Tokyo Sunrise or Violet Saki? The toughest choice you have to make at the EPCOT Japan pavilion
By Brian Miller
![Japan Pavilion at EPCOT provides drinks you may not know about. Japan Pavilion at EPCOT provides drinks you may not know about.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4032,h_2268,x_0,y_573/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImageExchange/mmsport/509/01h6c0wkff81mr0k54hg.jpg)
All around EPCOT's World Showcase you can find specific drinks for each country that you can't find anywhere else in the park. In Mexico, for example, an entire station is dedicated to Margaritas. But it is in Japan where you will face your most difficult decision.
You can't miss the Japan Pavilion, which lies between Morocco and America... not that you can really miss any of the countries in World Showcase. You can, however, miss the little drink shack that sits in the center of the pavilion.
Visiting the pavilion is a lot of fun. You can shop, you can eat, and you can walk through the little waterfalls and visit the Samaurai statues or take in the Koi Ponds. But you are doing yourself a disservice if you are skipping the drinks.
The big debate? Tokyo Sunrise or Violet Saki! Which one should you try first and which one is your favorite?
It is indeed a debate. I have stood in line and waited with others who volley back and forth about which one is better. For those first-timers who don't know which to choose, they are often left with uncertainty as everyone has their own preference. But know this, everyone seems to love them both... just not alway equally.
I prefer the sweeter Violet Saki and it's pure purple color. I was told by a cast member that the Saki is imported from Japan and not available at liquor stores. I don't know if that's true, but I can say that I have yet to find the perfect Saki to replicate it.
I don't like sweet drinks but this one sits on the tongue well. It is sweet but also has a slightly bitter finish thanks to the lemon which works perfectly with the light syrupy start.
If you are at Epcot have a Violet Saki for me please! pic.twitter.com/scw07jxEKf
β DeVeaux π³οΈβπ (@DeVeaux__) March 7, 2019
My wife on the other hand enjoys a taste of the sun. The Tokyo Sunrise is another incredible option at the pavilion. Skipping the saki, Sunrise brings you coconut rum and peach schnapps, pineapple juice, and banana liqueur, topped off with an orange wedge.
It is fruity and tart with a hint of sweet. Compared to the Violet Saki, it is lighter and fresh while the Saki is dark and warming. Does that make metaphorical sense? After having about a dozen of each, it makes sense to me.
Onto Japan! They have some delicious sake. Tokyo Sunrise is the drink of choice #drinkingaroundtheworldwithKovo pic.twitter.com/MG8MnKInoo
β Travis (@Kovo89) August 22, 2016
Have a Tokyo Sunrise π in Japan π―π΅ Pavilion for me, Caitlin and literally one of my favorites in the park. Happy Bday too ππππ #Epcot
β Brian Saeger (@SkywalkerBrian) October 31, 2018
Clearly, both drinks have a lot of fans and rightly so. You can't go wrong with either of them and once you have them, you will never visit EPCOT again without making the small drink shack a pitstop as you walk around the world.
So what is the best drink of the two? Honestly, if you are by yourself or the only adult in your group, you deserve to try them both. If you are with someone else, you obviously have to each get one and then decide for yourselves or have fun debating them as you walk along the paths to another country on your journey.
dark. Next. Best chips in Epcot. Potato chip lovers are missing out if they are not stopping at the China Pavilion at EPCOT