About Us
Our Philosophy
Our mission at SakeStory is simple: we are dedicated to building awareness and appreciation for the magical beverages of Japanese Sake and Shochu. We draw inspiration from our brewers as well as distillers, and their accomplishments over multiple generations. We believe it is critical that local, family-owned producers of artisan Sake as well as craft Honkaku-Shochu continue to hold a central place in the hearts, minds, and soul of Japan. We are committed to spreading the stories of our centuries-old producers and their families with the US market.
The Team
Toshi Kojima
Toshi Kojima is the founder and current President of SakeStory Imports. Toshi was born in Chiba Prefecture on the outskirts of Tokyo, but spent most of his youth outside of Japan in SE Asia and various regions of the United States. He completely fell in love with the mystique of Sake during his college years in Japan, when visiting his maternal grandparents who were former Sake Rice farmers. Several years after returning to the United States Toshi founded SakeStory Imports, focusing his portfolio on very traditional, centuries old, small family owned Sake Breweries from remote regions of Japan. For Toshi, Sake is not only his passion, but also a part of his life’s work to become a cultural bridge between Japan and the United States, the two countries he loves so much.
Founder & President
Eastern US Sales Manager
Chris Griese
Working as a fine wine distributor for twenty-five years, Chris Griese found his sake roots in 2006 when sake first caught his attention. Unaware that sake would become his proverbial fork-in-the-road, he took it; his love of travel, people, food, and wine had prepared him for a new journey which segued neatly into exploring sake culture.
Today, after many trips to Japan, first-hand brewing experience, formal studies, and generous coaching from brewery owners, Toji, importers, distributors, friends, and other pilgrims on the sake road, Chris finds himself at Sake Story….the place where the fork-in-the-road had always been leading him.
Certifications:
WSET Sake III
Sake Professional I, II
Sake Scholar
Moto-I Kurabito
Western US Sales Manager
Yukie Manfred
Yukie Manfred was born and raised in Kobe, Hyogo, a Japanese region famous for sake and sake rice. Her initial curiosity for sake was fueled by her grandfather, Isamu, who owned a long-established udon restaurant, and as a result was a sake connoisseur himself - inspiring Yukie’s career path.
Yukie spent the majority of her hospitality career working in restaurant operations; most notably at Sakagura restaurant in New York. During her time at Sakagura, Yukie explored her passion for sake which led her down the path to uncover everything she could about sake, the different rice grains, varying yeast strains, water sources, etc., and how each of these components affect the flavor and mouthfeel of the sake. Yukie continued her sake knowledge journey while working at world-renown restaurants in Las Vegas and the Bay Area. Eventually, Yukie opted to explore the sales side of the business, joining the SakeStory team in 2023.
Her most ambitious goal is to get the NFL fans and crowds to enjoy sake during football game days.
