* A great experience learning about sake and tasting a variety of sakes * Highly recommend for a date, hangout with friends/family, or by yourself! * Very friendly and knowledgable staff - such a pleasure spending time with takara's Izumi! * Calm and quiet ambiance * Affordable and classy ;) read more

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I'm addicted to Groupon so of course I'd be down for a little Yelp deal... my first purchase was a tasting for two at Takara Sake in Berkeley. For those of you who don't know I was born in Berkeley at Alta Bates... big deal I know but don't be jealous because I got into every college writing down English as my Second Language... (kind of true)... So one of my best friends from York is a pediatrician at Oakland's Children's Hospital so I thought it would be a great idea to partake in some sake tasting before meeting up with my fun power couple friends. We walked through the doors, it was clean and quiet... reminded me of Japan. The one room museum was interesting for my gentleman friend but for me it just reminded me of my two years I spent in Kyoto, Japan teaching English to Fushimi High School students. In fact, I lived in Fushimi, Kyoto the "sake capital of the world" and I biked to work smelling all the koji while weaving around cards and other bicyclists. I don't know why or how but I became the Kyoto Social Events Coordinator for the JET Program and hosted a sake tour and tasting party as well as a blind wine tasting event with an outstanding turnout during my time abroad. Anywho, the bi-lingual lady behind the sake counter gave me a quick refreshing reminder about the basics of sake an we tasted quite a few while we were there. We even got to take home a full 750ml bottle of sake too! The Yelp deal rocked but it would have rocked almost the same without the deal. If you are interested in the sake culture then I suggest that you check Takara Sake out. read more

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We used a Travelzoo voucher $16 for $32 value. Two sake tastings with three 10.2 oz bottles of sake to take home. We parked directly across the street in two hour parking zone. Pay at the machine and place your receipt on the car dash. The tasting room/museum is located on the second floor of the plant. It's suggested you watch a ten minute video on the sake making origins. From there you can enter an one room museum. View the sake related artifacts. Then come back out and approach the tasting counter. There are several tasting options. We went with course A and course B. If you enjoy dry and less sweet, go with course B - offerings of both chilled and warm sake = Junmai. Course A is all chilled = Ginjo, and there's more sweet sakes than dry, while hubby preferred dry. We also ended up buying three bottles of sake in addition to our Travelzoo bottles. If you like apple cider, get the Fuji apple sake. Yummy. Since hubby didn't like the sweet ones I ended up tasting more than he did and left with a slight buzz. Something wrong with that picture. The tasting room/ museum appears dated, but it's a fun experience. read more

We used a Livingsocial deal here for our weekly date night. It was $25 and it included sake tasting for 2 and a goodie bag of 5 bottles of sake to take home. Which I found as an awesome deal. So when you come in you are guided to a small seating area where a video is played on how sake in Japan is made. This was really interesting. The video lasted about 10-15mins. You then have a self guided tour of the museum. Sake tastings are usually $5. I picked the very sweet tasting menu. Which I loved! My personal favorites are the white peach and lychee sake. After the tasting we ended up taking home 4 additional bottles of sake. My husband's favorite was the sake with the gold shavings in it. There is only street parking here however there is a paid parking lot about 3 blocks away. This place is great for a date night! We will definitely be back for more sake tasting! read more

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I like it here! Mika (I think that's her name), our host is so informative and friendly. We got to Berkeley around 5 p.m. after heading back from SF and stopped by for some goooood sake tasting. They have several options for you to choose from (A-F). Each option gives you tastings of 6-7 different kinds of sakes. Option "A" has a little bit of everything; warm - cold; sweet - mild. 3 out of the 5 of us choose option A. I choose B, which has more fruitier options and our other friend choose D, which consists of all warm sake. Most of the sake alcohol percentage is 15% and our host filled it up to the top! The sake was good. We took home 5 bottles of sake. They have a new sparkling sake, which 2 of our friends bought two bottles and we got 3 other random ones as "gifts". You should eat before you come though. They don't sell snacks of any kind and so right after we finished the tasting here, we headed to Shattuck for some good eats! Come early. I heard that this place gets packed, but we came right when they were about to close so we got a really personal experience. :) read more

