{"id":180176,"date":"2026-06-30T19:29:32","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T10:29:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.allway-japan.com\/?post_type=specialpost&p=180176"},"modified":"2026-07-13T15:53:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T06:53:44","slug":"%e6%9d%a5%e5%a0%b4%e8%80%85%e3%81%ae%e7%b4%846%e5%89%b2%e3%81%8c20%ef%bd%9e30%e4%bb%a3%ef%bc%81%e8%8b%a5%e8%80%85%e3%81%ab%e6%97%a5%e6%9c%ac%e9%85%92%e3%81%ae%e4%bb%8a%e3%82%92","status":"publish","type":"specialpost","link":"https:\/\/www.allway-japan.com\/en\/specialpost\/180176\/","title":{"rendered":"Nearly 60% of Visitors Were in Their 20s and 30s: Sake Fair 2026 Showcased the New Era of Japanese Sake"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u25a0 Newly Introduced \"U-39 Ticket\" Encourages Young Adults to Experience Their First Sake Event<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cSake Fair 2026,\u201d one of the largest sake events in Japan, was held over two days\u2014June 19 and 20, 2026\u2014at Sunshine City in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. The event was organized by the Central Association of Sake Brewers, the industry\u2019s largest organization, which represents approximately 1,600 sake producers nationwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25bc Sake Fair:https:\/\/sakefair.com\/<\/a>

The \u201cSake Fair\u201d consists of the \u201cNational Sake Fair,\u201d where visitors can sample a wide variety of renowned sakes from across the country, and the \u201cNational New Sake Competition Public Tasting Event,\u201d which evaluates the quality of ginjo sake brewed that year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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While this event is bustling with sake enthusiasts every year, this year saw a notably younger crowd than usual. Behind this trend was the \u201cU-39 Ticket\u201d\u2014exclusively for those aged 20 to 39\u2014which was introduced for the first time with the aim of \u201csharing the appeal of sake with the next generation, who will shape its future.\u201d This ticket offered a substantial 60% discount, allowing attendees to purchase the standard 5,000-yen admission ticket for just 2,000 yen. By creating an opportunity for the younger generation to easily experience sake, the event became an exceptionally youthful gathering\u2014with people aged 20 to 39 accounting for about 60% of the approximately 5,600 attendees\u2014a turnout that would have been unthinkable under normal circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u25a0 Rich Program of Brewer Meet-and-Greets and Interactive Experiences Welcomes Sake Beginners<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This year's \"National Sake Fair\" featured sake breweries from all 45 prefectures in Japan, each showcasing booths themed around their local food culture and climate, presenting around 1,200 types of exquisite sake crafted with local pride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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One of the unique charms of the \u201cSake Fair\u201d is the chance to speak directly with brewery owners and brewers, listen to their passion for sake-making and the stories behind their creations, and savor their recommended selections. It\u2019s a rare opportunity to experience a journey through sake breweries across the country. It was striking to see visitors surprised by the latest trends in sake, with comments such as, \u201cIt\u2019s sake, but it\u2019s so fruity!\u201d and \u201cI had no idea there were sparkling varieties too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The ambassadors connecting Japan's charm to the world, \"Miss SAKE,\" also participated in the fair.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The venue featured tasting experiences where attendees could compare sake by type and temperature, as well as booths where they could enjoy sake while surrounded by DJ music. Content that allowed young generations to experience the free and new charm of sake gained popularity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In addition, a \u201cPublic Sake Tasting Event\u201d was held simultaneously at an adjacent venue, bringing together approximately 400 award-winning sakes from the \u201cNational New Sake Competition,\u201d which boasts a history of over 100 years. Since only ginjo sake brewed that year is entered into the National New Sake Competition, this event offers a rare opportunity for the general public to taste and compare the very finest ginjo sakes, crafted by breweries across the country using the very best of their technical expertise. The venue was filled not only with Japanese visitors but also with many foreign attendees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In recent years, the Japanese sake industry has seen a generational shift among brewers, leading to the emergence of a succession of new sake styles, such as those that highlight acidity, low-alcohol varieties, and sparkling sakes. This year\u2019s \u201cSake Fair 2026\u201d served as a platform to showcase the appeal of this evolving sake culture to younger generations, and the two-day event offered a glimpse of the expanding base of sake enthusiasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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* This article is machine translated from Japanese to other foreign languages<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A sake fair, one of the largest in the country, was held with participation from sake breweries in all 45 prefectures, allowing attendees to taste about 1,200 types of premium sake that represent local pride.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":69,"featured_media":180187,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[78,618],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-180176","specialpost","type-specialpost","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-special-features"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allway-japan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/specialpost\/180176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allway-japan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/specialpost"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allway-japan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/specialpost"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allway-japan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/69"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.allway-japan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/specialpost\/180176\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allway-japan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/180187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allway-japan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allway-japan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allway-japan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}