Dassai Instrumentality Project is a team-up between one of Japan’s favorite anime franchises and one of its best sake makers.
As a work of science fiction, a lot of the settings of Evangelion don’t really exist. For example, Tokyo-3 hasn’t been built yet, and the oceans of Japan haven’t turned blood-red.
However, right now there’s a recreation of one frequently seen Eva location that you can visit in the real world: Misato’s apartment. Specifically, it’s Misato’s dining room that now exists, thanks to something called the Dassai Instrumentality Project, a tie-up between the Evangelion franchise and sake brand Dassai.
Dassai’s name in kanji, 獺祭, can be seen on the labels of the bottles behind Misato when we see her in her in-anime apartment’s dining space. This wasn’t product placement, as Dassai wasn’t a sponsor of the series, and since the brand wasn’t particularly well-known at the time, the background salute didn’t register with many viewers. As the years went by, though, Dassai become more and more popular in Japan for its balanced, refreshing flavor, and as Eva also grew in mainstream popularity, fans of the anime rewatching the series noticed which sake Misato is a fan of.
So to jointly celebrate their success, the Dassai Store in Tokyo’s Ginza neighborhood has recreated Misato’s dining room.
In addition to numerous Dassai bottles (empty, of course, because it’s not like sake is going to go undrunk in Misato’s home), the table also has cans of Ebisu Beer and UCC Milk Coffee, two other beverages frequently guzzled at Misato’s anime home. In addition to inviting fans to come in and take pictures, the Dassai Store also says that visitors are welcome to sit at the table and pose as they snap commemorative photos.
▼ The store is also currently decorated with AT fields and notifications written in the distinctive Evangelion font.
The Dassai Instrumentality Project is scheduled to run until July 31. And for those looking to enjoy the sake’s taste without the alcohol, keep your fingers crossed that the non-alcoholic Dassai milkshake makes a return.
Shop information
Dassai Store (Ginza branch) / 獺祭ストア（銀座店）
Address: Tokyo-to, Chuo-ku, Ginza 5-1-2, Ginza Miss Paris 1st floor
東京都中央区銀座五丁目10番2号 Ginza Miss Paris1階
Open 11 a.m.-6 .m.
Website
Source: Asahi Shuzo via Otakomu
Images: Asahi Shuzo
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