On Friday 14 March, I returned to my parents' home in Niigata on the 7:30pm departure from Ryotsu Port on the Sado Steamship bound for Niigata. The purpose of this trip was to go to the Niigata Sake-no-jin (Niigata Sake Festival) the following day. A classmate from junior high school who lives in Tokyo is coming to Niigata for the Niigata Sake Festival, so I decided to go with him. I invited two other friends as well.

Sado Steamship at night. Friday night flights are crowded with businessmen on their way home from work.

We met at the entrance to Toki Messe at noon on Saturday 15 March. I took a bus from Niigata Station bus terminal to Sado Kisen and got off in front of Toki Messe, but was overwhelmed by a very long queue. I met up with a classmate who was waiting for me at the sign at the end of the line, and we started queuing at around 12:05pm and entered the Toki Messe building at around 12:30pm. The long queue continued even after we entered the building.

The queue continues to the entrance to the 'Wave Market' venue.

Hand your advance ticket to the attendant at the entrance to the 'Wave Market' and he will wrap a yellow tape around your arm on the ring. As long as you wear this tape, you will be able to taste the sake at the Niigata Sake Festival today and the following day. I did not have an advance ticket, so I bought a ticket on the day and had the yellow tape wrapped around my arm.

As soon as we entered the Wave Market, there was an escalator that took us down to the lower floor. Following the route, we came to a 'gulping exchange' where we handed over our tickets and were given a bag containing a gulp and a bottle of mineral water. Now all we had to do was drink as much as we wanted. However, my two friends hadn't joined me yet, so we had to wait for a while in front of the 'General Information'.

Two friends joined us without incident and we started our tour of the brewery with gulps in hand. We wondered where to start, but as it was lunchtime, we decided to walk in the direction of the food corner and sample some food.

I played the role of a mere daytime sake maniac, a reporter incapable of being a reporter, offering gulps at random and simply stirring up sake without looking closely at which brewery it was from. I asked the woman at the brewery, "Where is this brewery located?" but she couldn't remember the name of the brewery, which was the most important thing.

There is also a food corner with skewers, ramen noodles, etc.

However, as might be expected, they remember the breweries they originally knew. The first is Obata Shuzo. This is a sake brewery in Mano, Sado City, which makes Manotsuru. There was also a limited edition of Niigata Sake no Jin sake available. I was quite worried about whether I should buy it or not.

Then there is Ishimoto Shuzo, which makes Koshino-Kanbai. The amount of sake served at one time was quite large here. They are very generous. I drank a lot of 'Mukunin'. It tasted somewhat more sour and yoghurt-like than those from other breweries.

Hara Brewery's new Circs.

And this time I personally hit the jackpot with Circs, from the Hara Shuzo brewery in Kashiwazaki. This one is badass! I thought so as soon as I tasted it.

'What is this extraordinary exhilaration...'

What is this freshness despite the fact that it is neither a daiginjo nor fizzy or slightly carbonated? What's more, this is a junmai sake. The only ingredients are rice and rice malt. However, the koji used is different from the norm. White koji, a koji that produces a lot of citric acid, is used. This refreshing citrus-like acidity matches the sweetness of the sake perfectly. I thought this was a good buy.

Hara Brewery's new Circs.

Our feet were getting tired from all the standing and we decided to buy a bottle of this beautiful wine 'Circs' and sit down somewhere to have a drink. But we couldn't find any empty seats, and the tables dedicated to standing drinking were full of customers. But there really are a lot of people.

Everyone, young and old, is having a great time.

I thought at the time that it would be interesting to take a peek at the standing drinking tables. Salted fish, pickles and other 'snacks' of your choice are on the table.

Buy the sake you like and drink it standing up immediately.

There was a bit of space around a male customer who was dozing off on the floor near a table, so we sat there; the four of us sat in a car and played gibetarian. There was no particular rug, so we sat directly on the concrete floor. We put our 'Circs' in the middle and toasted with gulps.

I found out that the meaning of 'Circs' also includes the word 'circle'. We were drinking 'Circs' in a circle.

Circs in a circle.

Dried persimmons, a gift from a friend on Sado Island, are also available.

They stayed there for a while before walking out again. We tasted sake from other breweries, with the continuous result that Circs was still better. So naturally my feet went back to the Hara Sake Brewery. I tasted Circs. It's still delicious.

I bought another bottle and settled down at a nearby standing drinking table, which happened to be empty. Both girls were quite drunk, but I treated them to a glass of 'Circs' and invited them to join the conversation. One of them is the daughter of a Kirinzan master brewer.

After talking for a while, the girls left.

The visitors went home as the exhibition closed at 18:00. We too left the venue. We took a taxi parked in front of Toki Messe to the Bandai Exit of Niigata Station. We then walked to the Buddha Bar at the south exit of the station and had a toast. We had a good old chat with friends we hadn't seen for a long time.

Buddha Bar

As they all had houses near Terao in Nishi Ward, the four of them took the Echigo Line to Terao Station; one of them went home because he was sleepy. The remaining three went to Neniya Terao-dai branch, where they stayed until nearly midnight before splitting up.

久しぶりの寺尾駅。このあと寧々家へ。

The Niigata Sake Festival 2014 was again quite an intense experience. But there really were a lot of visitors. There was a tremendous turnout. It's not every day that so many sake lovers get together.

Needless to say, the Niigata Sake no Jin is a place where sake lovers gather to enjoy sake. Sake consumption is said to be on the decline. In this context, it was an experience to see and talk directly with the people behind the sake consumption culture and toast with sake.

Where else can sake lovers find such a wonderful place?

Let's all continue to toast to sake (Niigata's local brew)!