Hi, I'm Sarika!
I'm a United Nations official turned Entrepreneur, on a mission to spread joy. I know it´s an unusual career change! And yes, I really did leave my Permanent Appointment with the UN and become a Sake Fairy Godmother 🙊
💖 After a decade working on gender equality across Asia and Africa, I fell head first into Japan's liquid soul, a 2,000 year old living tradition that most of the world still doesn't know much about. That life pivot was dramatic but so worth it, and now I help other women make theirs too.
🍶 Today I've taught 11,500+ students worldwide how to understand Japan more deeply through Sake. I´m a Judge at international Sake and Wine competitions, champion women in the industry, and create joyful ways to sip, glow, and connect with Japanese culture.
✨ I'm also the founder of the award winning Sake Beauty Balm, a 100% natural, Sake infused beauty brand, awarded the European Natural Beauty Awards 2024. (Yes, Sake makes your face bright too!)
🌍 But my world is bigger than Sake. I´m a mama of 2 babies, walked 100km on the Camino de Santiago. I've lived across 14 countries and still can't pick a favourite. I secretly teach Face Yoga. I own 100 Sake cups and I will absolutely have a 3 hour conversation with a stranger if you let me!
🔥 I'm a Gen X woman who rebuilt her life in her 40s, and I'm here for every woman doing the same. The pivots, the quiet reinventions, the "wait, I can actually do this?!" moments.
🇯🇵 Forbes featured, slightly obsessed, endlessly curious.
Welcome to my world 💖
Kampai! 🥂 Love, Sarika
10 years
United Nations work
11,500+
Students worldwide
40+
Media & podcast interviews
14 countries
Lived and worked in
60+ countries
Travelled
Taught Sake to MIT · Harvard · ambassadors · royalty · Featured in:
Featured in Forbes in “How Women Sake Masters Contribute to Preserving Tradition Amid Decline,” highlighting the stories of women helping shape the future of Japan's sake industry.
Read in ForbesFrom the United Nations to Entrepreneurship
🌍 Before Sake became my mission, I spent a decade working with the United Nations on gender equality, urban poverty and sustainable development across Asia and Africa. I joined the UN through its highly competitive entrance exam, which historically has a 1-2% success rate. My postings took me to Vietnam, Kenya and Thailand, where I worked with communities, governments and international partners to create positive social change.
💖 At the time, I didn't even know what entrepreneurship was. But the values that shaped my UN career, equality, sustainability and service, eventually guided me into an entirely new chapter.
🍶 Today, I carry that same sense of purpose into my work with Japanese Sake: preserving a remarkable cultural tradition, supporting women in the industry and helping people discover Japan more deeply. Nothing is wasted!
My Accidental (!)
Sake Story
Actually, I never liked Sake! Me, Japanese to my core, happily drinking everything BUT Sake!
🍶 Growing up, I watched my grandpa drink this terrible Sake from the olden times. He's from Nagano - literally the Sake heartland, one of the largest production sites in Japan! Somehow, I thought that rough stuff was Sake.
Then, I accidentally sipped a proper Sake in Fukushima. One sip of a local brew made me realize I'd been dismissing this extraordinary part of my own culture because of grandpa's old-school choices!
💔 I dove in deep - visiting breweries, meeting craftspeople, getting certified. Then came the heartbreaking discovery: Sake consumption declining sharply in Japan. Breweries that survived 2,000 years struggling to keep their doors open.
At the same time, I was also so inspired by the women reshaping this traditionally male-dominated industry - brewers, educators, master brewers whose stories deserve to be celebrated!
🌍 That's why I teach Sake around the world now. To make it welcoming, preserve these traditions, and help you experience the real Japan through every glass. This is my mission!
My Story in Pictures
(Swipe or use the arrows)
Sarika Sake Credentials
Competition Judge
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Tokyo Whisky & Spirits Competition
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Féminalise World Wine Competition, France
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Japan Women’s Sake Awards
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Women's International Trophy
Clients
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Japan Program
- Harvard Business School - Asian American Business Association
- Polish Vodka Museum
- 11,500+ students worldwide
Sake Certifications
- SSI Official Sake & Shochu Lecturer 日本酒学講師 Master Sommelier of Sake
- Official Lecturer, Food & Beverage Organization, Japan
- Certified Sake Scholar
- Doburoku Ambassador
- Sake Pioneer, Sake Sommelier Association
- SSI Shochu Sommelier
Gallery
Thank you so much to the amazing people for the precious opportunity to share my love for Sake, Face Yoga, and the planet!
Official Bio
Sarika is a Japanese Sake Scholar, educator and United Nations official turned Forbes-featured entrepreneur, on a mission to preserve the declining 2,000-year-old craft of Sake.
Before entrepreneurship, she spent a decade working with the United Nations on gender equality, urban poverty and sustainable development in Asia and Africa, with postings to Vietnam, Kenya, and Thailand. She joined the UN through its highly competitive entrance examination after completing her Master of Science degree at the London School of Economics, UK.
Today, Sarika has taught more than 11,500 students worldwide. She is an SSI Official Sake Lecturer, Certified Master Sake Sommelier, Sake competition judge and offiicial Doburoku Ambassador. Her collaborations have included the MIT Japan Program, Harvard Business School's Asian American Business Association and the Polish Vodka Museum.
She is also the founder of the Sake Beauty Balm, winner of the European Natural Beauty Awards 2024. Having lived and worked in 14 countries and travelled to more than 60, Sarika brings a distinctly global perspective to Japanese culture, and soulful entrepreneurship.
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Values:
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