1 Pouring Sake

When a Japanese restaurant pours sake for a customer, a saucer or wooden box is placed under the cup and the sake is poured until it overflows and fills up the wooden box below. This is a custom inherited from ancient times, because before the Edo period, the production of sake is very small, expensive, basically only the royal family, nobility and rich people can drink, it has been popular to give the guests pouring wine when the wine overflowed - this is the same as saying to the guests: "I have a lot of money, for you to waste some wine that is not even a little money. Wasting some wine for you is no big deal." In other words, it was a show of wealth.

Later, it became a way for dining establishments to please their guests, and the overflow was served in a small wooden box (masu) underneath, which was also drinkable. Since sake cups are cleaned and sterilized inside and out, there is no need to worry about hygiene. (PS: Masu was the most popular type of sake cup before ceramic cups and glass cups became widely used.)

The restaurant manager or sommelier will remind the guest to take the sake cup out first, drink the sake in the masu, and then drink the sake in the glass (or vice versa, of course). The principle is to take out the wine glass will not be put back into the wine is not finished Masu, so as not to contaminate the wine inside.

2 Pouring Sake for Each Other

Another way to drink sake with friends is to order a whole bottle of sake and leave it on the table. In Japan, it's not polite to ask people at the same table to pour for themselves. The correct way to do this is to take the bottle after your friend has poured for you, and then pour for the other person. At the same time, it is important to note that you do not have to pour the wine until the other person's glass reaches the bottom. This requires that you often pay attention to the state of the other person's glass when you are having dinner with your friends, and take good care of them.

3 Drinking order and clinking

When Japanese people drink together, the first drink is usually a beer, and then they start ordering their own. They also yell "Cheers!" and clink glasses before drinking.

4 Persuasion

Basically, there is no habit of persuading and pouring each other's drinks (unless we are very familiar with each other and know that you can drink a lot), we are all chatting while drinking each other's drinks; some drunks still want to drink more, and even more will not pour other people's drinks.

5 Seasonal Festive Sake

Japan has four distinct seasons, and at different times of the year some great seasonal sake is released. For example, in spring, there is Hanami Sake for cherry blossom viewing; in summer, there is Natsu no Sake for cold drinks; and in fall, there is Cold Tippling Sake for pairing with okonomiyaki (Japanese swordfish). Ordering the right sake for each season will give you a better flavor with your food.