A town on Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido has been working on producing a new local specialty by submerging sake in a brackish lake, in the hope that the vibrations in the water will impact the taste of the alcohol.
Following field tests in May, the town of Yubetsu plans on sinking 100 bottles of sake at a depth of around 10 meters in Lake Saroma from late July. The alcohol to be used in the project comes from Kamikawa Taisetsu Sake Brewery, located west of Yubetsu.
"We hope that by utilizing the domestically famous Lake Saroma to make sake, it will make our town more widely known," a local official said.
Some of the bottles will be pulled out from the waters every two to three months to examine changes to the flavor of the sake, with the final batch to be lifted out after about one year.
The submergence will be administered by Sapporo-based firm Hokkaido Ocean Aging Japan Co., which has worked on aging alcohol in bodies of water in other municipalities in Hokkaido.
The company's alcoholic beverages have previously been used in the country's hometown tax program, which allows people to direct some of their tax payments to a municipality of their choice in return for gifts or experiences.
Ikkei Honma, 45, representative director of the firm, believes that submerging sake in Lake Saroma "could take the edge off the alcohol" to create a richer flavor, as the currents in the lake differ as it is connected to the Sea of Okhotsk.
Yubetsu has budgeted 1.6 million yen ($9,950) in the current fiscal year to cover payments to local fishermen helping with the project and analytic costs.
The town hopes to commercialize the sake, branded "Yubetsu," from next summer and promote it with locally produced scallops and oysters, according to a town official.
"Through brewing sake, we want to build momentum toward creating a local specialty and extending cooperation across industries," the official said.
