Bar/fly: Owl, Sapporo

Owl, open from 8pm-2am, is opposite Nijo Fish Market in central Sapporo. Illustration / Rod Emmerson

In Northern Japan, Kelly Lynch sips crisp chilled sake from tiny tin cups in an izakaya.

Like its namesake, it's camouflaged and sleeping by day; once the surrounding shops close and all is quiet and dark, the Owl bar ruffles its feathers and opens for business.

Upstairs in a room the size of a cosy lounge, a long wooden bar with a glossy finish splits the room in two. Above, bare light bulbs hang down, illuminating owl memorabilia and dried hydrangeas. A group of locals chat at one end and background guitar music sets a relaxed scene. We take a seat at the bar.

We're at Owl in Sapporo, to try Japan's national drink, commonly known to the world as sake (rice wine, made from fermented rice). It turns out most alcoholic drinks in Japan are called sake and bars in general are called sake bars. What we are really after is a bar that specialises in nihonshu served in an izakaya.

To make it more confusing, Japanese liquor laws state sake bottles are to be labelled seishu - meaning clear liquid.

Sapporo, home to almost two million, is the hub of Hokkaido, Japan's northern island. We walked the city's footpaths, at times past walls of packed snow, bracing ourselves against a bitter wind while scouring for izakayas. Then we got smarter and headed underground to an extensive walkway lined with shops until exiting at the Sapporo TV tower.

We opt for Kinteki sake, brewed further north in Shintotsukawa town. Poured from a 1.8-litre bottle, its label is painted in large brush strokes. Appearing deceptively like clear water, our sake is served in a chilled teardrop-shaped vessel crafted from tin, the metal aiding the mellow flavour; a traditional measure of nihonshu is just over half a cup.

It can be served at room temperature; warm, piping hot, cold or, like ours, well chilled.

Drinking from tin cups that were barely larger than thimbles, it has demure fragrance, its flavour hits all my senses in a sharp shock; light, dry and like firewater. My synapses ignite and it doesn't take long for the 15 per cent alcohol content to take effect.

Brewed during the winter months from November to March, the tipple's ingredients are few: rice (larger and starchier than table rice), water, yeast and koji - a benign mould that helps convert starch into fermentable sugars.

The finished product is about 80 per cent water, meaning the water has to be as pure as possible. Traditionally, brewers have always located themselves near excellent natural water sources like mountains and pure deep wells. The water's minerals combine, giving taste as well as texture.

Fire in our bellies, our eyes as wide as any nocturnal bird after dark, we're ready to brave the cold again. Sapporo specialises in abundant fresh seafood and it doesn't take long to find a multitude of restaurants offering just that.

CHECKLIST

Getting there: Air New Zealand flies daily from Auckland to Tokyo. Local carriers continue to Sapporo.

Details: Owl, open from 8pm-2am, is opposite Nijo Fish Market in central Sapporo.