1 October is Sake Day: a nine-day toast week across Japan

A nationwide campaign by an association of about 1,600 makers

The Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association is the industry’s largest body, with around 1,600 Japanese alcoholic drinks makers as members. In 2026 it named the nine days from Saturday 26 September to Sunday 4 October, spanning Sake Day on Thursday 1 October, “Toast with Sake! WEEK”. During this period, prefectural brewers’ associations, breweries, restaurants and sake shops held events that drew on the character of their own regions. The main events listed were local sake events in Osaka, Gunma, Akita, Kochi, Ehime, Chiba, Tokyo, Itami and Himeji in Hyogo, Shiga, Ishikawa, Aichi and Toyama. What set the campaign apart was that it was not the event of a single brewery or a single prefecture: the whole industry called for a toast with sake in the same week. For those who could not attend a venue, there was also a prize draw: by entering with a receipt from a sake purchase, 1,001 winners would receive a regional sake (720 ml) from across Japan. The number of winners, 1,001, is a nod to 1 October.

Why 1 October?

The association designated 1 October as Sake Day in 1978, for two reasons. The first is that October is the season when the new rice is harvested and breweries around the country begin brewing. The second comes from the Chinese zodiac. The tenth sign, the rooster (the character “tori”), was originally a pictogram of a jar for holding sake and meant sake itself. In addition, the sake brewing year (Brewery Year, or BY for short) once began on 1 October. As advances in brewing technology brought the start of brewing forward, this marker was moved to 1 July in 1965. Even so, 1 October is still regarded as the day a new brewing year begins.

Enjoying Sake Day in Europe

Even if you could not take part in the events and campaigns in Japan, you could still make 1 October your own day for a toast. This year’s 1 October has passed, but as a pointer for next year, try looking at the BY marking on the label when choosing a bottle. Choosing a sake that has matured over the summer and appears in early autumn is one option. Tasting local sakes from the regions the association named side by side also makes it easier to notice how flavour differs from place to place. You can enjoy them at your own table, checking the aroma in a wine glass or pairing them with autumn mushroom dishes or mature cheese.