Ugo no Tsuki (A Nigori Plum Sake that melts even the heart)

While preparing dinner,
I found myself craving something just a little sweet.
What caught my eye was the bottle of Ugo no Tsuki—
a cloudy plum sake I picked up earlier this year
at a small sake shop during my visit to Miyajima, Hiroshima.

I wasn’t in the mood for snacks before dinner,
so instead, I quietly poured myself a solitary aperitif.

Since it’s nigori sake, I gave it a gentle shake before pouring.

The richness of crushed plum flesh.
Unfiltered, dense—and yet somehow clear and clean in its sweetness.
Undeniably, unmistakably real ume.

This umeshu is crafted by Aihara Shuzō,
a renowned ginjō brewery in Hiroshima known for their philosophy:
to only make sake they themselves find delicious.
Hand-picked Nanko plums, steeped in their dry junmai sake,
patiently brewed with care.

And yes—
you can taste that care in every sip.

As I savored it, a gentle memory from childhood surfaced.
That time I mistook a sugared plum for candy and ate it.

Of course, it wasn’t anything like this fine sake—
no premium ume, no junmai infusion.
Just a little girl making a funny mistake.

My face turned bright red, and I giggled.
Seeing me like that,
my grandmother and mother rushed over, concerned.
“Are you okay? Do you have a fever?”
I still remember the warmth of that moment.

The memory was bittersweet—gentle and soft,
and I felt my heart and body quietly loosen.

And then, from somewhere deep within,
came a whisper:
“I want to return to what’s real.”