Norihiko was born in Hyogo Prefecture, the largest producer of sake.
His uncle is also a producer of Yamada Nishiki in Miki City, Hyogo Prefecture.
Norihiko fell in love with wine whilst he was a university student and aspired to become a sommelier. He earned his sommelier qualification at 25 and has since worked as a sommelier at high-end Michelin-starred restaurants in Japan and Singapore. While working as a sommelier in Singapore, Norihiko realised that he wanted to work to spread his home country’s alcoholic beverages, such as sake and shochu, to the world; so in September 2019 Norihiko started Hikoemon, a company that imports and sells premium sake and shochu in Poland. It was established and continues to be the leader in the Polish sake industry.

HIKO SAKE is a business that imports and wholesales premium Japanese alcohol, operated by Mr. Sakamoto in Poland. Currently, we also operate a Japanese food store called “Sakamotoya,” which also imports and sells high-quality Japanese ingredients. In addition, we hold workshops specializing in Japanese culture, such as Japanese food, sake, and flower arranging, at the annex of Sakamotoya called “Hanare.” We are carrying out activities to fully convey and popularise Japanese culture in Poland.