Telling the World about the Wonders of Saké from Hamamatsucho: Saké Scene Masufuku Weds Fermented French Cuisine with Hot Saké

On a corner of Tokyo’s Hamamatsucho district, which still retains a traditional atmosphere, you will find Saké Scene Masufuku, a bar that serves hot saké as a way to highlight the appeal of saké. What sets Saké Scene Masufuku apart is that it pairs saké with French cuisine that embraces fermentation. We spoke to the owner, Yanaba Yukari, to find out how she came up with the idea of serving hot saké with French food.

A new way to drink saké — hot saké with fermented French cuisine

The Hamamatsucho train station, which connects Haneda International Airport with the center of Tokyo by monorail, is a gateway to Japan for many overseas tourists. Saké Scene Masufuku is located along a quiet lane just off the busy main street in this cosmopolitan area.

“I set up the bar here because I thought it was a great place to introduce saké to people from overseas,” explains the owner, Yanaba Yukari. The concept of “fermented French” sounds appealing to Japanese customers, but why did she decide to pair saké with French cuisine?

“There are two reasons why I decided to go with French cuisine. One is that I wanted overseas guests to continue to enjoy saké regularly even after returning to their own countries. More to the point, people from overseas find Japanese cuisine to have a high barrier to entry. I discovered this for myself when I studied abroad, as Japanese cuisine is considered high-end food no matter the country. Saké, too, is not considered a casual drink. So although you might think that because we are serving saké in Japan, we should pair it with Japanese food, I want overseas guests to understand that saké goes well with the Western food they are more familiar with. My goal is having them include saké as a go-to option and choose saké, for example, as an alternative to wine. And the reason I went with French cuisine rather than another Western cuisine is that I find the attitude of French cuisine to be similar to that of saké brewing. French cuisine requires a lot of time and effort, with preparations sometimes beginning three days before the actual dinner. When you observe how they make deep and complex sauces using simple ingredients, you can see certain parallels with saké, which is made from just rice, koji [rice malt], and water.”

Yanaba Yukari, owner of Saké Scene Masufuku

Yanaba also added fermentation to the mix. Initially, however, the bar served regular French dishes.

“A resident of France who visited the bar soon after we opened told me that our food made him crave a good wine. He went on to suggest that if pairings with saké was our selling point, then I should use Japanese fermented food as the connection. I was convinced and asked our chef to develop a menu that used fermented ingredients wherever possible. There are many fermented ingredients in French cuisine, such as cheese and vinegar. But by using Japanese fermented ingredients such as white miso and saké lees as seasonings, we were able to create a menu that goes perfectly with saké.”

Another distinction is the bar serves its saké hot.

“Nearly all the saké at Masufuku is best served hot. The aroma of the rice stands out when you serve saké hot. You can also enjoy the changing flavor as your drink gradually cools down. So I think drinking saké hot is one of the best ways to really enjoy the appeal of saké.”

A dedicated saké warmer lets the bar serve each saké at its ideal temperature

There are at least 100 types of saké on show in the display case at all times

Creating a place to demonstrate how to enjoy saké and its charms through a delicious experience with hot saké

“I worked at a trading company before I opened Masufuku. I’ve always liked the world outside of Japan, and I was interested in a job where I could act as a bridge between Japan and other countries. I liked wine before I found my way to saké, and I even earned a qualification as a wine expert. One time, when I was visiting Burgundy studying wine, I had a conversation with a tour guide. During that conversation, I had an epiphany that I should communicate the value of Japanese goods to other countries rather than introduce goods from other countries to Japan. From there, I found my way into the business of exporting saké.”

When Yanaba first looked at saké as a business, the value and recognition of saké overseas was not particularly high. Realizing that exporting saké straight away might not go well, Yanaba took aim at creating a bar in parallel with laying the groundwork for an exporting business.

“While trying to figure out how to get people to understand the attractions of saké, I realized it was important to get them to enjoy drinking saké with a meal. My thinking was that unless I could root the culture of saké in their everyday lives, simply exporting saké wouldn’t make much sense. This is why I needed a place for people to have fun experiencing saké paired with food and why I opened Masufuku in 2016.”

Displayed in front of the bar is a saké barrel from Sasaichi Saké Brewery, a brewery in Yamanashi that was also visited for an article on this site

Masufuku even serves Dan, a legendary saké that is rarely available even in Japan

Fermentation is the deciding factor in matching French cuisine with saké

How do you go about putting together a menu that combines saké and fermented French cuisine?

“Because there are many traditional dishes in French cuisine, we took inspiration from wine pairings. We matched the characteristics of the saké to the dishes as if they were wines, in the way that full-bodied red wines are paired with rich sauces and light, refreshing white wines are paired with regional Alsace dishes. Our overseas guests enjoy it when we use wines as examples to explain the differences between types of saké.”

The saké lees clam chowder is packed with seafood. When it is brought to your table, you can smell the aroma of saké lees waft gently through the air.

The seafood and creamy taste go excellently with saké from Noto, a town in Ishikawa. A recommendation is Harugokoro, the flagship brand from Nishide Shuzo in Komatsu, Ishikawa. Another recommendation is Koueigiku, a choice saké from Saga.

The saké lees candied apple that uses an entire large apple is popular both as a dessert and as a gift. With lemon-flavored saké lees citron powder sprinkled on top, it is fun just to look at.

The saké lees candied apple placed on a large plate is the perfect dessert to end a course meal

“An idea from my daughter inspired this menu item at a time when we couldn’t serve alcohol during the COVID-19 pandemic. It might be more common to use a hime-ringo [Chinese crab apple] for a candied apple, but we use an entire San Fuji apple. The apple’s tartness and crunchy texture goes well with the candy topping, and it’s a satisfying dessert after a meal. Sprinkling on saké lees powder gives it an affinity with saké.”

The bubbles that form on the candied surface are proof of the apple’s freshness

What goes well with the sweet and sour taste of the saké lees candied apple is Takacho, a saké from Nara brewed with the traditional bodai-moto method that dates back to the Muromachi period (1336 to 1573). Takacho is distinguished by the sweet aroma of yeast and a sweetness reminiscent of dessert wine. When paired with the candied apple, the two tastes complement each other.

By using saké lees and promoting its benefits, the bar supports saké brewers

Ever since Yanaba got involved in saké and began visiting brewers, she has always paid attention to saké lees.

“Saké lees is essential to our cooking, and we sell saké lees financier cakes and saké lees gelato at our online shop. How I got into it was hearing from brewers about the trouble they have disposing of saké lees, which is a byproduct of brewing saké. Saké lees, which is a very nutritious fermented food, is a wonderful ingredient that gives depth to flavors and adds umami. But as a consumer, I can understand the difficulty of incorporating saké lees into your daily diet. That’s why I thought of making sweets with it that people could eat more casually. The three types of saké lees used in our saké lees financiers are completely different in flavor when you compare them. Anyone would be surprised at the difference if they were to taste them at a market. I hope enjoying saké lees in this way will get people interested in it. It is still an unfamiliar ingredient for many people, who don’t know how to store it or how to use it or even where to get it. I hope to play a role between brewers and consumers, such as suggesting menu items that take advantage of the characteristics of individual brewer’s saké lees, or assisting with product development and marketing. Recently, I have been thinking about developing saké lees into cosmetics, focusing not only on its use as an ingredient, but also on its moisturizing properties.”

Yanaba aims to promote the benefits saké lees while also telling the world about saké. Her underlying motivation is to support saké breweries by raising the value of saké while making effective use of saké lees.