About
CRAFT SAKE WEEK
Project to promote
the attractiveness
and culture of sake
to the world.
Sake experts, including Hidetoshi Nakata, in collaboration with sake retailers across the country, have tasted and selected the best sake from hundreds of breweries across the country to offer you the best sake. Each day has a theme to ensure that a wide range of people can enjoy the event, from those who have just started drinking sake to those who are regular drinkers. By limiting the number of breweries to 10 each day, it is easy to understand the characteristics of each brewery, and you are sure to find the sake of your choice!
The best gourmet restaurants, which are highly acclaimed both at home and abroad, offer original menus only available during CRAFT SAKE WEEK. The carefully selected restaurants are all Michelin-starred and other renowned establishments that have won acclaim both at home and abroad. Popular restaurants, which are normally difficult to book, will offer original menus specially developed for this event at reasonable prices. Enjoy pairing the finest sake with exquisite cuisine!
Participating restaurants from the past
Sushi Mitani
Renowned restaurants, highly acclaimed both at home and abroad, offer original menus exclusive to CRAFT SAKE WEEK. The carefully selected restaurants are all Michelin-starred and other renowned establishments that have won acclaim both at home and abroad. Popular restaurants, which are normally difficult to book, will offer original menus specially developed for this event at reasonable prices. Enjoy pairing the finest sake with exquisite cuisine!
Architects of past CSW venue designs
Architect・Taichi Kuma：Theme “SAKA-MORI”
Taichi Kuma
Architect. TAILAND CEO.
1985 : Born in Tokyo
2013-2014 Master course, University of Stuttgart (Stuttgart, Germany)
2014-2016 PhD course, University of Tokyo (Tokyo, JAPAN)
2017-2020 SHoP Architects(New York, USA)
2021- TAILAND
Offcial Website
CRAFT SAKE WEEK 2024 at ROPPONGI HILLS
Architect・Tsuyoshi Tane：Theme “Masu = Mass”
Tsuyoshi Tane is a Japanese architect based in Paris and Founder of Atelier Tsuyoshi Tane Architects. He is currently overseeing many projects in Europe, Japan and other locations in the world. His works include Estonian National Museum (2006–2016), A House for Oiso (2014–15), LIGHT is TIME (2014) (with DGT.), Hirosaki Museum (2017–) among others. Tsuyoshi has received numerous awards including the French Ministry of Culture Architecture Prize (2007), French Architects Overseas Grand Prix (2016), and 67th Japanese Ministry New Face Award of Minister of Education Award for Fine Arts (2017). He has been teaching at Columbia University GSAPP since 2012.
Offcial Website
CRAFT SAKE WEEK 2023 at ROPPONGI HILLS
Architect・Yuko Nagayama：Theme “ROPE”
1998-2002: Worked for Jun Aoki & Associates, established Yuko Nagayama Architects in 2002. Winner of numerous awards, including L’Oreal Award Encouragement Prize, JCD Design Award Encouragement Prize, AR Awards (UK) Award of Excellence, Architectural Record Design Vanguard 2012 (USA). Major works include LOUIS VUITTON Kyoto Daimaru Store, House with a Hill, ANTEPRIMA, Kayaba Coffee, SISII and others.<br>
Also, plans are currently underway for the Dubai International Expo Japan Pavilion (2020) and a skyscraper in Shinjuku Kabukicho (2022).
Offcial Website
CRAFT SAKE WEEK 2019 at ROPPONGI HILLS
Architect・dot architects：Theme “BAMBOO”
Architectural unit founded by Toshikatsu Ienari and Takeshi Akashiro. Based in Kitakagaya, Osaka, they are a ‘collaborative studio for practising another society’ copor Kitakagaya, where people and organisations from different fields gather. 2016: awarded the Special Jury Prize at the 15th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale of Architecture. Major works include NO.00 (Number Zero Zero) and Umaki camp.
Offcial Website
CRAFT SAKE WEEK 2018 at ROPPONGI HILLS
Architect・Sosuke Fujimoto/Sora Shokubutsuen：Theme “SAKURA”
[Sousuke Fujimoto] First-class architect. Representative of Sousuke Fujimoto Architects. Specially-appointed associate professor at the University of Tokyo. Winner of numerous awards, including the Japan Architecture Grand Prize and the JIA New Designer Award. Major works include Seto Forest Residence, Musashino Art University Library, House N and White Tree.
