Your ultimate guide to amazake in Tokyo

There are many methods online, all using different measurements. We went with the ‘porridge’ method and these were the measurements we used, give or take. You will need:

- 1 large pot or rice cooker
- 230g rice (short grain, medium grain or glutinous rice are all fine)
- 230g koji
- 800ml water (plus extra for cooling)
- 1 kitchen towel
- 1 thermometer
- 1 spoon for stirring
- 1 ladle for serving
- 1 large container

Rinse and drain your rice, repeating the process until the water is mostly clear.

Add the water to your rice cooker or pot. Set your rice cooker to ‘porridge’ mode – that’s okayu in Japanese (お粥 or おかゆ) – and let it cook. If you’re making it on the stove, bring the rice to a boil, then bring it down to a simmer and cover.

Both methods should take about 40 minutes to an hour, or until the consistency of the porridge is, well, porridge-like.

Once the porridge is finished, it needs to come down to 50-60C, otherwise the koji you’ll add in the next step will die from the heat. You can either let your porridge cool naturally or slowly mix in cold water. (We did the latter because we’re impatient.)

The amount of extra water you add will vary, so play around with it until your thermometer reads between 50C and 60C.

Once the porridge has cooled, add the koji and mix thoroughly.

Now you need to keep the temperature of the mixture between 50-60C. Wet a dish towel and place it over the bowl of the rice cooker, leaving the top open or slightly cracked. The ‘maintain temperature (保温)’ feature should already be on, but if not, turn it on. If you’re using a pot, keep the stove on low and keep a close eye on the temperature.

Allow the mixture to ferment, checking the temperature and stirring every hour or so for around 8-14 hours. If the mixture goes above 60C, stir in a bit of cold water to bring it back down to the 50-60C range. The time of fermentation may vary, but once the mixture smells sweet, it’s finished.

If all went well, your amazake is now ready to enjoy. Ours was a little watery from adding too much liquid to keep things in the right temperature range during fermentation, but other than that… not bad! You can have amazake hot or cold on its own, or try adding it to soy milk, coffee, smoothies, muesli, anything really – it’s a good sugar substitute.

If making your own amazake isn’t your jam, read on to find out where to buy amazake in Tokyo.

Dating back 400 years, amazake speciality café Amanoya has an interior as colourful as its history. The quaint and cosy space is filled with low-set wooden tables, walls are adorned with antique clocks and Showa-era posters, and display cabinets are filled with model trains, lucky cats and miscellaneous ornaments.

Choose to drink your amazake hot or cold – or, in summer, you can even get an amazake kakigori, where the chilled beverage comes served in a dessert glass covered by a tower of shaved ice. After your visit, pop round the corner to Kanda Shrine, which just so happens to sell its own brand of amazake by the cup or bottle.

This cute hole-in-the-wall shop near Shoin Jinja in Setagaya ward sells Engawa’s popular house-made brown-rice amazake, as well as some other amazake-related products like amazake spice (it tastes remarkably like chai, in case you’re wondering).

For those after something to drink on the go, you can buy a cup of unadulterated amazake, or try tasty amazake and coffee blends such as an amazake cappuccino or amazake iced milk coffee. It’s a good option for amazake beginners, as the brown rice variety is mellower and more subdued than its white rice counterpart in terms of sweetness.

Hours of operation are ‘usually just weekends,’ according to the staff, with a schedule posted monthly at the shop entrance. Either call ahead (03 5779 8707) or simply stop by if you’re in the area on a weekend, but if the place is closed, there are plenty of other lovely little cafés and restaurants in the area to try. 

This quaint little tofu speciality store is located in the historical street near Ningyocho station known as Amazake Alley, named after an amazake store that operated at the alley's entrance during the Meiji era (1868-1912). Futaba Tofu sells cups of amazake either cold or warm for ¥300. If you're an ice cream fan, try the creamy and slightly funky amazake soft-serve for ¥400.

The friendly staff will introduce you to the various kinds of amazake they have on offer, namely white, brown and black rice varieties. (Brown-rice amazake is great for beginners, as it’s typically less sweet than the other kinds.)

Shuetsu specialises in pickled veg, umeboshi (pickled plums) and other fermented foods, including amazake. The shop sells the sweet stuff in 250g packs for ¥600, though this kind of amazake paste is best watered down in a 1:1 ratio to bring down the sweetness.

The shop doesn’t sell the beverage fresh though, so if you fancy a cup, head to Tofu no Futaba only a few hundred metres away.

Besides being a leading producer of pungent but tasty fermented foodstuffs in Japan, Niigata prefecture is home to some of the country’s finest rice. This naturally lends itself to the making of top-shelf sake, and in this case, amazake as well.

You’ll find all these local specialities, including a vast range of amazake, at Hakkaisan’s elegant Nihonbashi store. There’s even an excellent bar on-site, where you can sip on a glass of amazake – or if you prefer sake, there’s plenty of that, too. We recommend the amazake with shiso leaf juice, which is delightfully sweet and just a bit fruity.

This speciality wine shop has been in business over 100 years and has over a dozen branches around the city, plus a few more nationwide. Aside from domestic and international wines, the shop also sells sake and other alcoholic beverages, but keep your eyes peeled for the amazake.

The Isojiman brand the store carries is a gem, as the naturally occurring rice sediment that usually comes with amazake has been completely filtered out, making for an exceptionally smooth drinking experience. Get a bottle for ¥1,600, and feel free to pick up some wine and nibbly bits for your next charcuterie board while you’re there.

Heading down to Kamakura? Stop by this small café specialising in homemade amazake. Amazake Stand serves this traditional concoction in many different flavours. Besides the standard version, you can also sip on a berry or matcha-flavoured amazake, or even a pistachio or chai version, all topped with sugar-free amazake whipped cream. Since the amazake itself incorporates a natural sweetness, you won't find any added sugar in these drinks.

This speciality amazake shop takes its name from the Japanese word muro, a sort of underground storage facility where koji mould, the main ingredient of amazake, is made. Muro sells an extensive array of amazake products ranging from the standard white, brown and black rice amazake varieties to more exotic affairs like amazake mixed with matcha, fruit juices and even amazake fruit jams. Pro tip: the amazake jam can be used as a meat marinade.

Located a stone’s throw from Kanda Shrine and Amanoya, Mikawaya Ayabe Shoten produces its own koji, which it uses to make natto, miso (its main speciality) and of course amazake. The unassuming little shop was established all the way back in 1616 and was one of the official merchants for the Tokugawa shogunate during the Edo period (1603-1868). Talk about quality.

Head to the adjacent café to order a cup of hot or cold amazake (we recommend adding a bit of ginger powder for an extra pop of flavour). If you’ve got a strong sweet tooth, try pairing your amazake with a sake manju (red bean-filled dumpling) or two.

Speciality shops and cafés aside, you can also find amazake at greengrocer chains throughout the city like Seiyu, Inageya or York Foods. Look for the bright blue or red packaging with the characters 甘酒 (amazake). The brand name is Morinaga, and its amazake comes in cans or as a dried block, to which you add hot or cold water depending on your preference.

Just fyi, unlike traditional amazake, Morinaga’s versions contain added sugar. Amazake is already quite sweet on its own, so you may want to consume this particular brand in moderation if you’re watching your sugar intake.

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