Berlin played host to a week of Japanese taste and tradition as Sake Week 2025 concluded with strong participation and international flair. Over seven days, restaurants, bars, and cultural venues across the city celebrated Japan’s national drink in both its classic forms and innovative interpretations.
Visitors from 20 countries sampled 100 different sake varieties, joined guided tastings with sommeliers, enjoyed exclusive food pairings such as dry-aged duck menus with sake cocktails, and visited the Samurai Museum for the immersive “Sake. Rockstars. Samurai.” exhibition.
As official partner, Go-Sake contributed significantly to the program. The Berlin-based brand highlighted the work of independent breweries, hosted tastings, and underscored sake’s role as a cultural bridge between Japan and Europe. One of the main highlights was the European premiere of the sparkling sake “Go Spark,” which showcased both innovation and authenticity. “Our mission has always been to make sake accessible, exciting, and fun while honoring tradition — and Sake Week 2025 showed just how ready Europe is to embrace it,” said Dr. Bastian Schwithal, founder of Go-Sake.
The festival offered a broad program of events. The Ueno Gourmet Sake Roadshow Berlin introduced rare labels and direct exchanges with producers, while the online “Sake Talk & Tasting with YamaSake” allowed international participants to join from abroad. A tasting with Fred Kranich from Kura Wien demonstrated the growing role of Austrian sake brewing. At the Samurai Museum, visitors encountered rare sake editions associated with Pharrell Williams, Foo Fighters, Iron Maiden, and Cate Blanchett, complemented by a Japanese design pop-up from CondeHouse.
Alexander van Hessen, President of Sake Embassy Germany e.V., noted:
“We are very satisfied with the fifth edition of Sake Week. With more than 40 events in different locations, many curious visitors once again had the chance to explore the world of sake. A new
anchor point was the Samurai Museum in Berlin-Mitte, where our exhibition Sake. Rockstars. Samurai. was presented for a week. In parallel, CondeHouse hosted a pop-up showroom for the first time,
featuring Japanese furniture design and cultural programming.”
Alexander Jöchl, Museum Director of the Samurai Museum Berlin, added:
“The fifth edition of Sake Week was once again a highlight in Berlin’s cultural calendar. The Samurai Museum, for the first time acting as the central venue, presented seven extraordinary
international sake producers. We are already looking forward to the next edition in 2026. Kanpai!”
Partners of Sake Week 2025
Sake Embassy Germany e.V. thanked all official partners and supporters, including Go-Sake, Samurai Museum Berlin, Ueno Gourmet, Goldfisch Bar, Sticks’n’Sushi, Moon Exquisite, MIYAKI, Kura Wien,
Akaiten, Ikii, Sake & Shochu Academy Europe, Sake Week Vienna, Berlin Ramen Festival, Berlin Ramen Society, Hanabira, Be-Bridger, igamiLab, Conde House, Tatenokawa, Watanabe, NINKI-ICHI,
SŌTŌ, AKI TORA, SOSOSO, YamaSake, and Friendly Fish, as well as the many restaurants, breweries, and cultural institutions that contributed to the success of this year’s program.
(Picture by Karolina Granja (c))
Mei Watanabe
Head of Communications