COMPANY PROFILE

Greetings from the Owner

While working for IBM Japan, I started a sake club 30 years ago as a result of my love for sake and cooking. 25 years ago, I became a sake taster, which was still not very well known, and I have been on the sake path ever since.

As I faced sake on a daily basis and learned more and more about the beautiful spirit of Japan and the thoughts of the sake brewers, my desire to share this fascination with the world and pass it on to future generations grew, so I graduated from my 30-year career as an office worker and launched the sake select store ”GINTEN” in 2017.

A major challenge I faced there was the fact that while upscale ryotei restaurants have wine lists, they do not have sake lists. Unfortunately, sake is not perceived as a luxury sake, nor is it considered to be the perfect accompaniment to food the way wine is.

In fact, there are more food items that go well with sake than with wine, and sake is not inferior in terms of terroir and pairing.

Take raw oysters, for example.
While wine refreshes the palate by cutting the raw smell of the oyster with the wine's acidity, sake fuses the flavors in the mouth, transforming them into a creamy taste.

This is what I consider a true pairing.

The answer I arrived at after confronting the challenges facing Japanese sake was to collaborate with sake breweries in various regions of Japan to create a brand that focuses on regional production (terroir) by creating sake suitable for pairing.

”GINTEN” will offer delicious sake that pairs well with a variety of foods and cuisines from Japan and around the world, and will be recognized by French, Italian, Chinese, and Japanese chefs, making sake comparable to fine wines. We will also spread this new standard from Japan to the rest of the world.

As a non-brewer, I have a very steep path ahead of me. However, it is also a path that I am able to explore only because I am not a sake brewer.

Through true pairing, we will further enhance the value of good sake.
Now, together with ”GINTEN”, let us open the door to a new palate of happiness for you.

Ginten Representative

Takashi Odagiri

Takashi Odagiri Profile

While working for a major IT company, he became a sake taster 25 years ago. He became fascinated with sake and its various environments, and his desire to share in this excitement grew stronger by the day. He decided to leave the company he had been working for to spend the rest of his life with sake. With a sense of mission, he started the ”GINTEN” initiative in 2017 to preserve sake for future generations. And he continues to promote it not only in Japan but also to the world.

Company Description

Founded in 2015. After two years of preparation, obtained a liquor license in 2017 and began retail sales of sake, primarily through internet sales. Operates the Japanese sake select store “Ginten” with the goal of connecting young brewers with the next generation of sake fans and passing on the enjoyment of sake to future generations. In addition to mail-order and restaurant sales, the company holds monthly pairing dinners for multiple food genres and posts pairing recipes with top chefs and cookery researchers on YouTube and Instagram, with an emphasis on synergies with food.