By admin 
Gekkeikan Sake USA, Inc., the only Gekkeikan-owned brewery outside its historic home in Kyoto, Japan, recently unveiled its newly renovated tasting room at 1136 Sibley St. in Folsom. The event took place Sept. 18.
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Choose Folsom, the city’s chamber of commerce, posted on its social media about the event, showing a ribbon cutting and kagami biraki, “a traditional Japanese ceremony where the lid of a sake barrel is opened with wooden mallets to symbolize good fortune and a fresh beginning.”
According to CFO Tsuyoshi Takuwa, the renovation was meant to refresh the space and create a more welcoming environment where guests can experience and learn about sake.
With guidance from designer Yoshiko Yamanashi of Los Angeles-based design build firm Daizu, Inc., the tasting room has a more open, comfortable, and contemporary feel, according to Takuwa. One way this was achieved was by replacing the windows and glass areas to provide a more open view of the Japanese garden and bring more of the outdoor setting into the tasting room.
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“For us, the tasting room is not simply a retail space. It is an important place for introducing sake to people who may be unfamiliar with it and for sharing Gekkeikan’s history and brewing tradition in a more approachable way,” Takuwa said.
Gekkeikan has been brewing sake in Japan since 1637, according to the company’s website. The brewery was established in 1989 as the company’s first-ever brewery outside Japan, and brewing operations began in 1990.
The tasting room is open most Friday and Saturday afternoons, with reservations available but not required. The company does not offer tours of the production facility.
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