Shin-chan-branded local sake wins award for Taiwan exports

Can a popular anime character help sell sake overseas? “CRAYON SHINCHAN JAPAN CRAFTS”, a brand run by Akita-based trading company Uta no Kuni Akita Co., Ltd., won the “Japanese Food Overseas Promotion Collaboration Special Award” at the Kyoto Anime Monozukuri Award 2026 on 19 September 2026. What was recognised was not only its popularity as character merchandise. It was the fact that the brand went on to export regional products such as sake and dried noodles to Taiwan and sell them there.

A special award linking anime and food

The Kyoto Anime Monozukuri Award honours cross-industry collaborations between companies and organisations that use anime and manga characters. It began in 2017. The award ceremony took place at the venue of Kyoto International Manga & Anime Fair 2026, an anime and manga trade fair held in Kyoto. This year there were 89 entries from across Japan, and the brand was nominated in three categories. Among them, it received the special award, which recognises contributions to promoting Japanese food overseas.

Behind the brand is the “Family City Project”, in which three prefectures with ties to Crayon Shin-chan have joined forces: Akita, on the Sea of Japan coast in northern Honshu; Saitama, north of Tokyo; and Kumamoto, in Kyushu to the south. Working with producers in these three prefectures, the project has so far developed 34 products, including food, lacquerware and clothing.

Breweries from three prefectures take part

Each prefecture’s brewery is responsible for one sake: Akita Meijo in Akita, Ishii Shuzo in Saitama and Kawazu Shuzo in Kumamoto. In addition, Mugendo makes Inaniwa udon, Akita’s hand-stretched dried noodles, and the Akita Northern Happinets, the professional basketball team from Akita, produces a craft beer.

North and south, Kanto and Kyushu: sake from regions with different climates and food cultures can be presented side by side under a single brand. This differs from the usual region-by-region promotion.

Testing overseas expansion in Taiwan

In November 2025, the brand opened a pop-up store and held an advance sale at a food and tourism fair organised by Akita Prefecture at Huashan 1914 Creative Park, a cultural venue in Taipei. It has since also sold through online stores in Taiwan. In the same month it opened a shop in Shibuya, Tokyo. Uta no Kuni Akita plans to keep expanding exports of regional products, starting with sake.

What European readers may find interesting is the attempt to use a character’s name recognition as an entry point, bringing the sake of small breweries to new overseas audiences. As far as we know, the brand’s sake is not currently sold in Europe. However, you can follow the brand’s activities on its official Instagram. When choosing sake, try looking at the prefecture name on the label: cold Akita, Saitama in the Kanto region, warm Kyushu’s Kumamoto. Even the same sake shows a different character depending on where it comes from. Approaching it as a tasting comparison may widen the ways you enjoy it.