“The tradition of pouring for others and not directly for yourself is an act of politeness in Japanese culture,” Nes Rueda, managing director of Heavensake, says. It “creates interactions between the people in attendance, allowing both the sake and conversation to flow.”
Don't pour your own drink
When eating and drinking out in Japan, it's customary to let others pour your drinks and to pour theirs for them. Keep checking throughout the meal to see if anyone's running low! And don't forget to wait for the kanpai (cheers) before you drink.
When drinking in Japan, try never to pour your own drink. It is customary to allow others seated close to refill your glass from their bottle, communal bottles, or a tokkuri (sake bottle). You should reciprocate, assuming that you are drinking the same thing.
You can never pour your own sake.
It has been said that pouring your own sake is bad luck. Not true. Pouring for another is a way to build camaraderie and create a bond. It is polite but not necessary.
In Japanese culture, pouring your own sake is considered unmannerly, so allow others to pour for you. Pouring sake for others and receiving the same in return is a way to show appreciation for each other's company in Japanese culture and creates a community environment for all to enjoy.
Is it true you don't get a hangover from sake? Yes, because it doesn't lower your body temperature after consumption like wine or beer, and the ions in the water use to make it provide energy.
If you consume an adequate amount, yes. Just like every other alcoholic beverage out there, sake can get you drunk. It usually has between 13% and 17% alcohol volume or abv.
Sake Bomb 101: When drinking a Sake Bomb, a drinker may count to three in Japanese, "ichi...ni... san...SAKE BOMB!" Or, may simply yell "KANPAI" "Like" which way do you enjoy a Mikuni sake bomb!
In this ritual, the priest pours sake onto the ground as an offering. To symbolize the sharing of the drink with gods, sake is always served to the gods first. The participants enjoy sake during the feast that follows the ritual.
IT USED TO BE MADE WITH SALIVA
Back in the day, before wineries and brewers had their fancy machines to help break down sugars, the Japanese improvised by using their spit! They used to chew the rice, spit them into a VAT and wait for the enzymes in the saliva to turn it into alcohol.
We hold hands and kiss in public often in Japan. The only place we don't kiss is on a train, bus, or subway or at the hot springs. For all couples, same sex or not, it is culturally rude to kiss on the trains or subways or buses.
Japanese Drinking Habits
Excessive drinking, singing and dancing, even at funerals was all the rage. Today, alcohol is an important and accepted part of Japanese daily life, from social and business drinking to religious rites and traditional customs where sake plays a central role.
When eating the noodles, slurp away! Loud slurping may be rude in the U.S., but in Japan it is considered rude not to slurp.
Japanese tend not to eat while walking along or standing around on the street. However, it is acceptable to drink while standing aside a vending machine.
Slurping is a sign of appreciation
Some good news, while slurping can be a sign of bad manners in other countries, in Japan it's completely acceptable and encouraged.
In Japan, the legal adult age is 20. Japanese law prohibits individuals under the age of 20 to drink alcohol or smoke. Regardless of age, you must not force anyone to drink or smoke as it may cause serious health and social consequences.
In Japan, an enthusiastic “kanpai!,” which translates to empty cup, isn't just a celebratory way to cheer, it's a respected pre-drinking ritual. So New Year's Eve or not, don't even think about chugging a beer (or sake) in Japan before everyone at your table has said: “Kan-pie!”
Sip it the same way you would enjoy wine. It's your decision to drink it any way you want, but in our opinion, sake is more enjoyable if you take small sips just as you would do with wine or beer.
Just remember these simple things when you're enjoying your sake: Sake is not a shot. Although it's sometimes served in small cups, sake isn't meant for shots. You don't need to spend all night sipping a bit of sake, but you should treat it more like wine than (say) tequila.
It's all in the name
There are some who are confused about the correct spelling and pronunciation of the word sake. While the word is spelled as sake, it is pronounced as /sakeh/, 's' as in sigh, 'a' as in father, 'k' as in kind and 'e is pronounced as a short 'e'.
The sake bomb or sake bomber is a beer cocktail made by pouring sake into a shot glass and dropping it into a glass of beer. A pint glass and a shot glass. The shot of sake is dropped into the beer, causing it to fizz violently. The drink should then be consumed immediately.
The overflowing is an act of kindness and generosity by the host to show their appreciation for your friendship (or, in a restaurant setting, for your business). It also works as a little act of celebration, to lift the spirits and to enjoy the present state of life.
To summarize. It is definitely not true that Japanese sake contains more calories than other alcoholic beverages and in fact, it is the snacks and sides that accompany sake which are responsible for weight gain. By making a few tweaks to how you drink sake, you can enjoy sake without worrying about that waistline.
The sake is cheap because usually basic sake uses various additives like distilled alcohol to lower production costs. Not to mention, because table sake is not milled to a high percentage, there is more of the rice available for brewing.
The general rule is that one 12-ounce (354-ml) beer with 5% ABV equals one shot of 40% ABV liquor.