He Returned to Japan as a Sake Specialist
Greg Beck (Hiroshima, 2006-2011)
Interviewed by Rashaad Jorden (Yamagata, 2008-2010 & Kochi, 2018-2020)
Greg Beck’s first time trying a certain alcoholic beverage wasn’t anything to write home about. But one event devoted to that indelible part of Japanese culture turned out to be a memorable occasion that helped change his life — the Saijō Sake Festival in Hiroshima Prefecture.
“At some point, I noticed that none of these tasted the same,” Beck said.
“They all tasted different, even though it’s just the same rice and water fermented by yeast and kōji. That made me really interested in sake, and from there I just started learning as much as I could.”
Greg (center) at the Saijo Sake Matsuri with friends; Greg returned to Japan specifically to attend this event in the fall of 2011.
Beck parlayed his burgeoning interest in the drink into a career in the industry, eventually becoming a sake sommelier and returning to Japan to work in the country. But he didn’t take a straightforward path to get there.
After spending a year studying abroad at Konan University in Hyogo Prefecture, he applied to the JET Program on the advice of people he met during that year (he said at least 20 members of his study abroad cohort eventually took part in the JET Program). Following his five- year stint as both an ALT and CIR in Hiroshima Prefecture on JET from 2006 to 2011, Beck landed a job as a journalist at the New York bureau of Japanese TV network TBS, where he spent another five years.
When he hit a point where he felt like there was no avenue to move up the ladder at TBS, he decided to make another big move — to Southern California.
He started volunteering at sake events, and through those occasions, he met sake sommelier Ueno Toshio, who convinced Beck to go through the certification process to become a professional.
What does that process entail?
“It’s very similar to the process of a wine sommelier, which is basically you get a textbook. You read it front to back. You study the crap out of it. And then, you take a test,” Beck said, adding that even after passing that initial test, the complicated process involves a lot more studying and test-taking.
Greg (middle, center) with his Hiroshima Prefectural International Affairs Bureau co-workers, in late 2009/2010. Also pictured (bottom right) is Korean CIR Li Yeonggyeon.
“The studying helped me fill in a lot of gaps and learn a lot of the history and culture.”
Beck had already been brewing beer when he started taking the steps to become a sake sommelier. He notes the fermentation process is similar to that of beer.
“The hardest thing is definitely the tasting and writing down the tasting notes,” he said.
Beck went on to open Sake Secret, the only retail sake specialty shop in Los Angeles County, and during the same time, was working as a professional craft beer brewer. He still owns the shop, which his staff runs day-to-day.
Beck acknowledges that the biggest challenge that he faced upon opening the shop — and one that many small business owners still confront — is getting the word out.
“If more people knew I was there, then I would be wildly more successful,” he said. “I’m scraping by, but the people who do come tend to come back.”
Beck has been able to establish relationships with Japanese businesses that send sake to the U.S., though. He notes that the presidents of many Japanese breweries fly to the U.S., and they usually stop in Los Angeles.
“They go to some of the restaurants and bars that sell their stuff, and they say, ‘I want to see who’s selling retail,’” Beck said.
“It’s pretty much just me and some wine shops. I get a lot of sake industry people.”
Greg on stage in 2024 at Japan House in Hollywood; Greg received special recognition for helping JETRO with a "#SupportSake" campaign to help promote sake
Beck has also served as the organizer and co-host of the Long Beach Sake Day. While he’s not currently involved in any sake festivals in Japan, where he lives now, he says that’s on the horizon. He’s already been invited to the Fukushima Sake Festival this May (2026) and is looking to participate in events in the Tokyo area.
When asked why sake is so embedded in Japanese culture, Beck said the drink has been around as long as there have been written documents, stating that it’s been made or consumed in one form or another for at least 4,000 years.
“At every step in the evolution and development of Japanese culture and technology, whatever happens … everything gets applied in the sake industry to making sake better,” Beck said.
“You really can look at any period of Japanese history, and sake is there, playing a role of some kind or another.”
He currently works for Ogawa Coffee, a company that is opening a giant food hall in Takanawa Gateway City, a new development in Tokyo. Beck was hired to be Ogawa’s head brewer and beer bar manager, in addition to managing the pizza counter. The brewery opened at the end of March this year (2026).
Greg with JET alum wife, Valerie.
As for his future goals, Beck said he aims to continue growing Sake Secret and planning sake events in Long Beach. He’s also eager to brew the recipes in Japan that he’s been brewing in the U.S. for over a decade.
“So it’s really just introducing Japan to a bunch of my craft beers, and hopefully, they like them,” Beck said.
And if they do, it’s in large part because Beck decided to take another stab at life in Japan after his study abroad experience in the country, a period in which he said he made so many lifelong friends.
“The JET Program, in no uncertain terms, completely changed the trajectory of my life in multiple ways,” said Beck, who met his wife, Valerie, through the JET Program Alumni Association. He also served as the co-president of the JET Alumni Association of Southern California and Arizona for two years.
“It got me interested in sake, for one. It helped me become more fluent in Japanese, and it introduced me to so many amazing people who are now lifelong friends and colleagues, as well as business opportunities.”
About Greg Beck (Hiroshima, 2006-2011)
Greg Beck is an American certified sake sommelier (唎酒師) and the founder of Sake Secret, a sake specialty shop based in Long Beach, California. After studying Japanese and participating as an ALT on the JET Program for the Kure, Hiroshima BOE from 2006-2008, and a CIR and PA for Hiroshima Prefecture until 2011, he worked as a journalist for Japanese TV Network TBS, and a craft beer brewer in Los Angeles. Over the years, Greg developed a deep knowledge of sake culture and brewery traditions.
Greg started Sake Secret as a pop-up and later expanded it into a brick-and-mortar shop, offering curated sake selections, tastings, events, and consulting, with a focus on unbiased education and making sake approachable to a broad audience. He currently lives with his wife (also a JET alum) in Japan.
The Senpai Spotlight series features JET alumni from the US who have made successful careers for themselves in various fields—with the goal of inspiring JETs and JET alumni to pursue their own dreams while also offering some words of advice only a senpai could know.
If you, or someone you know, would like to be featured as a Senpai Spotlight, please reach out to us at contact@usjetaa.org.
This edition of Senpai Spotlight was written by Rashaad Jorden, a two-time JET Program ALT (Yamagata, 2008-2010 & Kochi, 2018-2020). During his second JET stint, he was the General Sports Editor for AJET CONNECT Magazine. As working for CONNECT was one of the most enjoyable aspects of his JET experience, he’s eagerly contributing again to a community that he treasures.
