Japan's sake brewers hope UNESCO heritage listing can boost rice wine's appeal

OME, Japan (AP) — Deep in a dark warehouse the sake sleeps, stored in rows of giant tanks, each holding more than 10,000 liters (2,640 gallons) of the Japanese rice wine that is the product of brewing techniques dating back more than 1,000 years.

Junichiro Ozawa, the 18th-generation head of Ozawa Brewery, founded in 1702, hopes sake-brewing will win recognition as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, when the decision is made next month.

“We always think about the people who’re enjoying our sake when we make it. I’m now so excited, imagining the faces of all the people around the world,” he told reporters Wednesday during a tour of his brewery on the pastoral outskirts of Tokyo.

Sake, the drink of choice for the nobility in “The Tale of Genji” — Japan's most celebrated work of literature — has been widening its appeal, boosted by the growing international popularity of Japanese cuisine.

Sake exports from Japan total more than 41 billion yen ($265 million) a year, with the biggest destinations being the U.S. and China, according to the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association.

That’s up from about 22 billion yen in 2018. But exports still make up a tiny fraction of overall sake production in Japan. Brazil, Mexico and Southeast Asia, as well as France and the rest of Europe, all places where Japanese restaurants are gaining popularity, are starting to take a liking to sake.

What’s key to sake-making, which takes about two months, including fermentation and pressing, are the rice and the water.

For a product to be categorized Japanese sake, the rice must be Japanese. The relatively soft quality of freshwater in Japan, like the supplies provided by the two wells at Ozawa Brewery, is also critical.

Among Ozawa’s sake is the full-bodied aromatic Junmai Daiginjo, one of the top offerings, with 15% alcohol content and costing about 3,630 yen ($23) for a 720 milliliter bottle.

Karakuti Nigorizake is unrefined sake, murky and not clear like usual sake, with 17% alcohol content and a rugged no-nonsense taste. It sells for 2,420 yen ($16) for a 1,800 milliliter bottle.

The religious connotations of sake are evident at the brewery. The big cedar-leaves ball hanging under the eaves is a symbol of a shrine for the god of sake-making. In Japan, sake is used to purify and to celebrate. Sips from a cup signify the sealing of a marriage.

“Sake is not just an alcoholic beverage. It is Japanese culture itself,” said Hitoshi Utsunomiya, director of the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association.

The UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage designation is given to not just historical monuments but also practices passed down generations, such as oral traditions, performing arts, rituals and festivals.

It’s not meant to be used for commercial purposes. But sake officials make no secret of their hope that it will boost global sales, helping the tradition stay alive amid competition from beer, wine and other modern beverages.

Among previous Intangible Cultural Heritage inclusions are Kabuki theater and Gagaku court music from Japan, as well as Sona, which are drawings on sand in Angola; the Chinese zither called guqin and Cremonese violin craftsmanship from Italy. Washoku, or Japanese cuisine, won the honors in 2013.

One reason for sake’s growing popularity around the world is that its smooth flavor goes well with varieties of food, including sushi, spicy Asian and Western dishes, says Max Del Vita, a certified sake sommelier and co-founder of The Sake Company, an import and distribution retailer in Singapore.

“These brewers are cultural stewards, passing down techniques through generations and blending ancient practices with quiet innovation,” he told The Associated Press. “Sake is more than a drink. It is a living embodiment of Japan’s seasonal rhythms, community values and artistic heritage.”

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Bottles of Sawanoi, a Japanese sake brand by Ozawa Sake Brewery, are prepared for tasting at a room during a media tour at the brewery in Ome, on the western outskirts of Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Traditional containers to keep Japanese sake are placed for decorations at a room shown during a media tour at the Ozawa Sake Brewery in Ome, on the western outskirts of Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Bottles of Sawanoi, a Japanese sake brand by Ozawa Sake Brewery, are prepared for tasting at a room during a media tour at the brewery in Ome, on the western outskirts of Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

