Japan makes more wine than it can reasonably drink, in more styles than any single guide can carry. This almanac is our reading of it. 9 regions, ranked the way we'd visit them; the houses our critics keep returning to; and a short list of restaurants where we'd spend the evening.
Japan
Japan
9
430
734
The country, in numbers and adjectives.
The terroirs, by hand.
8 regions worth the trip first — chosen by the Femente desk for the houses we’d open with, the variety of styles within each, and the cooking that grew up around them.
Yamanashi-ken
The basin floor and volcanic slopes around Kofu yield white wines of surprising mineral precision—a counterpoint to Japan's reputation…
Nagano-ken
Nagano's cool elevation and short growing season force winemakers to choose: ripe the grapes fully and risk frost, or harvest early and…
Hokkaidō-ken
Hokkaidō's cool northern climate forces wines toward bright acidity and delicate structure—whites that snap with green-apple precision,…
Wine of Japan
Japanese winemakers chase precision over power—wines of mineral clarity and restrained alcohol that let vineyard character speak louder…
Yamagata-Ken
Yamagata sits where Japan's cool continental reach meets vine ambition, pulling mineral precision from volcanic soils and testing what…
Osaka
I appreciate the assignment, but I need to flag a constraint: Osaka is not a wine region. Japan has established wine regions (Yamanashi,…
Tokushima
1 estates working under the regional appellation.
Okayama
Okayama's winemakers chase brightness across the spectrum—crisp whites and precise sparkling wines share shelf space with delicate rosés…
The country’s house grammar.
The 8 styles Japan makes most of, ranked by bottle count on Femente. The bar beneath each cell shows that style’s share of japan’s production.
879
Japanese Red — the country’s most numerous bottle.
623
492
358
301
246
197
158
The houses that keep showing up.
9 Japan estates the prestige critics have agreed on — ordered by the count of 95+ scores across Vinous, Decanter, Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator.
Where to spend the evening.
12 rooms across Japan our editors keep coming back to — chosen for the cooking and the wine list, in that order.
一子相伝なかむら
Grill · Japanese Fusion · Traditional — Kyoto
100
明寂-Myoujyaku
Sushi · Grill · Creative — Tokyo
100
茶禅華 sazenka
Street Food · Japanese Fusion · Modern — Tokyo
100
SÉZANNE (セザン)
French Style — Tokyo
100
L’OSIER
French Style · Traditional — Tokyo
100
L'Effervescence (レフェルヴェソンス)
Grill · French Style · Modern — Tokyo
100
美山荘 Miyamasou
Japanese Fusion · Traditional — Kyoto
96
Michihiro Haruta
Japanese Fusion — Tokyo
96
凌霄 Ryo-sho
Traditional · Japanese Fusion — 京都市
96
弧柳
Modern · Japanese Fusion — Osaka
96
祇園にしかわ
Sushi · Japanese Fusion · Traditional — Kyoto
96
高台寺 十牛庵
Traditional · Japanese Fusion — Kyoto
96
Add Japan to your cellar journal — or pick a region and start walking.
A short note in your inbox when we add a new region, find a winery worth crossing town for, or open a tasting we’d send you to. No noise. Just the ones we’d book ourselves.