Sake, Japanese rice wine, is Japanese spirit.
People have dedicated sake to gods since the old days and people have lived with sake in many occasions, such as in a Shinto ceremony (including wedding), at a home party and a restaurant, under cherry blossoms (probably they forget about the flowers after they get drunk though), and so on.
It’s easy to find sake when traveling in Japan (though you need to know where to find good sake), and it’s a brilliant idea to take a couple of bottles sake to your country as a souvenir.
And once you get a bottle, why not find a sake cup called “ochoko”, which will remind you of how Japanese people drink the rice wine even when you drink it in your country.
Like shot glasses in Western countries (including Latin America and some others), sake cups are sold at many souvenir shops for travelers who love drinking or just like to collect something small in every trip.
And there are several types of sake cups, most of which are unique and need some elaborate technique to be made. Here are some examples.
①Wooden type
These wooden material ones, especially new ones, give you additional aroma when you taste sake.
Some of these types of cups are made of local wood (the left one is made of cedar wood in Yakushima island, which is famous for the thousands-year-old cedar forest).
②Pottery type
There are different pottery styles in each local area of Japan and they of course make some sake cups as well (The one on the photo is Bizen yaki pottery from Okayama area).
Some famous ones should be super pricy but you can also find a reasonable one.
If you visit a pottery class, you’ll also get a chance to make your own sake cup (it should take a few months to be made and need to make it ship to your country though).
Related activities : Japanese pottery class in Osaka
③Well-designed type
The material can be nothing special, but if you like the design on the cup, why not taking it ??
A sake cup with Mt. Fuji design is very popular and you’ll find many kinds of design for that !
④Glass type
Sake glasses are an extra item to enjoy the color of sake (it’s not only clearly transparent one but each rice wine has slightly different color! ), and make the situation more romantic.
A glass cutting technique called “kiriko”(photo above) is so elaborated and you’ll get fascinated with the beauty, such as Temma kiriko from Osaka and Edo kiriko from Tokyo.
Okinawa people prefer shochu (Japanese vodka) but their traditional glass called Ryukyu glass (photo below) should be lovely to have sake as well.
⑤Tin type
This silver colored sake cup has magic to make sake tastier.
Tin can purify water and tin sake cups have been used for Shinto rituals since the old days.
As the thermal conduction works well, you can feel the temperature of rice wine not only by tongue but also by hand.
Most of them are handmade, and even though the material is pretty hard, somehow you feel a gentle touch when you get it.
Osaka produces 70 % of the tin cups made in Japan and it would be one of the best souvenirs when you travel there.
Related tour : Deep into Osaka Waking tour
⑥Spinning top type
This spinning top one is also a proper sake cup, called Bekuhai, which mostly can be seen in Kochi area.
As Kochi people are crazy for drinking sake, they have some sense of humor for what they use to drink.
As it doesn’t stand, you have to keep holding the cup once you get some sake in it, until you finish it.
Some of the cups have even a tiny hole at the bottom, which means you have to keep the hole shut by your finger until you finish drinking the rice wine in the cup.
This is how you can’t get away from sake anymore once you get this type of cup !!!!!!!
⑦Squid type
Oh I’m not kidding.
We do really have a sake cup made of squid, even a sake bottle !!!!
Actually we count squids as 1 cup, 2 cups, 3 cups,,,, because the body looks like a cup.
Pour some hot sake in it, then you’ll get some extra seafood aroma.
When you finish drinking, of course, finish the squid as well !!!!
The only weak point is you have to buy another one again for the next party….!!
These are not all types of sake cups you can find in Japan, and you might find something cooler.
If you’re a sake lover, getting some sake cups is a must thing to do in Japan, and even though you don’t drink, it would be lovely to have some for another type of drink or for your friends !!
Related tour : Deep into Osaka Waking tour
Read more : Tenjinbashi ~Walk and Peek a Local Shopping Street !!~
10 Things To Do in Osaka. – Have Fun in the Most Exciting City in Japan !
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