Befriending baristas in Kagoshima

Hey friend,

I love going to places where locals are like, "Why are you here? How did you find us?"

Not in a rude way but in a way that's like, "we love our home and are happy (but also somewhat surprised) that you see something in it, too."

That was very much the vibe I got in Kagoshima.

People were friendly and eager to make me feel welcome, even though English was more limited and I speak four words of Japanese.

At a time where the push back against tourists is very real in some places, it's nice to remember that there are plenty of places that do want you there.

Not just because they work a job where their livelihood depends on it, but because they too like to meet new people and show off a place they love.

A little about Kagoshima

Kagoshima is a seaside city on the southwest tip of Japan.

It's off the beaten path… but there's a still path, if you know what I mean. And it feels so calm compared to other Japanese cities I’ve visited.

If Tokyo and Osaka are on one end of the spectrum, then Kyoto is somewhere in the middle, Fukuoka is a quarter further… and Kagoshima is about as far as you can get and still be in a real city.

There are 600,000 people in the city proper but I also had to walk four whole blocks to find a 7-11. Four blocks!

(Usually, I just walk out of a building, cast a glance around, and immediately find one in my line of sight. 😆)

After a whirlwind of a week in Hong Kong, and a busy few days in Fukuoka, it was nice to be in a place where I didn’t feel like I had to hustle against some imaginary checklist.

I mostly walked around, ate at random places I found on Google Maps, and caught up on computer work.

My top 3:Gardens that made me a Japanese garden personAn aesthetic cafe with coffee and service so good that I went every dayA quiet vinyl bar with a pretty view of the park

Thanks for reading Between Drinks! This post is public so feel free to share it with your friend planning their trip to Japan.

Drinking whisky in Kagoshima

The whole reason I came to Kagoshima was to drink whisky… but before we get to that, we have to talk about shochu.

Shochu is a Japanese spirit made by fermenting local crops like sweet potatoes or brown sugar with koji—the same mold used to make sake. (It has a very cool history, which we’ll get to in a future ep of the pod!)

Most producers are part of families who have been making it for generations and it's a significant part of Kagoshima's history. So, when a fourth-generation shochu producer decided to start making whisky, it was a big deal. The local government was so concerned about this risky new venture bankrupting the shochu business that it took years to approve the whisky license.

Japanese whisky is some of the best in the world, but it's traditionally been dominated by legacy brands like Suntory and Nikka. Both of these companies were heavily influenced by Scottish whisky in their founding, and that influence has shaped the flavor profiles we’ve come to expect from a “Japanese whisky.”

So, when I tried Kanosuke at a bar show last year, I was really intrigued. Not just because their whisky is great, but because they're doing something new and interesting with it.

The best spirits taste like where they come from, and Kanosuke is an unabashed love letter to Kagoshima.

Right down to the fact that they’re using shochu production techniques to make said whiskey. They use the phrase “mellow land, mellow whisky” a lot and that really tracks for me. And I’m not the only one who thinks so!

Kanosuke has won all kinds of awards and Diageo (one of the largest spirits conglomerates in the world) just bought a minority stake in the company. So, not only did these whisky-making pipe dreams not bankrupt the shochu business, they actually ushered in a whole new industry.

As of last year, there are 13 licensed whisky distilleries in Kagoshima.

Next up: losing my passport in Osaka, playing sake brewer for a day… and a bunch of other stories I’ve been meaning to tell you.

xo,
Caro