Nokanro, a Long-awaited Item for Sake Lovers, Finally Commercialized

I am pleased to report readers of my blog that Nokanro, a commercialized product that has the same functionality as that of what is called kandouko, which I several times wrote about in past posts of this blog.

Sake lovers sometimes drink their sake warm. Actually, some types of sake are very nice when they are warmed. However, to enjoy warmed sake, it is very important that you warm your sake in a proper way to a proper temperature.

A microwave oven is a useful device for warming sake. However, it tends to happen that sake is warmed unevenly; some part of the sake becomes hot, and some part remains still cold.

An alternative to the microwave oven is to place a flask containing sake in hot water and leave it until the sake becomes hot. You put some water in the pan, place the pan on a gas stove, place the flask containing sake in the water in the pan, and then wait for the sake to become warm.

Otherwise, you can use a dedicated sake warmer. There are various types of sake warmer products. You can execute Google image search with the keywords "sake warmer" to view different sake warmers. Some products use electricity to warm sake, and some are designed to be used on a gas stove. There are those that are just containers made of thermal material to contain hot water; sake flasks are just placed in them and left until the sake becomes warm.

Among these various sake warmer types, there is one that uses charcoal fire. A sake warmer of this type is called kandouko (or nokanro).

The figure below shows the structure of the kandouko, which is a gadget usually made of copper, and is basically a water tank with an embedded brazier. As shown in the figure, the gadget holds some amount of water, warms the water with heat of charcoal fire burning in the brazier. Since the kandouko is not so large, you can use it on a table, where you drink sake.

You place a flask of sake in the heated water in the tank, to warm your sake. While you wait for your sake to become warm, you can cook some foods such as dried fish on the grill placed over the charcoal fire. So, the bottom line is, amazingly, the kandouko serves as not only a sake warmer but also a small tabletop cooker!

The microwave oven is handy, but you need to leave the table every time you make a helping of sake. The same thing can be said to using a pan containing water on a gas stove. Using a tabletop device like a kandouko eliminates the need to leave the table for helpings. Moreover, cooking some foods on a kandouko adds to pleasure of sake drinking.

The kandouko is not so large and heavy, so you can bring it to a deck or porch, or outdoors. You can enjoy sake with the kandouko when you go out for camping, fishing, or just relaxing in the nature.

Having read the above, if you are a great sake fan, you may have become wanting to own a kandouko. Kandoukos are sold in antique shops or in net auctions, and I have actually purchased some of them in net auctions. I think it was difficult for people living outside Japan to purchase one (these items are usually not exported). However, a new company named Jipang Works has lately been established and started selling a product named "Nokanro,"the very revival of kandouko.

The following is the link of the site of this product.

http://www.nokanro.com/

Before this product appeared in the market, brand-new kandoukos were hardly sold (I know there was one shop selling brand-new kandoukos but the price was far from affordable), and the only practical choice to own a kandouko was to make a successful bid in a net auction or find and buy one in an antique shop.

Now that Jipang Works started selling its Nokanro, it has become easier to own a kandouko because you can buy the Nokanro. The Nokanro is sold at a price of 31,000 yen (including 8% consumption tax). The product includes the main unit, a net grill, a lid for extinguishing charcoal fire, and a fire grate to be placed in the brazier.

If you live in Japan and you buy a kandouko in a net auction, you will pay 5,000 to 20 thousand yen or more for it. So, an antique item is still less expensive than a brand-new Nokanro, However, the new Nokanro looks beautiful and robust.

Lately, sake is gaining in popularity in markets outside Japan. Sake is a beverage that can be enjoyed at various temperatures, and some of the sake fans in foreign countries have noticed this fact and have found pleasure in drinking their sake cold, at a room temperature, lukewarm, warm, or hot, as they like. The more people recognize diverse pleasure of sake, the more people may want to enjoy sake in various ways and styles, including by using a gadget like the Nokanro. So, there must be a growing market of sake warmer like the Nokanro. Actually, when I posted a blog article about the kandouko before, a reader of my blog, inspired by my post, created a handmade kandouko and he wrote about his kandouko in his blog post. Very interesting. I think there must be some people overseas who are willing to buy a Nokanro, and I hope this Nokanro will sell well among not only people in Japan but also those outside the country.