The Sake Shop

My friends Malcolm and Nadine recently opened the Sake Shop in Honolulu.




Both Nadine and Malcolm have a passion for sake'. A few years ago, they had an idea of opening a sake' specialty shop. They saw an increase in interest in sake' and saw this as an opportunity to fill a niche in the market.



Sake' has been available in Hawaii for generations. Growing up in Japanese households our impressions of sake' is mainly the warm sake' that comes out of the gallon jug served warm on New Years. Now, we realize there is more to sake' than the warm stuff. As people start exploring the world of sake' they are surprised at the different varieties of sake' available. As you get deeper into sake', you realize that each sake' is unique in flavor and has its own distinct character much like wine.






Many of us have been at a Japanese specialty store staring at the bottles of sake' on display. Quite honestly, I have a difficult time making a decision on which one to buy. Sake' is not an inexpensive indulgence. Personally, the fear of making a $40 mistake buying the a bottle of sake' is a deterrent from trying something new. Honestly, do you trust the recommendation of a clerk that will read you the label as an explanation?


The Sake' Shop provides a valuable service for the new sake' enthusiast. I can now shop for my sake' with the assurance that I can get an honest evaluation of a sake' before purchasing. I can get informed recommendations as to what type of sake' that I may enjoy.




I hope that you can visit the Sake' Shop sometime.

Tsuruoka Hachimangu

Our last site to visit in Kamakura was the Tsuruoka Hachimangu Shrine.
We road a tourist bus from Kotoku-in to Kamakura Station. (It accepts Suica)

From Kamakura Station we walked through a local shopping district to a mall area leading to the Shrine.





We were greeted by a grant Torii gate. This is the entrance to the Tsuruoka Hachimagu Shrine. Tsuruoka Hachimagu is the most important shrine in Kamakura. It was originally built in 1973 and moved to its present location in 1191.

Hachiman, whom the shrine is dedicated to, is the Shinto god of war. Minamoto Yoritomo invited Hachiman to this shrine to protect the Kamakura shogunate.



The steps leading up to the shrine was steep. It was quite a hike up the stairs.




We were rewarded a cherry blossoms (sakura). It was early March, too cold for sakura to blossom in most of the Kanto region. But Kamakura's close proximity to the Pacific Ocean makes it possible for sakura to blossom early.

Kotoku-in

Our next stop on our trip to Kamakura was the Kotoku-in Temple.



Getting there was pretty easy. A 15 minute walk from Hase Dera.
The walk in the cool autumn air was pleasant. We were still pretty close to sea level but as we walked inland it started to get cooler.




Kotoku-in is known for its statue of the Great Buddha (Daibutsu). The bronze statue stands 13.25 meters tall and weighs over 90 tons.

The Daibutsu is said to have been sculpted in 1252. This was during the Kamakura period when Kamakura was the capital of Japan. Kamakura was also the spiritual capital of Japan as well.

The Daibutsu was once housed in a structure much like the Daibutsu in Nara. A tsunami washed away the building. On the temple grounds, there are foundations of the pillars that once supported the structure.

San Francisco

Here are a few shots of the Golden Gate Bridge. The fog is an awesome sight.