Rice Harvesting

Early October is the time for rice harvesting. I had missed the opportunity to plant rice earlier on in the Summer due to the long wet rainy season here. So when the opportunity came to help harvest sake rice we took a train to Tanushimaru, where we joined a team of around 30 specialists and enthusiasts in o-sake to up tools and gather the rice. The sky threatened rain but gave us long enough to harvest a long strip of the crop, bind it with grasses and hang it out to dry on bamboo racks. We caught a lift in the back of a truck to the nearby Kyoho winery, a perfect setting for a sake tasting afternoon and oishii BBQ prepared by Torikura 鳥蔵  . As the sake flowed it became more challenging to identify the subtle taste differences of each brew, yet the last one I tasted was always my favourite! The sake was complimented perfectly with the ninon no ryouri and by all of the knowledgable company whom heartily loved and respected o-sake.