For Beginners
“I don’t know how to choose sake.” “I can’t put the differences in taste into words.” This program speaks to these common concerns and helps you discover the flavors you like. You will never be quizzed on what you know. First, our staff explain in simple terms how ingredients, the rice polishing ratio and brewing methods change the taste of sake. Then you taste 10 sakes and explore their aroma and mouthfeel with your own senses. What matters is not finding the right answer, but discovering your own palate.
The experience begins the moment 10 glasses are lined up in front of you. Compare the aromas, then take a sip to see for yourself. Savoring each difference is itself a series of discoveries. There is no need to look for a right answer — simply enjoy the glass that catches your interest, or the one you find most pleasant.
A simple feeling of “I just like this one” is enough. You don’t have to explain it in technical terms. That wordless feeling is the first clue to finding your own taste — and we turn it into something concrete: a blend in your glass.
Taste, create, enjoy it on the spot, and keep a record of your experience. The star here isn’t knowledge — it’s the whole experience, from start to finish. Use all five senses to explore your own taste — an experience you can only have here.
About
A place to design a sake that is one of a kind.
SAKE DESIGN LAB is a hands-on blending experience in which you taste 10 sakes and build a glass to suit your own taste. You first learn what shapes the flavor of sake, then taste the 10 one by one. While checking the differences in sweetness, acidity, intensity of aroma, and lightness or richness on the palate, you choose 2–5 favorites and create one glass of blended sake. There is no need to memorize brand names or technical terms. You enjoy your finished blend on the spot with creative Japanese small plates. A record of your experience becomes your Taste Card, which you can keep on your own device. Staff with professional sake qualifications lead and support the whole session. Join us on your own, with friends or family, or as part of your trip to Japan.
Blend Experience
Blending is the heart of SAKE DESIGN LAB. First, taste the 10 sakes one by one and explore the differences in aroma and flavor with your own senses. Next, choose 2–5 favorites and build your own glass, adding small amounts until it reaches 60 ml in total. You can enjoy your finished blend on the spot with creative Japanese small plates.
10 Sake Types
Rather than picking a “right” answer based on knowledge of brands, you find the flavors that suit your senses as you taste.
You taste the 10 in order, from the gentlest to the most distinctive. Brand names stay hidden until the tasting is over.
If you blend too many sakes, their individual characters cancel each other out and the flavor loses its shape. Keeping to five at most helps the aromas and flavors you chose come through. Deciding what to leave out is also an important part of blending.
Three is the easiest number for bringing the flavors together.
Your finished glass totals 60 ml. Choose 2–5 sakes and layer them, measuring in 5 ml steps. If you’d like to try another combination, you can blend a second glass (60 ml) at no extra charge.
Try Your Blend
Choose 2–5 types that interest you and pour them into the glass. While you hold a button, sake pours in 5 ml at a time. Once you reach 60 ml, mix it to complete your glass.
The colors are for effect only and are not the actual colors of the sake. This preview doesn’t show flavors or types. On the day, you’ll taste all 10 before deciding your proportions with your own palate.
Choose the types to pour (2–5)
Three is the easiest number for bringing the flavors together.
Hold to pour 5 ml at a time
Your Blend
On the day, you’ll taste all 10 before deciding your proportions with your own palate. Your finished glass becomes a Taste Card that is yours alone.
Your Taste Card will be revealed on the day.
Held three times every Sunday: 11:00, 13:00 and 15:00. Solo bookings are welcome.
Book NowExperience Flow
From check-in to viewing your Taste Card, the 70 minutes unfold in 5 steps.
To begin, our staff explain in simple terms what changes the flavor of sake: the rice polishing ratio (how much of each grain is polished away), the hardness of the brewing water, and how fermentation is started. We use plain language, so no prior knowledge is needed — just come and enjoy.
Carefully taste 10 types, each different in flavor and brewing method, one by one. Intensity of aroma, light or rich mouthfeel, sweetness and acidity — notice each difference with your own senses and find the glasses that catch your interest. What you like here becomes the starting point for your blend.
