For those who like their sake hot, cold and in between

Can’t decide if you want your sake hot or cold? PR Times has a press release for a piece of equipment that will do both.

Hiyakan, a heating-and-cooling sake server designed to manage anything from hiya (10°C) to atsukan (55°C), is currently raising funds on Japanese crowdfunding site Makuake.

Made of tin, which is reputed to increase the perception of umami in sake, it lets you enjoy an izakaya-style experience at home. It will keep sake taken straight out of the fridge cold, and also gives you 10 levels of heating to choose from.

There’s also a sake developed to go with it – Kame no Umi Hiyakan tokubetsu shikomi junmai ginjō made with Hitogokochi sake-specific rice, commissioned from Tsuchiya Shuzōten in Saku, Nagano Prefecture. They teamed up with the makers of Hiyakan after noting both the decrease in sales that came with the pandemic and the increasing trend of drinking at home, which Hiyakan is perfect for.

“Team Hiyakan” includes Rei Kato of Kiso Design, Atsushi Kuniyasu, CEO, and Ken Kanada, technical developer, of NerdWord, Inc., Nousaku tin crafting company, Silicon Technology Co., Ltd., Satoshi Tsuchiya, CEO of Tsuchiya Shuzōten, and Shiori Yui, winner of the 33rd National Kikizake Contest.

The product is aimed both at private individuals who want to level up their sake serving at home, and at bars/restaurants who want to improve their customers’ experience. The crowdfunding campaign is an all-or-nothing one, so if it doesn’t reach its goal there will be no Hiyakan. The campaign runs from 14 September to 30 December 2020, and the number of products is strictly limited as the tin servers are made by hand.

Links

• Original article (Japanese, PR Times, 1 October 2020)
• Crowdfunding page for Hiyakan (Japanese)
• Tsuchiya Shuzōten (Japanese)
• Hiyakan site (Japanese)
• Nousaku tin crafts (English)