A Japanese Vodka Festival Is Taking Place At One Of Our Favourite Inner-City Restaurants

Tanabata, or the “Star Festival”, comes from its ancient legend, where two starcrossed lovers of Orihime and Hikoboshi were banished on the opposite sides of the Milky Way and can only meet once a year on the seventh day of the seventh month. Thus the name Tanabata was created, meaning, “evening of the seventh”.

Today, the modern day Tanabata involves endless family and friends gatherings over a series of colourful drinks, banquets, and delightful eats— and now this experience is available for you to enjoy too. 

MASU will be festooned with Japanese wishing trees— bamboo trees with long, thin paper strips of written guests’ wishes attached; fukinagashi streamers, and ambient, glittering lighting to elevate the experience. Of course, MASU’s culinary perfections accompanies the experience under this night of stars, featuring award-winning mixologist, Akira Ohki, who will be creating exquisite Tanabata Haku fruity vodka concoctions.

Haku, or “white” vodka, is extracted from Hakumai rice and purified through bamboo charcoal, delivering a distinctively pure and clean palette. These will be exclusively available throughout the Tanabata festival period.

Nic Watt, MASU’s founder and executive chef, has spent a number of culinary years living and training in Japan. Bringing this Tanabata experience to New Zealand grounds is uniquely exciting as it’s entertaining within MASU’s open kitchen, showcasing fresh and seasonal ingredients that closely aligns with Japanese values.

MASU is also giving away a potential trip for two to Japan, with six nights of accommodation and a visit to Suntory Distillery (worth $9500). So it really is an experience not to be missed.

MASU Tanabata Experience runs from July 1st ~ August 12th, 2022, and you can book in right here.