John is a freelance writer and translator, born 1978 in New York, USA. He came to Japan in 2005 after receiving his M.A. in Japanese literature. Following a three-year stint on the JET Program in Shiga Prefecture, he relocated to Tokyo and spent eleven years as an in-house localization translator at a major Japanese video game publisher. He fell in love with sake in 2010, and quickly became a regular at sake bars, events, and breweries across Japan. John’s passion for sake was recognized when he took first place in the 2018 Mr SAKE Japan contest. Since going freelance in 2019, he has made it his life’s work to spread the joy of sake across the globe.