Takara Sake USA - Museums Near Me - Berkeley, California

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For those of you who read my Ryoko review from the night before you'll notice that I probably shouldn't drink sake for a long, long time...or maybe I should have refrained from drinking bottles of sake the night before we were scheduled to visit a sake brewery. Sake was the last thing I wanted to see yesterday, but I do have to say I enjoyed our short visit to Takara Sake. I don't know much about sake as evident by the fact that I didn't even know unfiltered sake existed until this week....but I now feel oh so informed. I somehow managed to stomach trying 5 different types of sake and the unfiltered remains my favorite. I probably would have purchased a few bottles to take home with me if I had not been so hungover from the night before. This is also a beautiful, serene space...I felt like I was going to a spa when I first walked in. Apparently you can rent their rooms for private events of up to 150 people...definitely a unique idea for a special occasion or corporate event! read more

Never been here, but yelping them just for the fact that they're the ones importing in Kissui Vodka from Japan. Omigod... it was SOOOO smooth!! I was lucky enough to get to guzzle and drink like a camel at the latest Yelp Elite Event at Four Seasons... and they were the sponsored Vodka. The drinks were amazing and the vodka was kick ass... I think I might have found another fav... along with Grey Goose! read more

Very cool that there is an actual Sake brewery in the Bay Area. I personally enjoy Takara's Nigori, especially since I can buy it at Safeway for about $5. The tasting room has a large window that overlooks the factory floor. Unfortunately we went on a weekend so we didn't get to watch the process. They also have a cool little Sake museum that explains the process and shows some of the tools that are used. The prices are reasonable and they have a wide variety of types to choose from. They even have some flavored wines and they make their own Mirin. I cook Chicken Teriyaki a lot so I had to buy a bottle to cook with. read more

This place is super cute inside ! From the outside looking in it looks like a regular factory but once you are inside, the whole feeling is transformed ! Most sampling flights are $5 each and consist of 6 different pours. There was one smancy flight that was $8. You can choose from dry, to semi sweet to sweet, as they word it "for people who like very sweet things " we opted for the semi sweet and it was perfect ! They do bottle 85% of the sale on site, and import a few from Japan. We purchased the living social deal, 2 samplings, and 4 bottles of sake for $25. We were there for around 45 min, and after our samplings we were happy as clams and hit the road to our next Saturdate adventure . Find the living Social deal if you want some sakes to bring home too, they pick 4 bottles for you. Or if you are new to sake, you can start with a variety flight and tell the hosts to hand pick for you. Or.. You can opt for sweet, you can never go wrong with sweet read more

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My friends and I came here on a Sunday afternoon for a tasting and it was a great experience, in my opinion! For only $5, you get to try a variety of sake of your choosing and that simply cannot be beat. You can just walk in and sign up at the entrance of the tasting room. When we arrived, the bar area was busy, so my friends and I walked around their little museum area while we waited. It was a cool little space with a bunch of stuff about the process of making sake. Then before the tasting, we watched a short DVD about sake: the ingredients, how it's made, the whole process, etc. It was short and sweet and I liked walking away with some new information! The bar area is where the fun happens. My friends and I all chose the "Very Sweet" tasting, which turned out to be a good decision. Some highlights: - ShirakabeGura Mio : A sweet sparkling sake, very light on the alcohol and very delicious! It was a favorite amongst all of us. - Hana White Peach Flavored Sake : My personal favorite! Sooo sweet and has that really fresh flavor of a peach. - Yuki Nigori Coffee : I didn't get this one because I don't typically enjoy coffee, but my friends did and let me try it. I actually really liked this one! It has that recognizable coffee scent, but without the bitter taste. - Koshu Plum Wine : Also one of our favorites as a whole! It's described as having hints of cherry and almond. You can definitely smell and taste the almond in this one. The flavor by far the most complex out of all the ones we tried and my friend even bought a bottle of it afterwards! The bottles of sake are pretty affordable and you'll probably want to take some of your favorites home! Overall a really awesome place with lots of variety and a must-try in the area! read more

