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Chris Johnson

Chris Johnson fell in love with saké – and the culture and history that surround it – during the three years he spent living and working in the Japanese countryside.

Since returning to New York in 1996, he has immersed himself in the study of saké and the restaurant business, starting as a prep cook at Katsu-Hama, a casual midtown Japanese restaurant. Through the years, he has held positions with some of America’s best restaurants including Balthazar, Bond Street, Bond Street Miami,Town, and Thom and Above 60 at the Thompson Hotel. In 2002 he and business partner Chris Andrews opened a modern Vietnamese restaurant, Bao 111, followed by Bao Noodles, focused on regional Vietnamese home cooking in 2003.

Chris specializes in thought provoking saké-and-food pairing experiences that are approachable, yet rival the most serious wine and cocktail lists in the business. By combining his reverence for traditional Japanese flavors with a touch of Western ingenuity, he aspires to elevate saké beyond the confines of the traditional Japanese restaurant, and onto an international platform.

Chris is a saké sommelier certified by the Sake Service Institute, a member of the board of directors for Joy of Sake, and has served as a senior judge for the U.S. National Sake Appraisal since 2000.

In 2000, he was invited to participate in the first International Kikisake Competition, a prestigious saké sommelier competition in Tokyo, Japan, where he placed third out of 160 competitors, most of whom were Japanese. In 2007, he was asked to nominate and coordinate the selection of American competitors, and served as a judge for the second International Kikisake Competition.

He travels worldwide speaking about saké, and has been featured in a number of national publications including The New York Times, Wine Enthusiast Magazine, Cosmopolitan Magazine, New York Magazine and BlackBook, as well as Japanese publications such as Kateigaho, Anan and Erio.

Toshi Koizumi


Owner of Wasan, Sommelier Society of Wine, American Wine Association Member Koizumi always liked the atmosphere at a restaurant. He started out as a busboy, then ran up the ladder quickly, as he was promoted to a runner, a waiter, a captain, a bartender, and then a manager, all while learning the business of running a restaurant. As he discovered his love for good wine and good sake, he started visiting wineries and sake breweries until in 2003, when he became a finalist at World Sake Competition in the New York region. Now Koizumi is the owner of Wasan Japanese restaurant in the East Village. Since Koizumi became a finalist at World Sake Competition in the New York region in 2003 and has held several sake seminars. His seminars range from beginners to professionals, as well as for those in the restaurant business. He also rekindled his love for wine, receiving certification from Sommelier Society of Wine in 2008 and became a member of American Wine Association in 2010.

Chizuko Niikawa-Helton


President (Sake Discoveries, LLC), Certified Sake Sommelier (Sake Service Institute (SSI)), Board Member (SSI International), 2012 Sake Samurai (Japan Sake Brewers Association) 
Despite a successful career as a fashion designer in Tokyo, with a sake sommelier certification in hand, Chizuko Niikawa-Helton embarked upon a new life in sake in New York City. Working from the ground up, her aptitude for sales and popularity with customers helped her to become New York's top female sake sommelier. During her four-year tenure at Sakagura, New York City's preeminent sake restaurant, Chizuko cultivated a selection of over 300 different sake labels, a collection rarely achieved even in Japan. In 2008, Chizuko founded her own consulting company, Sake Discoveries, LLC. She has served as a judge for the U.S. National Sake Appraisal and in 2012, was awarded the prestigious title of Sake Samurai by the Japan Sake Brewers Association.

Timothy Sullivan

2006 Founder, UrbanSake.com, 2007 Sake Samurai (Japan Sake Brewers Association), 2012 Certified Sake Advisor (Sake School of America/SSI) Timothy Sullivan is proud to be a "Sake Samurai". The Japan Sake Brewer’s Association awarded him the title in 2007, in recognition of his efforts to promote sake outside of Japan. Now a sake teacher, consultant and writer, Sullivan began his career in the sake world by founding the first US blog devoted exclusively to all things sake: UrbanSake.com. What began as a labor of love is now a major online resource for sake information and education in the United States. Timothy is excited to share is his love of Nihonshu with anyone who is thirsting for knowledge about Japan's national drink. Kanpai!

Keita Akaboshi

Kuramoto USA

Hiromi Iuchi

Kuramoto USA