Kuramotoya is a sake bar in central Matsuyama specializing in the local sake of Ehime. This bar is what the Japanese call ‘an antenna shop’, where customers can explore the products of a particular region or category. Sake from most of the brewers in Ehime can be sampled here.

There are no seats. There are just four round tables, two of which are the lids of sake tanks resting on sake crates. On each table is a menu of several hundred types of sake, with information on the brewer, sweet-dry balance, alcohol content and price. There’s also a sentence describing the drink. Prices range from 100 to 400 yen for a glass, pay on delivery. There are also flights of three types for comparison. You can also serve yourself with pure, cold water, provided from the well of a local brewery, for slaking your thirst and clearing your palate. If you’d like to try the sake warm, there’s an apparatus for heating it.

It can be difficult choosing, but if you indicate to the staff the sort of thing you like, they can find something you’ll like.

The window counter overlooks the main street in Matsuyama, and you can gaze at the trams, buses and Botchan Train going past outside. Kuramotoya is a popular place, and the people of Matsuyama often start an evening here. Naturally a glass of sake calls for a snack, and there’s a menu of about twenty items, including Ehime favourites like jakoten fish-paste patties. There’s also a souvenir corner selling a range of interior decorations and utensils redolent of the sake brewery.