Takara Sake USA - Museums Near Me - Berkeley, California

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I've had a week off from work for Thanksgiving Break, so of course it's been raining, and I have been going stir crazy. I decided it was time to check out some yelp reviews on places I could go that wouldn't involve getting muddy. On a friend's page I saw a 5 star review for Takara, and decided to give it a try. My previous experiences with sake have been at Japanese restaurants when I really had no idea what I was ordering and ended up hating every sip. I've only had it warm. And I probably had just ordered the cheapest type on the menu. So, my expectations weren't too high. I figured I might just hate sake, and at least I'd leave there knowing that for sure. After parking in the midst of a whole lot of construction near Takara, I took a quick 5 minutes self-tour of the museum (it's just one room) and refused the movie (because of reviews I had read). When it was time for the sampling, I decided to pick the Sweet Variety Course Sampler of Sake. There are several different courses of Sake you can choose from, and this one said it was for those who like sweet wine. 6 samples were included all for $5, and it was well worth it. I had the: 1) ShoCkikuBai Nigori Silky Mild 2) ShoChikuBai Nigori Creme de Sake 3) Hana Lychee Flavored Sake 4) Koshu Plum (Plum Sake) 5) Kinsen Plum (Plum Wine) 6) Takara Plum (Plum Wine) I took my time and tried each. The sampler lady (I am so bad with names) explained how I was supposed to sample the sake (I am kind of an idiot with this type of thing) and explained what each could go with/what she does with each. For one, she said she puts it on top of ice cream, another she mixes with seltzer water. So of course, I bought some plum sake and had to stop and buy ice cream on the way home. I tried it and OH MY GOSH, I will never use chocolate syrup or caramel again. Just plum sake. It's so good! Overall: The prices are really, really reasonable for bottles of sake or plum wine. There are several different sake courses to choose from (for $5). And the woman who helps with the samples is extremely knowledgeable (and pretty damn hot). I will definitely be back to try some more sake. read more

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*Note: reservations (or call-ahead) required for weekend visit.* This is a macro-sake brewery, but don't let the macro scare you away. It's a fun experience - the mini-musuem and video are actually decent and you learn the high-level process about koji. Damn, making sake is hard. The tasting is $10-15 and you get some nice portions. The staff was super friendly, and they took the time to explain each sake in detail, answer some questions, and do some ad-hoc vertical pairings. They have a wide range of sake you can try and buy bottles to bring home from value priced ($12/1.8L) to high-end. read more

Takara sake is great! They have a museum and short movie, which I recommend watching while waiting for them to call you for sake tasting. Tastings are now $10, though they used to be $5. Even so, this is a great deal! The tasting comes with 6-7 sake pours, and my sommelier was amazing and gave us a bunch of extra tastes. Lychee sake...mmm. I recently saw that they have a Groupon online, which seems like a great deal! There is no tip jar but they happily accept tips :) Note that they close ~6pm, and often are quite busy towards the end of day and on weekends. I'd arrive by 5, at the latest. Call ahead of time as sometime they have big groups and don't have space for more people. It's good to make a reservation as well! read more

If you ever want to learn about how sake is manufactured this is the place to go and learn about stuff you like to drink. It was very informative and heck we didn't pay a dime to try their different bottles of sake. I even got a little buzzed from all the tasting. I want to go to Sake USA but since we were in the area I wanted to see what they had and after driving by the building I was expecting walls lined with sake and a huge selection. Sorry folks but you only get a small wall worth of sake and the rest of the place is a showroom for old equipement they used back in the day to make sake and their was another room for a 10 video on how sake is manufactured. I mean it's great to learn something new everyday of our lives. The staff was attentive and gave us shots of sake to help us choose. read more

First time to a sake brewery. I've been to a few winery tasting rooms and similar set up. However this was much better. They had a museum with all the old instruments used to make sake and there was a video explaining process. After exploring the museum we did tasting a and h with Mika. She was great and knew a lot about everything we tried. Once she learned our tastes she adapted the tasting to better suit us. Definitely a must see place. She said it was busier on weekends but we went on a Thursday and only a couple other people were there. I suggest going on a weekday to avoid crowds. read more

Takara Sake USA - Museums Near Me - Berkeley, California

I came across this place while searching "fun things to do" on Yelp. My friend and I woke up wanting to try something new and exciting to close out the weekend in a fun yet calm manner. We came across this place and thought it'd be cool to try since we've tried sake but have never heard of sake tasting. We love wine so we figured why the hell not give it a try! It's very tiny and kind of hidden but the staff was extremely nice, welcoming and informative during the tasting. We did not have a reservation but they do allow walk-ins. My friend and I spent $38 including tip. So it was inexpensive which was awesome and a surprise! We will most definitely come back and highly recommend giving this place a shot. Now we are big sake fans!!! read more

