Takara Sake Museum & Tasting Room

708 Addison Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
Telephone: (510) 540-8250
E-Mail: info@takarasake.com
Takara Sake Website

Takara, the original company, was born in Kyoto in 1925. Takara Sake USA came to Berkeley in 1982, and created the sake museum more than a decade later in 1998.

Looking at Takara from the outside is deceiving. The production facility's industrial facade doesn't give a hint as to what's inside. As you walk up the stairs, the tasting room opens into an elegant and unexpected airy venue, with a contemporary Japanese flair, glass tiled floors and Douglas fir beams.

The tasting area is a spacious hall with room for 150 people. On one side, a bar serves up tastes of Takara's sake and plum wines to a consistent stream of visitors. Across the room, you can rest the feet and watch a large-screen video of the sake making process. Any sake you enjoy is available for sale in the tasting room.

From the tasting hall, you enter the museum which is one large and beautifully appointed room. You begin the short tour by reading an illustrated display that explains the ancient art of sake production. This introduction helps make sense of the various artifacts on display -- the storage barrels, presses, and other tools of the sake trade.

The museum and tasting room are open daily from noon to 6:00p and both are free.

After your sake tasting, take advantage of the restaurants and shops nearby on Berkeley's Fourth Street. Stores are generally open until 6:00pm on weekdays, some until 7:00pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Most of the restaurants are open later for dinner.

From San Francisco on I-80:

1. Take the University Avenue exit
2. Turn right at the first traffic light -- 6th Street
3. Go one block, then turn right at Addison Street. Takara Sake is two blocks down, on the left.

Source: Takara Sake

Photo Tour of Berkeley's Fourth Street