2020 should be a watershed year for sake. A major international event–the Tokyo Olympics–will converge with several consumer and travel trends. The sake torch is lit. Let’s take a jog through the terrain.
The Japanese government wanted this Olympics badly and they got it. Japan loves opportunities to proudly showcase its culture. Anyone who has lived or traveled in Japan knows that there are plaques and signs everywhere detailing what would otherwise be obscure footnotes of history. Japan’s is a culture of presentation; it cares deeply about appearance, legacy and appreciation. It also emphasizes omotenashi. In its bid presentation, the Japanese Olympic committee stressed its devotion to this ideal of “hospitality”. Japan is going to leverage the Olympics in every way possible to present itself positively to the world. This is a pedestal like no other before. True, in recent living memory Japan has hosted three Olympics (Tokyo, Summer, 1964; Sapporo, Winter, 1972; Nagano, Winter, 1998), but with the ubiquity of media thanks to digital technology, expect coverage to be considerably more dedicated.
The media spotlight usually shines brightly on the culture of the host city and country. In the case of Japan, there’s plenty you can imagine the media getting excited about. For many, Japan is an exciting, ‘exotic’ place and the Japanese are generally happy to play up to that perceived exoticism, or at least notions of uniqueness. What illuminates the popular imagination about contemporary Japan around the world? Expect Japan’s culinary culture to be front and center. Sake, of course, is an inseparable part of that. Regional sake and regional cuisine evolved together.
We are already sighing heavily as we prepare ourselves for the multitude of media sources that will describe sake as “rice wine” (if you’re media and reading this, “sake” alone will suffice; or, if you must, “a fermented-rice beverage”). But aside from that, we’re excited for how much attention sake will get. There will inevitably be articles, video segments and plenty of social media. This is a potential boon for producers. Most people traveling to Japan for the Olympics will be encouraged by all this to try sake (many visitors to Japan already do). Also, remember that hundreds of millions of people around the world will be watching the games and its accompanying media segments on culture. Sake exporters and overseas retailers will likely ride on these coattails, too.
Of related interest, Japan will attempt to use the games to showcase recovery in Fukushima and to provide further stimulus to the region. Rehabilitating the image of Fukushima will depend on opportunities like this. In this issue, we even run a feature about those challenges–and why there is reason for hope.
Japan will be relatively well prepared for the waves of inbound tourists. The government seems to have come to the realization that its manufacturing sector will never drive the economy like before. It has been engaged in a sustained effort to transform the economy and make tourism a large part of it. They invested heavily in promotion, services and other infrastructure to support this. Tourists have responded–the cultural riches were already there, of course. Japan is now one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations and that looks unlikely to change.
People want immersive, ‘authentic’ experiences these days. As an example, it’s not enough to visit a temple or rock garden. People want to meditate there like the monks of old. In the case of sake breweries, people want to take tours of breweries and drink at the source. Yes, it’s exciting to stir the mash with a pole (if you ever have that chance)! It’s exciting to see time-honored equipment, like an old wooden press. Wisely, a growing number of sake breweries are heeding the call, offering well-organized tours in English with tasting opportunities at the end. They’ll be ready when the Olympics come–ready for a windfall.
We as consumers will benefit, too. Better sake tourism infrastructure is always welcome. The dearth of brewery tours has always frustrated us. Also, heightened demand for a product usually results in better availability in the market as well as greater variety, especially when media attention is backing it up. Then there’s the unspoken pleasure of there being more people to share your sake enthusiasm with.
On that note, we’ve never wanted to be keepers of some hermetic tradition’s lore. We love to share our knowledge and experiences, and hope you will, too. Pass the sake torch to somebody. We expect a lot of hands at the ready in the months ahead.