This is probably my 4th visit to Takara Sake. We rushed here about 15 minutes before it closed for the day. Walking distance from Viks Chaat. The tasting room is open daily from 12p-6pm for FREE Tastings. We got to try 13 sakes, small amount for tastings: Tokubetsu Junmai-premium junmai Ginjo Nama Organic nama Nigori-silky mild sake Creme de Sake Nigori that they just added mango juice to-not for sale, u can make it yourself From the NEW flavored sake we tried: Raspberry Fuji apple Plum Lychee Koshu plum sake Takara plum wine We ended up getting a bottle of ginjo and Lychee Separate men/women bathroom available, small museum in the back. Times visited: 4 read more

The museum was ok, nothing exciting or anything. The video is like 10 minutes, which explains the entire museum. It's quite small, and I would recommend that you look at the museum FIRSt then the video SECOND. I did buy the Travelzoo deal, so for two people we got a goodie bag of 3 small sake, and tasting for 2 people which varies from 5-7 tasting. I did the Very Sweet (6 tasting) and my bf did the Variety (7 tasting). The best one is the flavored sake, the Hana Fuji Apple, and everything else is blah. Nigori is strong and Plum sake is ahhh... Only good one for sweet is just Hana. The variety was not bad, tasted a variety, and one of them was really good/smooth. Overall, nice place to check out for an hour. Get the deal, it only cost $16, so pretty good. read more

Certainly worth a trip if you're in the area. The 'museum' is basically a room with a bunch of old sake related stuff in it, but there are some useful diagrams that explain how the stuff is made. The best part is the tasting. Like other reviewers have said, $5 buys you a flight of six sakes. There are numerous different flights, so your options are open. A great way to learn a bit about that stuff you drink with sushi. Plus, it is right next to Vik Chaats for some after sake dining. read more

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I'm giving this place 4 stars only because I have no other sake tasting experience to compare it to but the experience itself was definitely a five star event all on its own. When you walk in, you really don't think or know what you're going into since the whole place looks like a huge factory / warehouse with no indication of what's inside. Once you walk upstairs, you're immediately greeted by a huge window looking downwards to the sake making facilities and you are then presented with a small door to a large, wooden decorated room with a bar in the center of the room and a museum on the opposite side. The museum isn't anything that will take you a long time but it's kind of cool to see the size of the machinery used in sake making because it's a lot larger of a task than you think. You get a number when they're busy, and you just wait until your number is called. The thing about sake tasting that's different than wine tasting is that it actually takes a little while longer since you spend more time with the sake while the sake specialists explain what kinds of food you can pair the sake with. I honestly don't have a huge taste bud for sake and it made me a little queasy just smelling it because I'm not the biggest fan but the bf and I ended up with a few bottles to go from the awesome Yelp deal so we will probably be tasting some sake at home soon. Very cool, definitely recommended. read more

First time sake tasting! Our reservation was for 1pm but we had to wait a little longer because the groups before us took a while to finish up. They have a little museum that displays the different tools used to make sake back in the day. After taking a look at the museum, you get to watch a documentary on how sake is made. You get to choose from a menu the different types of sakes you would like to taste - there was a "very sweet" option for those that do not like the strong alcohol taste. I went with choice B, which was the variety one for first timers! There is also a sake with gold flakes you should try - this was in menu option D. They pour you a shot of each sake, and there were about 7-8 different ones. All for $5-10! Pretty worth it. You can also buy bottles and sake cups here too. read more

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What was once a free for all drink fest after watching a goofy video that skipped and slurred (it was the video, not me) every 20 seconds ... tastings here are now $5.00. You get to choose from 1 of 6 tastings depending on if you're a sake connoisseur or beginner, favor sweet's over drys etc. We biked here and since I broke a slight sweat, felt justified in indulging myself in several glasses of sake after a giant burger from 900 Grayson just down the street. I would have bought several more bottles, but since we were on bike, I decided to be kind and not make the manfriend carry too many. I told him I bought the bottles for his sister (Hi Glo if you are reading this) so that he'd be more apt to carry it without complaint. read more

