☙  TEXTBOOK  ❧

• Textbook will be promptly shipped out to you after purchase is confirmed, please provide the correct shipping address during checkout.

Concepts & Chapters

The J.S.A. SAKE DIPLOMA Textbook ＜Fourth Edition＞ provides ample and detailed information on how raw materials, production processes, history, regionality, and more can affect how sake and shochu are made and the final outcome. This text also covers how to taste and evaluate sake.

• Chapter 1: What is Sake?
  • Definition & Types, History, Rice, Water
    • Legal definitions, Labeling, Shuzokotekimai, Polishing, Rice Varieties, etc.

• Chapter 2: Different Types of Sake and Their Production Process
  • How to Make Sake, Characteristics of Sake from Various Brewing Techniques, Different Types of Yeast and their Characteristics, Special Sake
    • Production Process, Shubo/Moto Styles, Yeast Characteristics/History, Sparkling Sake, Aged Sake, etc.

• Chapter 3: Main Production Areas
  • Who is the Toji, Aomori, Miyagi, Akita, Yamagata, Fukushima, Tochigi, Nagano, Niigata, Toyama, Ishikawa, Shizuoka, Aichi, Kyoto, Hyogo, Nara, Okayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Kochi, Fukuoka
    •  Geography & Climate, Historical Significance w/ Sake, Sake Production and Quality, etc.

• Chapter 4: Tasting Sake
  • Appearance, Nose, Palate, Conclusion
    • The structure of the tasting process, such as Appearance, Nose, Palate, and Conclusion, are applied to sake tasting. The principles behind the storage, selection, and service of shochu

• Chapter 5: Service of Sake
  • Drinking Temperatures, Sake Drinking Ware, Sake Servers, How to Preserve Sake

• Chapter 6: Sake and Food Pairing
  • Basic Principles, Sake and Japanese Dishes, Sake and Dishes from Around the World
    • Pairing ideas (Japanese and cuisines of the world) are suggested by Shinya Tasaki (president of J.S.A. and A.S.I. Best Sommelier of the World 1995).

• Chapter 7: Shochu
  • What is Shochu, How to Make Shochu, History, Types of Shochu, Shochu Labeling Rules

• Chapter 8: Shochu/Awamori and Food Pairing
  • Shochu/Awamori and Food Pairing
    • Pairing ideas (Japanese and cuisines of the world) are suggested by Shinya Tasaki (president of J.S.A. and A.S.I. Best Sommelier of the World 1995).

 

☙  EXAM  ❧

Exam Locations

Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles Mutual Trading
4200 Shirley Avenue, El Monte, CA 91731
(213) 830-9557

Secaucus, NJ

New York Mutual Trading

77 Metro Way, Secaucus, NJ 07094

Exam Date and Times

Tasting Exam will include 4 Sake and 2 Shochu or Awamori.

Questions for the exam are mainly taken out of the English version of the J.S.A. SAKE DIPLOMA Textbook ＜FOURTH Edition＞ published in May 2025.

Questions and answers are all in English.

Prerequisites

• Candidates MUST successfully have completed either International Kikisake-shi (Sake Sommelier) or WSET Level 3 in Sake in order to register for this exam. If you do not have either of those certifications, please email info@sakeschoolofamerica.com to inquire.

Important Notice

• EXAM MUST BE TAKEN IN PERSON
• You must be age 21 or over to register for the exam.
• Please bring photo ID and registration confirmation on the day of the exam.
• EXAM Registration will close when the exam reaches capacity or the registration deadline (Sept. 25, 2026) has passed.
• Please arrange for your accommodations and transportation ahead of time.
• There is no time limit on retaking the exams, however you are allowed ONLY up to 3 additional attempts to retake the failed section AFTER the date of your initial examination.

☙  JSA Boot Camp  ❧

Note: This class requires a minimum of 10 students signed up to be held. If we do not reach the minimum number of students, the Boot Camp will be canceled and students will be refunded.

Students should have intermediate knowledge of sake and sake production going into the Boot Camp. We recommend that you have passed WSET L3 Sake or International Kikisake-shi (Sake Sommelier) before taking this class. We will teach under the assumption of intermediate sake knowledge.

This will be an intensive ONLINE course. We will focus on the most important information covered by the textbook, exam, and tasting. This is a condensed course different from our previous JSA courses. We will spend most of the time covering test-taking strategies, difficult-to-understand concepts covered by the textbook, and what to expect on the exam.

• This course includes course access & tasting samples (USA residents ONLY).
• This course DOES NOT include the textbook and exam registration. Please add those to your purchase separately.

Our syllabus and more schedule will be sent to registered students before the course.

Classes will be recorded and available to students up to their exam date. After the exam, the videos will no longer be available.

Additional self-study time and assignments should be taken into consideration.

Boot Camp Location

ONLINE via Zoom (Link sent out prior to course start)

Dates and Times

Our Boot Camp has 9 sessions in total.

