A GUIDE TO SERIOUS SAKE
The art of
fermented
rice
Toji is a guide to the breweries, bars, and bottles worth knowing. Slow, honest writing about one of the world's oldest drinks.
BAR GUIDE
Where to drink
Only the places worth going
All
Amsterdam
Berlin
London
Los Angeles
Milan
New York
Paris
Sui Sui
Berlin
Sarah Stein ran Nomu until it closed, then channelled everything into this: importer, distributor, shop and bar in one space. Open Friday to Sunday only. Her co-founder, has spent years building direct relationships with breweries across Japan. Between the two of them the selection reflects what they actually believe in, not what sells. Aramasa by the glass, one of the very few places in Europe where you can drink it without a reservation at a fine dining restaurant or knowing someone in Tokyo.
Ototo
Los Angeles
The sake list is organised by flavour profile rather than grade Fruit & Flowers, Earth & Umami, Rice & Minerals, and a section called delicious weirdos. Order from that one first. Courtney Kaplan built the best sake programme in LA here, focused entirely on small craft jizake breweries you won't find anywhere else on the West Coast. They also run a sake club if you want the selection following you home
Ojii
Paris
Technically a Japanese restaurant, not a sake bar. But if you love Aramasa, it’s worth knowing that they pour it by the glass. Nichi Nichi is also features available. The selection is tight but intentional, leaning towards producers with a strong identity. What makes Ojijo stand out is the balance: serious sake, without the formality. You come for dinner and end up exploring the list. The staff knows what they’re serving and are happy to guide you through it. A good example of how sake fits naturally into a modern dining experience.
Sakeya
Milan
One of the most comprehensive selections you’ll find outside Japan. They have 150 sakes from all 47 Japanese regions, with 30 rotating labels added every month. Food pairings available and worth exploring.
Sake takes longer to make
than almost any other drink.
Here's why that matters.
01
RICE POLISHING
The outer layers of rice are milled away. More polishing = more delicate flavour. Daiginjo removes 50%+ of each grain.
02
KOJI
The outer layers of rice are milled away. More polishing = more delicate flavour. Daiginjo removes 50%+ of each grain.
03
FERMENTATION
The outer layers of rice are milled away. More polishing = more delicate flavour. Daiginjo removes 50%+ of each grain.
04
PRESSING & AGING
The outer layers of rice are milled away. More polishing = more delicate flavour. Daiginjo removes 50%+ of each grain.
BREWERIES
Kokuryu Sake Brewing
Kokuryu has brewed sake in Fukui since 1804, at the foot of Eiheiji and using water from the Hakusan mountains. Their most sought-after releases appear only once or twice a year and have become destinations in themselves. The sake that reveals itself slowly rather than demanding attention.
Kinoshita Sake Brewery
Philip Harper arrived in Japan in 1988 and worked his way from brewery trainee to becoming the first non-Japanese toji to lead a traditional brewery. At Kinoshita Shuzo, he chose to focus on kimoto — the oldest and most demanding fermentation method in sake brewing. The result is Tamagawa: structured, expressive sake that develops with time.
Banjo Jozo Co.,Ltd
Kuheiji Kuno inherited a struggling brewery and took it in an unusual direction: not by competing within sake, but by placing it in conversation with fine wine. Banjo Jozo became known for growing sake rice in Burgundy and exploring how terroir shapes sake. The resulting style is precise, structured, and built for the table.
Niizawa Shuzo
Iwao Niizawa inherited a brewery close to bankruptcy and rebuilt it around a simple idea: sake should make food taste better. That philosophy became Hakurakusei and later led to technical milestones such as Zankyo Super 7 and Reikyo Absolute 0. Today, Niizawa represents one of the clearest examples of precision and purpose in modern sake.