Daiba

Today I enjoyed a beer-tasting set, a sake-tasting set, and freshly pressed undiluted sake at Daiba Brewery, leaving me in a very good mood. The beers were Kölsch, Alt, and Gold, a beer brewed with sake koji. The Gold had a slight sake aroma and was unusual, but the Kölsch was still the best here. The Alt could have used a little more punch; I prefer Dogo’s Madonna. The junmai sake in the tasting set was smooth as water and delicious. The cloudy sake was also pleasantly mild, though perhaps a little sweet with food. The undiluted sake was highly aromatic and probably delicious on its own, but toward the end of the meal its ginjo aroma began to feel slightly overpowering. This one seems better savored slowly by itself. Incidentally, I noticed too late today that they also offer a sake kaiseki course, serving a sake matched to each dish. I will try that next time.

The photographs show the view from the Statue of Liberty in front of Aqua City and the night view from room 1702 at the Grand Pacific Meridien. Even after seeing San Francisco at night, Daiba’s nightscape is not bad at all. Since I would have had to leave home absurdly early tomorrow morning, I decided to stay overnight, and the Meridien is quite good. At ¥18,000, I recommend it.