A circle of friends connected by gootouchi! The “FIST BUMP” corner of the radio program “GRAND MARQUEE” features people who live and enjoy Tokyo in a relay format.
On April 27, Tomo Maeda, owner of Sakebozu in Tomigaya, introduced us Kazuhiko Hashimoto, owner of “sansa” in Akasaka and “awai” in Roppongi. We asked him about the particulars of the menu at “sansa,” which offers a genre-defying selection of craft beers and food pairings from Japan and abroad, and how to enjoy “awai,” a natural wine store.
INDEX
Serving food that goes well with beer with ingredients purchased directly from producers
Celeina (MC): Let’s start by talking about “sansa” in Akasaka.
Hashimoto: It is more of a restaurant or eatery that serves simple food with beer and wine as its main ingredients.
Celeina: I saw the picture of the restaurant, and there are many beer servers lined up. How many kinds of beers do you have?
Hashimoto: The servers themselves serve about 10 kinds.
Celeina: I see: I see, so at Sansa, each beer is served in a different glass.
Hashimoto: Yes, we do. We try not to be bound to a specific type of liquid. There are many different types of liquids, so we try to choose the best one that captures the characteristics and brings out the best flavor and quality of the beer.
Takano (MC): What kind of glasses do you have, thin or otherwise?
Hashimoto: In terms of thinness, most of them are thin glasses. Among thin glasses, there are some that are open.
Celeina: I see. Does that change the way the aroma comes out or the way the carbonation is released?
Hashimoto: Yes, just as you said.
Celeina: Yay, I got it right (haha). What got you hooked on beer, Mr.Hashimoto?
Hashimoto: When I was a college student, I happened to go to a beer bar and had a drink.
Celeina: What do you think is the appeal of beer?
Hashimoto: I think it’s the fact that you can make a lot of it. With wine, the amount of wine you can make is limited, so the number of people who can enjoy it is also limited, even if it is a luxury item. Beer can be made in relatively large quantities, so it can be enjoyed by a wide variety of people.
Celeina: What kind of food is served at sansa?
Hashimoto: We don’t have a specific genre of cuisine, such as Italian or French, but we receive almost 100% of our ingredients directly from producers, so our basic concept is to prepare simple dishes with the ingredients we have.
Takano: So you don’t have a fixed menu?
Hashimoto: That’s right. We try our best to create a meal that goes well with the beer.
Celeina: I’m curious about that, I heard that you have started a chamber music hall called “Hakudoku” based in sansa.
Hashimoto: About twice a month, we invite classical chamber musicians, including artists and student teams from the University of the Arts, and hold concerts.
Takano: So we enjoy classical music while drinking beer?
Hashimoto: It’s a little different. We serve drinks before, during, and after the intermission, just like in the foyer of a concert, but we don’t allow people to eat or drink so that they can listen to the music itself.
Celeina: You are very particular about this. When you hold a concert, it’s more about the concert than sales.
Hashimoto: That’s right.
Celeina: I would like to ask Mr. Hashimoto, who is particular about such music, to select one song here. What kind of song did Mr. Hashimoto choose?
Hashimoto: It is a song called “she was the sea” by an artist named Tatsuro Yokoyama, who performed in the Hakudoku. It is a song that makes you want to listen to it in nature, as if you were in nature.
