甲類 korui

Base ingredients

米 kome (rice)
麦 mugi (barley)
黒糖 kokuto (black sugar)
芋 imo (potato)
そば soba
泡盛 awamori

Shochu Basics

An article I wrote for Metropolis magazine on the basics of shochu:

http://archive.metropolis.co.jp/tokyo/545/localflavors.asp (text follows)

A women’s book series known as The Sweet Potato Queens may be all the rage in the US, but here in Japan men and women are falling over themselves for the liquid version: sweet-potato shochu (imo jochu). What was once considered the poor man’s drink is now the hottest alcoholic beverage in the country, overtaking sales of nihonshu. So if you haven’t given this traditional Japanese spirit a shot, now may be the time.

For one thing, shochu is locally produced, meaning you won’t pay the mark-ups of the importer, the distributor and finally the retail shop or restaurant. Being a distilled beverage, it can sit in your house for months (in a cool and dark space) and the flavor won’t change much. And as with all food-related trends in Japan, shochu is good for you.

But what’s really fueling the shochu boom? In short, Japanese believe it’s less likely to cause a hangover. And that it can help shed pounds – a hypothesis I’m still testing, with little success. Shochu is in fact low in calories, (35 calories per 2-ounce shot) and it encourages production of enzymes that break down blood clots (a preventative measure for heart attacks and strokes). One book encourages drinking shochu on Sunday evenings, claiming it will help you relax before starting a busy workweek. Oh, and my favorite reason: If you spill it, it won’t stain the tatami.

Shochu is produced throughout Japan, although much of it comes from Kyushu. Its alcohol content typically ranges from about 25 percent up to 45 percent, which is far higher than the averages for both wine (12-13 percent) and nihonshu (15-16 percent). If and when your tolerance is high enough, exploring shochu’s varied flavors becomes the fun part. Shochu is made with everything from the common sweet potato, rice and black sugar to the bizarre, such as konbu, milk, sesame seeds and green peppers. Sweet potato has a very heady bouquet. Rice can be simple and clean. Black sugar has a sweet amami to it, while awamori is a shochu from Okinawa made with Thai rice and a bit more aromatic than the typical rice shochu.

The authority on shochu, naturally, is Sho-Chu Authority, which has six stores, including one in Shiodome and another in Tokyo station near the Yaesu North Exit. Service is better at the Tokyo station branch, but for selection and variety, Shiodome may be the world’s best. You can also pick up pre-mixed chuhai drinks at your local conbini or supermarket, in the same section as the beer.

What should you eat with shochu? Much like food and wine pairing, if you like the shochu, it will go with almost anything you are having. The rice and barley varieties tend to be a bit more food-friendly than the aromatic sweet potato but all shochu lacks the acidity that both wine and nihonshu bring to the table.

Another benefit of drinking shochu is that it can be consumed in so many ways: straight, on the rocks, mixed with hot water or as a cocktail. The common chuhai in a can is shochu blended with a variety of mixers such as grapefruit juice or ume (plum). But plain shochu on the rocks is the best way to get a sense of aroma and taste.

When you’re ready to get on the shochu bandwagon, head straight to your local shochu bar and try a variety of flavors. Or if you want to get started at home, invite your friends and host a tasting party with any range of flavors or producers. As I wait for the Sweet Potato Queens to make their Japan debut, I for one will be bonding with the other sweet potato in my life, imo jochu.

Sho-Chu Authority
B2F Caretta Shiodome, 1-8-2 Higashi-Shinbashi, Minato-ku. Tel: 03-5537-2105. Open daily 11am-9pm. Nearest stn: Shiodome.
1F Tokyo Station, 1-9-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku. Tel: 03-5208-5157. Open daily 10pm-9pm. Nearest stn: Tokyo.

Shochu legend
芋 imo (sweet potato)
米 kome (rice)
眉 mugi (barley)
泡盛 awamori (Okinawan shochu)
度 do (percentage of alcohol)