Dates: July 13 – October 5, 2026

Time: 9:00am-12:00pm PT | 12:00pm-3:00pm ET (please adjust accordingly for your own time zone)

We will meet Mondays and Wednesdays, at the time specified above.

PROJECTED SCHEDULE

Important Notice

• You must be age 21 or over to register
• Registration will close when the course reaches capacity or the registration deadline June 19, 2026 (5:00 pm PT) has passed.
• This class requires a minimum of 10 students signed up to be held. If we do not reach the minimum number of students, the Boot Camp will be canceled and students will be refunded.
• If you are outside of the Metropolitan Los Angeles area, sake/shochu tasting can be shipped to you. After your registration is completed, be sure to contact Sake School of America administration to arrange your tasting sample delivery (USA ONLY).
• If the student has decided to cancel their registration before tasting samples are shipped, a full refund will be issued. Though, if students have decided to cancel their registrations after the tasting samples have been shipped, no refunds will be issued. The course fee however, will be honored towards future classes.

Instructor: Atsuko Glick

Master Sake Sommelier, Sake Service Institute
JSA Sake Diploma, Japan Sommelier Association
Shochu Sommelier, Sake Service Institute
Certified Sake Quality Appraiser
Certified Sake Educator Level 3, Wine & Spirit Education Trust
Certified WSET L1 Award in Spirits, Wine & Spirit Education Trust
Certified WSET L2 Award in Wine, Wine & Spirit Education Trust
International Sake Lecturer, Sake Service Institute International
International Sake Sommelier, Sake Service Institute International
Sake Adviser, Sake School of America
Shochu Adviser, Sake School of America
Certified Sake Professional, Sake Education Council
Beverage Specialist Certificate, Society of Wine Educators

Atsuko Glick is a Japanese native who found herself in California teaching others how to bake bread and brew kombucha. Her love for fermentation led her to the world of alcohol. She enjoys every single step of the fermentation process. Being able to see one thing transform into another is a truly magical thing to Atsuko. Having worked in travel industry, Atsuko learned to make the impossible possible just like the magic of fermentation.

Instructor: Sara Guterbock

CBS, ISS, ASP, CS, CWE, DipWSET, JSA Sake Diploma
Certified Sake Educator Level 3, Wine & Spirit Education Trust 
Advanced Sake Professional, Sake Education Council
International Sake Lecturer, Sake Service Institute International
International Sake Sommelier (Kikisake-shi), Sake Service Institute International  Sake Adviser, Sake Service Institute
Shochu Adviser, Sake School of America

Sara spent a year living in Japan as a high school student and grew up in a family that placed great emphasis on learning and experiencing the Japanese language and culture.  Becoming proficient in Sake has brought together Sara’s passion for the beverage industry with her life-long love of Japan, its people, traditions, and cuisine.

Sara devotes a tremendous amount of energy introducing people to the complexities and beauties of Sake and its unmatched ability to pair with food.  She has developed a growing portfolio of 135 sakes, the largest in North Carolina, which she helps to distribute, market, and educate about throughout the state and beyond.

Instructor: Masae Kusada

JSA Sake Diploma, Japan Sommelier Association
Certified WSET L1 and L3 Award in Sake Educator, Wine & Spirit Education Trust
International Kikisake-shi, Sake Service Institute International
Sake Adviser, Sake School of America, Sake Service Institute
Shochu Adviser, Sake School of America, Sake Service Institute

Masae was born in Japan but raised in New Jersey. Her hospitality experience started in restaurant accounting, eventually moving into the wine world by managing a wine bar and then spending 6 years at a small wine importing company in NYC. A Jersey girl at heart, she has spent the last few years getting in touch with her Japanese roots through the medium of sake, shochu, and Japanese spirits. Working with Sake School of America and New York Mutual Trading has allowed her to explore the history and traditions of her motherland all while practicing her (very heavily Kansai accented) Japanese language skills.

Instructor: Rachel Io Fiekowsky

JSA Sake Diploma, Japan Sommelier Association
Certified Sake Educator Level 3, Wine & Spirit Education Trust
International Sake Sommelier (Kikisake-shi), Sake Service Institute International
Advanced Sake Professional, Sake Education Council
Sake Adviser, Sake Service Institute
Shochu Adviser, Sake School of America

Rachel Io Fiekowsky is a New Jersey native originally coming from a background studying medical sciences. She fell in love with Japan at an early age and was determined to learn Japanese, so she did so while working on the side in restaurants between biology courses. Her curious nature, a love of Sake and Shochu, and a deep appreciation for Japan’s culture and cuisine earned her a place at New York Mutual Trading as a Japanese Beverage Specialist. She has been with the company since 2012.

Rachel spends each day looking for new ways to share her passion with the world, and consults regularly with all sorts – producers, distributors, small businesses and consumers – on the most fun and interesting ways to experience Japan in every glass.