The Prosciutto Bar That Needed to Hide!?
Published: November 2, 2026
※Prices are subject to change from those in effect at the time of the interview. Please contact the store directly for the latest information.
A hideaway in a back alley.
A shop that fits that description perfectly has appeared in Kameido.
It’s “Wine and Kanzake Ombra.”
Why Kanzake (Warmed Sake)?
Helped along by wine booms too numerous to count, shops that serve wine are by no means rare these days. The same goes for Japanese sake.
Even so, the owner deliberately put “wine” in the shop’s name, and then went out of his way to add “warmed” sake. It seems there are extraordinary feelings behind it…
It’s All for the Sake of Delicious Prosciutto
The man who opened this shop in March 2017 is Mr. Anzai, whose trademark is his hunting cap.
“I love cured ham. Things like prosciutto became popular, and more places in Japan started serving cured ham. But the depth of cured ham is endless.
In Italy, there are many cured hams made without compromise, from the choice of meat and cut to the environment, the production process, and the aging period.
Hams made with such care are, of course, delicious.
I opened this shop because I wanted people to enjoy that kind of authentic cured ham.”
Carefully Made Things Resonating with One Another?
▲Cured hams that are rarely found even in Tokyo. From the top, clockwise: prosciutto, coppa, and salami.
Mr. Anzai travels all the way to Italy, examines the cured hams carefully, and stocks them in his shop.
What he pairs with these carefully selected hams is none other than natural wine.
In other words, wine in its natural form.
Grapes that grew on their own mature inside a bag and turn into alcohol… These are wines made according to that principle.
Because so much is left up to nature, production takes a lot of effort and, naturally, quantities are limited.
And once you taste it, you realize that natural wine is something different from ordinary wine.
“I feel uncomfortable about going out of my way to attach the word ‘natural.’
This is what wine originally is.
This is a white wine, but it isn’t white, is it? It doesn’t become transparent.
Well, setting the complicated stuff aside, all the wines we have ready go well with cured ham.
I think you’ll be surprised at how the cured ham, with its umami and saltiness, and the wine, with its acidity and umami, become one in your mouth.”
▲The wine Mr. Anzai recommended on this day was the natural wine “Radikon,” which has no added antioxidants and is aged for a long time in barrels and bottles.
The Other Pillar: Why Kanzake?
Mr. Anzai, who chooses wine, and natural wine at that, also pairs cured ham with kanzake.
▲Taketsuru Shuzo’s Omachi Junmai 26BY (¥650). At a time when light-bodied sake is all the rage, this is a sake in which you can taste the umami and mellowness of the rice.
“It may seem surprising, but please try enjoying cured ham and kanzake together.
The kanzake warms your mouth.
Then, when you put the cured ham in your mouth, the fat melts gently.
The sweetness of the high-quality fat spreads, and you should be able to enjoy a rich flavor unlike anything before.”
Savor the Time Along with Delicious Food
What you can enjoy at Ombra includes, for example, cured ham aged for 24 months, wine made from grapes harvested from 100-year-old vines, and sake lovingly raised by master brewers (toji).
The shop is located in an alley one street off the shopping street along the approach to Kameido Katori Shrine.
It’s a location that even people who know Kameido would find hard to give directions to.
But precisely because it’s a place removed from this hustle and bustle, there are things you can notice.
Good things are created only by putting in the effort.
Why not enjoy a rich flow of time together with cured ham, natural wine, and kanzake, things you can rarely come across?
※Information is based on November 2026. Prices, operating hours, and other details may change. Please verify with the class directly.
※All amounts mentioned in the article are inclusive of taxes.