A sign for the brewery of "Sawanoi," a Japanese sake brand, is seen at the entrance of Ozawa Sake Brewery in Ome, on the western outskirts of Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Hitoshi Utsunomiya, director of the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association, speaks during a media tour at Ozawa Sake Brewery in Ome, on the western outskirts of Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Nami Goto, managing director of Research and Development for the Brewing Society of Japan, speaks during a media tour at Ozawa Sake Brewery in Ome, on the western outskirts of Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Visitors of Ozawa Sake Brewery leave as journalists enter the brewery on a media tour in Ome, on the western outskirts of Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Junichiro Ozawa, head of Ozawa Sake Brewery, speaks during a media tour at the brewery in Ome, on the western outskirts of Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

An interpreter, left, translates for Junichiro Ozawa, head of Ozawa Sake Brewery, third left, and his worker (in white) as Hitoshi Utsunomiya, far right, director of the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association, stands during a media tour at the brewery in Ome, on the western outskirts of Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

A worker for Ozawa Sake Brewery opens a lid of a tank to show sake being fermented during a media tour at the brewery in Ome, on the western outskirts of Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Junichiro Ozawa, head of Ozawa Sake Brewery, speaks during a media tour at the brewery in Ome, on the western outskirts of Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Hawaii woman who vanished after landing in Los Angeles three weeks ago disappeared voluntarily as she sought to “step away from modern connectivity” and was last seen crossing into Mexico with her luggage, police said at a news conference where they urged her to contact her distraught family.

Hannah Kobayashi, 30, appeared unharmed as she walked alone into a tunnel at the San Ysidro crossing about 125 miles (201 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles around noon on Nov. 12, the day after her family reported her missing, LA police said Monday. Authorities made the discovery after reviewing surveillance video from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection late Sunday.

Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said there is no evidence Kobayashi was being trafficked or was otherwise a victim of a crime. Her disappearance is now classified as a “voluntary missing person.”

“We’ve basically done everything we can do at this point. She’s left the country and in another nation now,” he said, adding that if she returns to the U.S., law enforcement will be notified.

McDonnell said she has a right to her privacy, but urged her to reach out to her family or law enforcement.

“A simple message could reassure those who care about her,” McDonnell said. He explained that the missing person case will remain active until her safety is confirmed by law enforcement.

Kobayashi went missing after the budding photographer from Maui didn’t make a connecting flight to New York on Nov. 8 to travel for a new job and to visit relatives. She told her family she would sleep in the Los Angeles International Airport that night.

Family members assumed she was on standby for another flight, according to her aunt, Larie Pidgeon. The next day, Kobayashi texted them to say she was sightseeing in Los Angeles, planning to visit The Grove shopping mall and downtown LA, Pidgeon said.

On Nov. 11, the family received “strange and cryptic, just alarming” text messages from her phone that referenced her being “intercepted” as she got on a Metro train and being scared that someone might be stealing her identity, her aunt said.

Her father, Ryan Kobayashi, who had been in the search party along with volunteers, was found dead by apparent suicide on Sunday, Nov. 24, in a parking lot near LA International Airport, police and her family said.

McDonnell said during a police commission meeting last Tuesday that detectives determined Hannah Kobayashi missed her connecting flight intentionally. Kobayashi's sister, Sydni Kobayashi, disputed his statement in a social media post.

Police said Monday that after Hannah Kobayashi was seen in various locations around LA, she requested that her luggage, which had been checked to New York, be sent back to LAX. She then returned to the airport to retrieve it on Nov. 11 and did not have her phone when she left again, according to police.

Investigators found that she had “expressed the desire to step away from modern connectivity."

Police also identified and questioned a man that Kobayashi was seen with on the Metro. He was “cooperative” and said he met her at LAX, police said.

Sydni Kobayashi did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Members of the public who were in the “Help Us Find Hannah” Facebook group, which garnered the interest of more than 25,000 participants, shared a post from the group Monday that said the family would be shutting the group down after “threats against their lives and the lives of their small children.”

The post also said Sydni Kobayashi and her mother would not be responding to any messages.

During the news conference, McDonnell reflected on all that the family had endured these last few weeks.

“My ask would be to anybody considering doing this, think about the people you’re leaving behind, your loved ones who are going to be worried sick about you,” he said.

The story has been updated to correct the location of San Ysidro to southeast of Los Angeles, not southwest.

EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.

Golden reported from Seattle.

Ryan Kobayashi, center, holds a picture of his missing daughter Hannah Kobayashi outside Crypto.com Arena, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)