Came here with a Groupon, it's nice to have a place that encourages Groupon useage, I believe they mentioned they release a new one every December. The video they make you watch in the beginning is a bit corny/old fashioned, but the highlight is interacting with the staff during your tasting. The woman we had (didnt catch her name) was extremely knowledgeable and explained in detail all the different sakes we were trying. My girlfriend and I ordered the A and B tastings to try everything. The highlight of the tasting was from the B group, the Sho Chiku Bai Junmai Daiginjo, which is handmade and can only buy from Takara. So smooth and delicious, so I naturally purchases two ($70 each). We also got a complimentary wooden box for each bottle! Would definitely go again, but next time I will bring a few friends! read more

Great place for sake tasting! We had a large group and were seated at a table. Our hostess was really great and accommodating, and we covered all 3 tasting flight options among us. I had option B, which is the Variety Course and recommended for people newer to sake since it covers both dry and sweet sakes. It samples 7 sakes and is only $10. Ten dollars! You can't even a salad for $10 around here in some cases, but here at Takara you get to taste a flight of 7 sakes with great service and explanations. You even get a paper with notes on your course, with room to write down your own notes. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and would definitely come back to try the other tasting options. read more

If you don't want to drive the hour to Napa, the Sake factory is a good alternative. The tour isn't as involved as anything you'd see in Napa though - you just you walk around a room with signs explaining things - you don't actually get to walk around the plant itself. The best part is the tasting. You get to try many different types of sake from filtered to unfiltered, and best of all plum wine. No one else was there when we were so we had all our flights of sake within 15 minutes. I even left slightly buzzed. read more

If you enjoy sake, you will enjoy coming to Takara Sake USA, a factory where sake is brewed and bottled. When you enter, you're advised by the friendly people at the tasting area to go to the room with various Sake artifacts. It's a bit geeky and historical with diagrams showing how sake was initially made with people pressing rice and doing stuff to it, etc. It was kind of interesting to note that there are only a handful of sake factories in the USA, most of them here in California. Depending on your sake taste preference and sake expertise the helpers give you decent dixie cup quantities of sake. They were marketing a sake and gave an extra shot each and told us to circle the word that described what we felt it tasted like. After the tasting, you'll be comfortably buzzed. That's how they try and convince you to purchase their bottles which I feel are overpriced. My favorite sake was definitely the gold flaked sake. Nothing cooler than drinking a little gold. Although I was respectably drunk after the tasting, I wasn't convinced that purchasing a bottle was the way to go. It definitely makes me want to try the vodka tasting room in Alameda. I think that will be next on the agenda. After that, you go to the mini theater to watch a quick 10 minute video clip about sake. Nothing memorable here, but sort of fun. It made ponder whether wineries require people to watch the movie Sideways before entering the tasting room. Now the fun part. You go the tasting area where two lovely ladies and an older man charge $5 for a sample of about 5-7 types of sake. read more

Dropped by here after spending the afternoon on 4th street. Closes at 6pm, so make sure to arrive early! When you first walk in, they hand you a number and you tour a mini-museum of the sake making process. Then you watch a video that basically explains the entire mini-museum. There is no need to rush because the number is a placeholder for the sake tasting line. (A) Variety Course is recommended for first-timers. It covers the different kinds of sake and gives you a better understanding of what type of sake you enjoy. $5 for 7 different types of sake. 1. Sierra Cold - good with sushi, best cold 2. ShoChikuBai Nama - good with tempura and fried chicken 3. ShoChikuBai Classic - no sugar or rice added 4. ShoChikuBai Nigori - good with spicy foods 5. Raspberry Hana Flavored Sake - good with bitter chocolate 6. Koshu Plum - very very sweet, lots of sugar 7. Your Choice (Organic Nama) - smooth, tastes like nothing though My favorite sake in Variety A was probably the ShoCikuBai Nama. It's best served cold and goes down real smooth. Not too much flavor, but it's refreshing. If you like it sweeter, I'd recommend the Hana Flavored Sake or Koshu Plum. The sake here is super cheap since it's straight from the sake brewery. read more

