While sake consumption continues to increase internationally, Japanese people are drinking less sake than they used to. According to the National Tax Agency, consumption in 2017 was only a third of what it was at its peak in 1973. However, efforts to revitalize the domestic market have been made.

Tokyo Sake Festival 2020

This year, the Tokyo Sake Festival 2020 not only offered an amazing selection of sakes from 51 breweries from around the nation, and also featured representatives from Japanese pop culture and celebrities to make things merry.

Held between August 11th and 16th at Triangle Square in the Shinjuku Sumitomo Building, the festival was a huge success.

New sakes collaborating with video games Onmyoji, Samurai Spirits, and The King of Fighters '97 were released, as well as a special collaboration series with celebrity cosplayer Enako (which you can purchase here).

Here she is on stage on the final day of the festival:

The official image characters for the Tokyo Sake Festival featured a trio of minor celebrities, including model and actress Nao Suzumoto, model, actress and voice actress Kei Tomoe, and Erina Kamiya, who may be a familiar face to some of our readers. grape Japan interviewed Erina when she was a member of idol group Kamen Joshi, then again after she moved back to her native Shizuoka where she is currently a local television personality.

As you can see, she thoroughly enjoyed her role, tasting all kinds of sake varieties:

If you'd like to see her other sake reports from the festival, you'll find them on her Twitter account here and here.

Also in attendance were former idol, entertainer and competitive eater Azuki Moeno, who you can see here, flanked by Miss Sake Shihori Matsui (Left) and Miss Sake Sae Haruta (Right)...

...as well as former Hudson Software executive and entertainer Takahashi Meijin and former sumo wrestler Konishiki, who was selling his brand of Hawaiian barbecue sauce at the KONISHIKI BBQ booth.