SAKE DAY – Updates & The winner of the ISSOTY Award This Year Mr. Masao Aisawa
As you all know SAKE DAY 2025, the 20th Anniversary SOLD OUT in seven days! We literally sold every ticket (Early Bird & Regular Admission) in a week. One week. That’s amazing and crazy and we wanted to thank you very much for all of the enthusiasm and passion for this pioneering and original event. Please remember that all ticket proceeds went directly into the bank account of the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California (JCCCNC), and they thank you as well!
But! Wait for it …..
Since you are a True Sake Newsletter reader, we wanted to alert you to a secret fact that we held back a portion of tickets, and these will be released next month for those who did not heed our many reminders that SAKE DAY always sells out! The best way to learn about this secret release is to stay tuned to our SAKE DAY Instagram account @sakedaysf where KJ will announce the date and time more tickets go on sale and a waiting list for those who want to get connected to sell or buy tickets.
And now we get to announce that our dear friend Masao Aisawa is the 2025 SAKE DAY International Sake Soul of the Year Award winner. I’m clapping as I type this, because he has been a huge part of the history and success of SAKE DAY. Congratulations Masao!
Masao Aisawa is the owner and President of Takenotsuyu sake brewery in Yamagata Prefecture, and if you have ever been to a SAKE DAY then you know his smiling face, as he has been to almost every SAKE DAY in our 20-year history. And when he comes to SAKE DAY he always represents! Masao’s table is always one of the top visited stations at SAKE DAY for good reason. He always wears his white large happi jacket and he always has large signage! But the most important aspect of Masao’s presentation at SAKE DAY is his passion. He is very proud of his brewery and their products (yes, he even brings his sake brewing water) and he is very proud of Yamagata Prefecture.
Masao epitomizes SAKE DAY, and that is why we have selected him this year as the winner of the International Sake Soul of the Year Award, which is “An International Achievement Award for Your Dedication and Devotion to the Sake Industry and for Your Influence on the History of Sake.”
Congratulations Masao and you can taste his sakes on your own by searching Takenotsuyu in our True Sake Website, or you can wait until SAKE DAY and greet him at the Welcome Sake station to congratulate him or visit his table at SAKE DAY.