Did you know that there is a sake factory in Berkeley? Now you do. And you can do $5 sake tastings!! There is a 15 minute video on sake making and a cool little museum that they recommend you check out before you do your tasting. When you're ready to do the tasting, you select which of the seven or so sake flights you would like to try. It's $5 per flight per person. If it's your first time here or if you're not too familiar with sake, they recommend you do the "A" tasting, which you get to try seven of their sakes (and the last one you get to pick any of their sake or wines to try!). I like the sweet stuff, so the last time I visited, I did the "F" tasting, which is "Very Sweet," where you get to try six of their sweet products: two unfiltered sake, two of their Hana flavored sake wines, and their two plum wines. Sake tasting is fun! I love their Hana flavored wines, which come in lychee, fuji apple, white peach, and raspberry flavors. Lychee and fuji apple are my absolute favorites and they make the perfect gifts for the holidays, birthday, and housewarming parties! You can buy the wines here, but I've also found them at many Japanese grocery stores in the South Bay. The people who work here are great too - very knowledgeable about the products and very friendly! If you're in Berkeley, come check it out! read more

I was so disappointed the first time I went here... they were closed for the holidays! Well, the tasting room was closed anyway; I wasn't sure about the distillery. I ended up going back in July and had a wonderful time. The tour is self guided and it tells the history of sake manufacturing and Takara. Plus, they have a trebuchet! Granted, it's a model but I got really excited about it :) After the tour, my group did the flight tasting and the staff was SO friendly and patient. We had a pretty large group and I was impressed. After the tasting, we all purchased sake at GREAT prices. I think I paid $17 for the really big bottle of Nigori Sake. This place made my day! read more

Takara Sake USA - The "out of towners" at Takara - Museums Near Me - Berkeley, California

We came here because of their Living Social deal; $20 for 2 tastings (regularly $5 each) and 3 bottles of sake to take home. We were also able to view the museum and watch a short documentary about how sake is made. This deal was TOTALLY worth it! And actually, I would've come here without the deal because their regular tasting price isn't bad at all, and they had some great deals on sake. We ended up buying 3 more bottles. I had the "very sweet" tasting and my boyfriend had the variety. I enjoy drinking sake so the whole experience was really fun. They had some awesome decor and the ambiance was very authentic. There were 2 women assisting about 5 couples and somehow they made it work. We, as well as the other parties, got adequate attention and they were very sweet, friendly, and knowledgeable. They also had printouts of each sake, and a food-pairing guide. I would love to come here again and highly recommend it if you enjoy sake! read more

Takara Sake USA - Yeah, I like sake :) - Museums Near Me - Berkeley, California

I used to ride my bike down the hill once a semester when I had class breaks and taste the saki and purchase gifts. I loved this place way back when - then, they remodeled. Twice. Now the space is beautiful. The tastings are interesting and a great experience, I generally bring a newbie whenever I am in town and visiting. The last time I went was a nightmare, the service was beyond terrible, there was a distracted woman on the phone who kept asking everyone to wait, and while I am aware she had a group coming in, asking visitors to "wait a little bit" for over an hour is absurd. This review should be a 5 star, the tasting room is wonderful and informative and the saki delicious, but the service most recently was terrible. They should make sure two employees are available during visiting hours. read more

I think Takara is an awesome place to take anyone for a dae, outing, what-have-you. They are a Sake production facility with an amazing tasting room and sake-making-history museum. I had never really tried Sake before- and this is OK. You don't have to know anything about it- the people pouring int he tasting room are informative and eager to help you discover this wonderful rice wine. They have several tasting suites- we got suite A and suite B- both have 6 different sakes to taste, there are warm as well as room temperature sakes as well as flavored and sparkling sake. They have a room for a private tasting with one of the brewers there, for groups of 6 or more. Check it out. its a great place. read more

Takara Sake USA - Museums Near Me - Berkeley, California

Not a very huge museum but I learned a lot! Not very many employees on a Sunday but my girlfriends and I just kind of turned on the documentary for ourselves. The movie was quite awesome because it taught me a lot. After it, we walked around the museum where they have old tools and things that they used to make sake a while ago. The place is very clean! The ladies who helped us were very nice even though the three of us were sharing a tasting because we wanted to get multiple tastings to try different things. Little did we know, we couldn't get multiple tastings because we were already at the sweet sake and aren't allowed go backwards. But I will definitely be back to get another tasting. The tasting was awesome and they were heavy pours! I really enjoyed most of the sakes and was surprisingly surprised at how delicious they can be. Also, the sake bottles to buy to-go were reasonably priced especially since they have smaller bottles so you can get a few of them without putting a dent in your wallet! Yum Yum. $5 a tasting? Let me get a couple of them!... actually, I may be drunk by then. read more

