Sake Boxes

The traditional way to drink sake, the fermented rice wine that is a characteristic feature of Japan, is from a specially designed wooden box. The box of sake is usually accompanied by a small dish of salt, a pinch of which can be placed on one of the edges of the box to enhance the drink's flavor. I never got enough practice drinking sake from boxes to work out the best way to do this. Drinking from a corner of the box seems to make the most sense in terms of letting the liquid pour out easily, but then you risk poking your lips since the corners are sharp.

Most of the time, sake is served in regular glasses or in small, ceramic sake mugs. One time, during our trip to Kobe, I ordered a particular sake off the drinks menu that the restaurant chose to serve from both a box and a glass. The waiter placed the glass inside the box and then filled the glass up until it started overflowing into the box. I had even less of a clue how to imbibe the sake from this box / glass combination. (I think that I ended up removing the glass from the box and then drinking each portion of sake separately ... .)