This year I have been making the rounds of the sake bars in Kyoto and the last destination was Sake Cafe Hanna. The reason it was last is simply because it only opened in November 2011 and I didn’t hear about it until late spring of 2012.
Finally, I visited Sake Cafe Hanna one of the last days of August, 2012. I went with my friend and Kyoto photographer Kosuke Okuda. We had a great time! It is a unique and somewhat quirky place yet has an atmosphere that is both casual and elegant — an interesting combination.
Sake Cafe Hanna has a very good line-up of fresh, unpasteurized sake, called ‘namazake’, in Japanese. This is really the only sake that I will drink as it is high-quality, fresh and fruity. (This is the sake in the refrigerated case.) The pasteurized, fortified sake just gives me a headache from the initial taste and smell.
Sake Cafe Hanna also offers beer and shochu as well as a limited menu of Japanese food. I tried a few dishes and they were quite nice.
The interior is distinctly unique and it is obvious that the proprietor, in addition to knowing her namazake, has an affinity for Japanese pottery. Her taste is a bit more kawaii and feminine than the other Kyoto sake bars, and that is just fine with me.
At Sake Cafe Hanna I had some sake from my favorite regional breweries like Furosen and Kazenomori that I had never had before. I thought that I had tried them all! But, no!!
Compared to the other sake bars in Kyoto, I would say that Sake Cafe Hanna ranks in the middle on cost performance – not expensive, not cheap. I am looking forward to my next visit!
Access
Sake Cafe Hanna is located on a narrow lane between Kawaramachi and Kiyamachi Streets, a bit south of Shijo Street. Use the Google Map below to find your way.
Hours
6:00pm-12:00 am (must enter by 10 pm)
irregular holiday (good idea to call first)
Sake Cafe Hanna (サケ カフェ ハンナ)
website: (Japanese language only)
tel 075-351-0705
Kyoto-shi, Shimogyo-ku, Sendo-cho 203 1F (京都市下京区船頭町203 1F)
