Hakobune Sakuragicho Crossgate

Focusing on sake, Hakobune is one of the first places in the area to specialise in junmai nihonshu, a type of sake that contains no added alcohol (it's only made from koji, water and rice), and has thus been called 'the original sake'. They stock over 100 varieties of junmai here, mainly focusing on those from the Hokushinetsu region (Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui, Niigata and Nagano prefectures), as well as nibbly bits from the same area. Besides sake, there's space for other Japanese alcohol-types too, including Niigata-brewed Echigo Beer and a range of shochu, umeshu and wine – enough to keep even the thirstiest entertained.