Representative of the Sora Botanical Gardens. He is the fifth generation of a flower and plant wholesaler that has been in business for 150 years since the end of the Edo period. He has travelled all over Japan and dozens of countries around the world and has collected thousands of plants. With the plant materials he collects on a daily basis, he responds to as many as 2,000 projects a year, including domestic and international commissions. His major works include Yoyogi VILLAGE, Look up the Cherry Blossoms, Sakura project, Kagaya Matsuno-Heki and others.
Offcial Website
CRAFT SAKE WEEK 2017 at ROPPONGI HILLS
Architect・Koichi Sugino：Theme “Food Stall”
Koichi Suzuno founded TORAFU ARCHITECTS in 2004 with Shinya Kamuro. Works by the duo include a diverse range of products, from architectural design to interior design for shops, exhibition space design, product design, spatial installations and film making. Amongst some of their mains works are 'TEMPLATE IN CLASKA', 'NIKE 1LOVE', 'HOUSE IN KOHOKU', 'airvase' , 'Gulliver Table' and “Big T”. ‘Light Loom (Canon Milano Salone 2011)’ was awarded the Grand Prize of the Elita Design Award. In 2015, airvase is selected for permanent collection of Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Published in 2011were the 'airvase book' and 'TORAFU ARCHITECTS 2004-2011 Idea + Process' (by BIJUTSU SHUPPAN-SHA CO., LTD.) , in 2012, a picture book titled ‘TORAFU's Small City Planning' (by Heibonsha Limited) and in 2016, ‘TORAFU ARCHITECTS Inside Out' (by TOTO Publishing).
Offcial Website
CRAFT SAKE WEEK 2016 at ROPPONGI HILLS
< Organizer >
Hidetoshi Nakata
Hidetoshi Nakata
Hidetoshi Nakata is a former member of the Japanese national football team. Having travelled all over the world, he was attracted to Japanese culture and started a journey to all 47 prefectures in Japan in 2009. After visiting producers involved in Japanese culture such as agriculture, crafts and Japanese sake, he strongly felt the splendour and cultural potential of the culture, and established JAPAN CRAFT SAKE COMPANY in 2015.
The company is involved in a wide range of activities for the development of the industry, including producing CRAFT SAKE WEEK, developing the Sake app “Sakenomy” and the “Sake Blockchain”, a sake traceability system.
He also develops the Japanese tea brand “HANAAHU”, runs the travel magazine “NIHONMONO”, which discovers Japan [Nihon] through authentic craftsmanship [Honmono], and a wide range of radio programmes, including “Voices from NIHONMONO” (J-Wave every Saturday) and the TV corner NIHONMONO School (on Kantele and Fuji TV). He also disseminates information on Japanese culture as a whole.
Collaboration case studies
Support for organising community revitalisation events
CSW x Fukushima Prefecture
CRAFT SAKE DAY
FUKUSHIMA
CRAFT SAKE DAY FUKUSHIMA was held as a one-day special event within FUKU FES 2017 - Fukushima Grand Exchange Festa - at the Tokyo International Forum in December 2017. Twenty-one carefully selected sake breweries from Fukushima Prefecture gathered to promote the attractions of a vibrant Fukushima.
Support for brand building
CSW x Nestle Japan
CRAFT SAKE WEEK
KITKAT BAR
In September 2018, a limited-time sake bar "CRAFT SAKE WEEK @ KITKAT BAR" was held in the accommodation facility "CITAN" in Higashi-Nihonbashi to celebrate the launch of the new Kit Kat product. Aimed mainly at visitors to Japan, the bar offered original cocktails to go with Kit Kat and a special food menu in collaboration with renowned chefs.
Support for new market development
CSW x J-WAVE
J-WAVE NIHONMONO
LOUNGE
From July to September 2020, CSW collaborated with NIHONMONO LOUNGE, an entertainment restaurant produced by Tokyo FM radio station J-WAVE (81.3FM), to offer a weekly menu of sake and restaurant-supervised gems, which were also very popular at CRAFT SAKE WEEK. The menu was offered on a weekly basis.
