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How to Pair Drinks with a Campfire: Whisky, Warmed Sake, Mulled Wine
Drinks for a night by the fire are chosen differently from drinks with a meal. The appetizer is the scent of smoke; the side dish is the sway of the flames. The interval between sips grows longer, too. So the right bottle is one you can enjoy slowly, a little at a time, over a long evening.
While the fire is burning high, whisky suits it. A smoky one especially: it faces the same direction as the woodsmoke, so the two never quarrel. The crack of ice in the glass and the crack of the burning logs make a duet. When the fire settles into embers, it is time for warmed sake (kanzake). Even in summer, the night air outside is cooler than you expect. Repeat small cups of gently warmed sake and the heat of the fire and the heat of the drink line up, from outside the body and from within. And if you are sharing the night with others, mulled wine made in a pot is the thing. By the time the orange and cinnamon rise from it, the conversation has warmed as well.
One promise, though. Whoever tends the fire should not chase the drink too far. Putting the fire safely to rest is a job for before you are drunk. Save the last glass for when the fire has burned down to embers and no longer needs your hands.
A Fire Even in the Rain: THE BASE GLAMPING Atami
A private outdoor hotel of just 5 villas, held in the nature of Atami. Every villa has a free-flowing hot spring fed straight from the source, a private barrel sauna, and an all-weather fire pit space. Even when the forecast shows an umbrella icon, the campfire night still goes ahead, which is a gift to whoever is planning the drinks. From a glass after the bath to a glass beside the fire, the evening’s route is already complete.
A Wood Stove and the Northern Night: Sango VILLA Otaru
A cluster of whole-house rental villas standing in “Sango”, a richly natural corner of Harukacho in Otaru. They come with a wood-burning stove and a picture window, plus a fire pit and sauna on the wood deck. A campfire outdoors and a wood stove indoors: a house with two fires widens the night’s options. When the chill sets in, move to the inner side of the window and keep your glass going while you watch the flames. The region, known for seafood from Shakotan and for its whisky distillery, stirs a drinker’s travel heart as well.
An Open-Air Spa Under the Stars and the Hour of the Embers: AMARANCIA Awaji Island
Five cottages surrounded by the nature of Ama, at the southernmost tip of Awaji Island. A sauna where you listen to the sound of the trees, an open-air spa under the stars, a fire to gather around: a whole-house stay that lets you feel nature with all five senses. Keep the fire small and well tended, and raise cup after cup while you wait for the stars to thicken. Awaji is miketsukuni, the ancient “land of imperial provisions”, a food island, so there is the added pleasure of pairing local dishes with your drink.
A Drink by the Fire Works Slowly
A campfire drink is savored in time, not in quantity. In the two hours or so it takes the fire to change from logs to embers, from embers to ash, the cups advance only a handful of times. And yet it is the drink that stays longest in memory. Decide on tonight’s bottle before you light the wood: that order alone makes a campfire night one degree deeper.
Stays in this article
Izu & AtamiShizuoka
THE BASE GLAMPING ATAMI PREMIER
Five suite villas that opened in March 2026 against a bamboo grove in Atami. Each is fully self-contained across 188 sqm with a loft, an indoor and an open-air bath on the property's own free-flowing spring, a private barrel sauna and an all-weather fire space.
OtaruHokkaido
山郷VILLA(小樽 春香町)
Whole-house villas in Sango at Haruka-cho, Otaru. They come from Sango Komuten, a Hokkaido housebuilder of more than fifty years, built on the idea of staying as though you lived here, using larch and other Hokkaido timber.
AwajiHyogo
amarancia cottage hugging nature house(淡路島・南あわじ)
A five-cottage hotel up a winding mountain road at Ama, the southern tip of Awaji Island. Each cottage is named for the view from its window, and every terrace has a fire to sit around.