I was invited to a drinking party the other day, as one is from time to time in Japan in business situations. And as the guest, I was given the works: everyone was fighting to pour my beer and was refilling my cup every two seconds, trying to get me to try all the food, complimenting me on everything I did, etc. Say what you want about Japan, they sure do know how to butter someone up. The politeness culture here is unmatched.

Anyway, within all this, the host told me he had heard that I enjoy Japanese sake. When I answered that was true, he asked me if I had ever tried gold sake.

It is, as far as I can tell, normal sake, it just has flakes of gold (real gold) added.

^{via this store}

I don't know if it's the standard, but this one said 18k gold (not the one pictured). This is actually relatively common and I have seen it in many places, but I've never tried it before. I had a student once who offered to buy me some, but at the time I thought my company might be angry if I accepted so I refused.

I'm vaguely aware that using bits of gold leaf in food is a thing and is not harmful. Chocolate with gold flakes in high-end stores is a thing, as is cake with gold on it. At the same time, these are usually expensive products and things I've never been in a position to try.

Anyway, I said no and so he produced a bottle that he had brought. The man was prepared. I asked him what it tasted like. He said that the gold gave it a rich taste (whatever that means) and a little salty. Both of us were already tipsy so our conversation may not have actually been that clear. Hmm. Anyway, I tasted it, and...

...it just tasted like sake. Good sake. Well, again, I was already tipsy, so who knows. I remember it tasting good, anyway. The gold had no taste, it just added a little bit of a strange texture to the drink.

So I guess I have gold in me now, which is nice.

If you are wondering if this is the strangest kind of sake in Japan, well... there always is the venomous snake sake...

^{via Flickr}

David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. He blogs here and at laspina.org. Write him on Twitter or Mastodon.