As I mentioned in the previous post, Kagoshima is known for its rich local ingredients and its shochu.
There are many shochu bars here, and this one – Shochu Bar ROKU – is one of my favorites.
It’s located in Tenmonkan, along Nikanbashi-dori.
The first kanji in Kagoshima means “deer,” pronounced roku in Japanese.
And when you drink shochu, there are a few ways to have it — roku, mizuwari, sodawari, and so on.
The word roku here comes from the Japanese pronunciation of “on the rocks.”
So, the name “ROKU” refers both to Kagoshima itself and to a way of drinking shochu.
A clever name, isn’t it?
There’s another thing that makes this place special:
the manager is American.
Her name is Maya Aley, and she’s listed as “chief” on her business card.
Thanks to her, English works perfectly fine here.
Of course, many shochu bars can handle some simple English because they get tourists.
But here, there’s an actual native speaker behind the counter.
That’s why many English-speaking foreigners visit this bar.
Even Korean travelers who aren’t comfortable with Japanese can get detailed explanations about shochu in English here.
This might sound like a small detail, but ROKU’s back bar is almost free of isshobin — the large 1.8-liter bottles you usually see in shochu bars.
Typically, those big bottles fill up the shelves behind the counter,
because shochu is more economical that way.
But here, you hardly see them.
(Though I think they keep some hidden on the lower shelves.)
This difference gives ROKU’s back bar a very distinct feel.
With its cozy, clean interior and rows of smaller bottles,
the atmosphere feels more like a whisky bar than a traditional shochu bar.
During this trip, every time I passed by ROKU, it was packed.
I finally managed to visit once, late at night, just for a quick drink.
At least I wanted to say hello.
Seiten Sakurajima is a summer-only version of Sakurajima shochu,
made to be lighter and more refreshing.
It’s from the same family as Arawaza Sakurajima,
which I enjoyed very much before.
So I’m sure it was a good one, too –
though honestly, I was already a bit drunk,
so I can’t quite recall the flavor or aroma clearly.
I finished one glass of soda-wari, said goodbye to the bartender and the master,
and headed back to the hotel.
Next time I visit Kagoshima, I’ll make sure to come back and drink properly.
By the way, Shochu Bar ROKU is a sister bar of Shochu Bar ISHIZUE,
which I’ll introduce later.
They share the same owner, so the food menu is identical.
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