Just down the street from Anthropologie, you'll find this hidden sake tasting room. For $5 you get to taste 8 different sakes! There are a bunch of options to choose from and by the end you'll definitely find something you like. There is a so-called "museum" there, but really, it should just be called an educational room describing how sake is made. It's definitely worth checking out before you leave. Oh, and there is a parking lot on Addison right before the railroad tracks. This is a great way to finish off an afternoon of shopping on 4th Street. read more

Very cool museum/sake tasting area. You can see how Sake is made, how it was made in the past, and then try out more types of Sake than I knew existed. The woman who works here was very knowledgeable and helpful. Plus, they have a bunch of very affordable bottles you can buy afterward (in case you haven't had enough). read more

Last year, I bought a Yelp deal for the Tasting Room. Finally, this last weekend, I finally cashed it. For the deal, my wife I received 7 tastings of sake, along with bottle to take home and 2 masus (or wooden sake cups). We were also fortunate to taste a new brand that the factory just started selling a week ago. A sparkling sake, the Mio was my favorite brand to taste (though purists may faint at the site of this)! The Mio was so wonderful, I bought 2 bottles to take home. We also took a tour of the sake museum and watched a 10 minute video on the making of sake. Overall, a nice afternoon of learning and drinking. The hostess were very kind and helpful, answering all of our questions. We will definitely be back, to try some more of the other sakes. read more

My first sake brewery ever and totally reminds me of my trip to Japan. You walk into a warehouse designed with a very traditional Japanese interior. You first start with a tour of the history room that teaches you many facts and how to make Sake in different ways. The staff is super friendly and are willing to teach everyone about sake to fully enjoy the sake tasting. The $5 variety tasting gave me a good mix of SEVEN, yes SEVEN different types of sake tastings! The staff was so nice that I got to try a few extra during the tasting. To be able to taste so many different types of Sake was an amazing experience. I would totally come here again! read more

Oh Takara. How did it take me this long to finally arrive at your doorstep?! I came here for a birthday celebration and let's just say, from $5 and $10 sake tastings, this place is mighty great and affordable. Upon walking in, there's the bar and a seating area, but in the back is a small museum and informational video that teaches you about the sake making process and how it compares to beer and wine making. It was nicely organized, clean, and informational, what more can you ask?! TASTINGS: We opted for the "Varietal" ($5) and the Pick Your Own ($10) that we let our server choose for us to pair with the varietals. Honestly, it was some serious tasting for three people at that price point. The "Sho" was one of our favorites, but really, we didn't have a sake we didn't like! SERVICE: Beyond excellent! I couldn't be happier. Everything was explained in thorough detail and super well-informed! You may think that sake is only for those sake bombs you occasionally enjoy, but the fine art around sake making can be really appreciated here at Takara. Now you can be a sake aficionado for all of your friends even after one visits here. I plan on coming back soon! read more

I wish I could give more than 5 stars! My boyfriend and I decided to go here on a whim while visiting the Bay Area and it was the highlight of our trip. I am currently pregnant so I could not partake in any of the sake tasting BUT our sake guide Moroko (I'm sure I'm spelling it incorrectly which I feel terrible about)taught me so much! She was very kind and really took time to explain and teach us about sake. We left feeling knowledgable about sake and it's wonderful history. We went on a Tuesday afternoon right when they opened so it was not busy. The outside of the building just looks like a warehouse but the tasting room and museum are beautiful. We plan on returning when I can actually partake in the sake tasting. Totally worth a visit! read more

This is totally on my list of things to do when you are in Berkeley. This is also where I buy sake since it is tasty and reasonable and biking distance. (Note: If you go for the tasting, you may opt for the bike because they are generous with the samples.) I used to think I didn't like sake until I discovered this cold, fresh tasting stuff. You get about 10-12 tastes of sake, and that is a lot. The people who work there, especially the gals, especially when it nears closing time, always seem extra happy. Are they doing a little quality assurance, hmm? At any rate, they are friendly and informative. You can't tour the factory, but you have to watch a film and go through a little "museum"--they are both a little cheesy. So go with fun people. The film reminds of a mini-documentary that would be played at Springfield Elementary School. read more