Choose 2–5 favorites and layer them, measuring in 5 ml steps, to a total of 60 ml. Watching the balance of flavors and relying only on your own senses, you build a glass to your liking. If you’d like to try another combination, you can blend a second glass at no extra charge.
Take your time savoring the blend you made with your own hands, together with creative Japanese small plates. Enjoy how your glass changes character with each pairing.
The record of the flavors you chose and built during the experience becomes your Taste Card. It appears on your own screen right there, bringing the 70 minutes to a close.
Four creative Japanese small plates to enjoy with your blended sake: a trio of smoked bites, fresh fish tempura, roast wagyu beef, and tai nyumen (noodles in a warm sea bream broth). Portions are light and meant to be enjoyed with your sake, so we recommend having a full meal before or after the experience.
* The menu may change depending on ingredient availability.
* Allergen information for the menu is listed under “Before you book” further down this page. Please check it before booking.
Taste Card
Your Taste Card is a record of the flavors you chose and built. Which aromas drew you in, which mouthfeel you preferred — your 70 minutes take shape in a single card. It appears on your own screen at the end of the experience, and you can save it as an image. Look back at it anytime to recall the flavors you love.
If you wish, we will also send it to you by email (entering your email address is optional).
After Experience
The experience doesn’t end when the session does. You learn which flavors you tend to prefer, and that record stays with you in your Taste Card. When you choose sake in everyday life, the sense you gained here becomes a reliable guide.
Because you actually taste 10 sakes, you discover your own tendencies — whether you prefer light and clean or rich and full-bodied, dry or sweet — not as knowledge, but as something you have felt for yourself.
Your Taste Card records the blend you built step by step, choosing from many options yourself. The process itself stays with you.
Even months later, one look at your Taste Card brings back the aromas, flavors and conversations of that day. Those memories stay with you, saved in your Taste Card.
The next time you choose sake, you can rely on the senses you confirmed here instead of choosing at random. Little by little, this experience will change the way you enjoy sake.
Scene
Come on your own and take your time exploring your senses, or enjoy talking it over with friends, family or a partner — it’s up to you. Join us as part of your trip to Japan, to enjoy sake over good conversation, or to celebrate a special occasion.
Event Information & Access
Please check before booking.
Access
5-15-2 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-0014, Japan
ACN Mita Building 1F
A 15–20-minute walk from Tokyo Tower and Zojoji Temple.
Get walking directions in Google Maps See the route in photos
Before You Book
Please read before booking.
You can enjoy the blend you make during the experience right there, with creative Japanese small plates. Blended sake is not available for purchase and cannot be taken home.
For details, please see our Legal Notice.
If your question isn’t answered here, please send it to us via the contact form.
Yes. No knowledge is needed. This experience is all about enjoying sake, and our staff will guide you through each step.
Yes, solo guests are welcome.
The whole experience takes 70 minutes. Check-in opens 10 minutes before the start time.
You taste it on the spot during the experience, together with creative Japanese small plates.
No. At this time, blended sake is not available for purchase and cannot be taken home.
It is a record that lets you look back on your blending experience. It appears on your own screen at the end of the experience, and you can save it as an image. There is no paper card.
Yes. The experience is offered in Japanese and English. The session is led in Japanese, and a translation system shows English subtitles on a tablet at your table. If you’d prefer to listen, you can also hear the English audio on your own smartphone with Bluetooth earphones. English materials are also available. Sessions are not divided by language, so Japanese- and English-speaking guests take part together.
Please bring your smartphone. Your Taste Card, the record of your experience, is created on your own smartphone. If you’d like to listen to the English audio, please also bring Bluetooth earphones.
Cancellations made by guests are non-refundable. To change or cancel your booking, please contact us by email (sdl@adwork-grp.co.jp) or through the contact form; we do not accept changes or cancellations by phone. Changes to your session date or time are accepted up to 2 days before your session date, subject to availability, and only once per booking. If we cancel a session due to severe weather or similar circumstances, we will refund the full amount.
Reservation
Reservations required. Beginners welcome. Every Sunday at 11:00, 13:00 and 15:00, up to 10 guests per session. ¥8,800 (tax included). Sessions run even with 1 guest.