Kubota Manjyu (Junmai Daiginjo)

Nice mild cakey aroma with hint of rainwater. Moderately soft, slightly dry with a bit of sweetness. Exceptionally well balanced in the mouth. Sweet, mild coconut flavor. Tightly focused. Finishes slightly sweet with a tiny peppery bite on the back end.

Hakushika Junmai Ginjo

Relatively straightforward sake from Nishinomaya. Slight cake/rice on the nose. Sweet, relatively full body, moderate umami. Characteristically soft style of southern Japan. Overly sweet finish. Too sweet for seafood, pair with grilled white meat or yakitori. Hakushika website describes this sake as well balanced, I might take issue with that. Acceptable, but generally forgettable overall.

Setsugetsubijin Junmai Ginjo

Vanilla frosting on the nose. Medium body, light sweetness initially with pear or green apple overtones, as expected from a sake from southern Japan (Kyushu in fact!). Fairly high umami. Relatively tight focus until funky and sweet (but pleasant) finish, very smooth drinking. Ideal for fatty or strongly flavored sushi, or grilled chicken. From Hita, in Oita prefecture, a bit unusual.

Jinyu 100 Poems Junmai Ginjo

Clean aroma of rainwater and sugar. Full bodied, light sweetness. Flavor of banana and cake icing without being overly sweet. Sweetest on the mid palate, smooth transition to finish with lingering sweetness but no sticky feeling. Subtle flavors but strong in body and overall sweetness. Might work with stronger flavored fish for sushi, or grilled chicken and fish. A rather interesting and drinkable sake.

Hananomai Junmai Ginjo

Light nose of rainwater and apricot. Fairly sweet, medium body, fairly dry. Mild floral and mineral tastes at front, strange and overly sweet finish. Ok with fruit, may also work with sweet and spicy dishes or a cheese plate. Other than a discordant finish, is a nice, mildly sweet sake. Could work with the right pairing, but probably not a drinking sake.

Takara Fune (Treasure Ship) Junmai Ginjo Sake

300 mL bottle

Predominantly vanilla and rainwater nose. Mild melon and white grapes, vanilla, rice. Medium to medium heavy body. Some legs, soft, fairly heavy umami/mouthfeel. Pretty focused, peppery finish which fades to a lingering and slightly unpleasant bitterness that's at odds with the other flavors. Drinkable, but not worth a premium. Try with tempura seafood and vegetables or salty appetizers, maybe grilled shisho.

Masumi @ Sharaku

Met a few people at Yataku's new sake lounge, Sharaku. Split a bottle of Masumi Karakuchi Ki-Ippon and tried the food. The Masumi was a pretty nice sake which paired well with the pressed sushi. Not much nose. Simple, straightforward fruit flavor, hint of strawberry. Medium body. Subtle earthiness, lingering, warm finish. Sharaku was fairly Japanese in styling although definitely a bar and not and Izakaya. There were 2 tokubetsu, 3 or 4 junmai ginjos, 1 daiginjo (Horin), a hot sake (Gekkaikan), a nigori, and a draft. Yutaka came by and said he was starting with a small list, and made us a sake and leechee cocktail.