Japanese Handmade Glass Cups and Small Bowls for Sake Evenings

If you are looking for Japanese handmade glassware for sake or an evening drink, start with two questions: how much do you usually pour, and what will you serve with it? The pieces in this article are made by 石橋和法 (風村), a glass artist based in Saitama, just north of Tokyo. For small pours there is a compact glass of about 250 ml; for aroma, a tulip-shaped glass; and for snacks, small bowls about 7 cm across.

All of them are soda glass and are not heat-resistant. They are for chilled or room-temperature drinks and cold dishes, not for hot sake.

Born in 1988 in Matsumoto, Nagano, 石橋和法 (風村) graduated from 東京ガラス工芸研究所, a glass school in Tokyo, in 2013, and completed a program at 瀬戸市新世紀工芸館, a craft center in Seto, Aichi, in 2015. Since 2015 the artist has been based in Saitama. The motto on the shop page is "color for everyday life" (暮らしに彩りを).

No two pieces are exactly alike. The product pages note that color and slight irregularities vary from piece to piece, and invite you to enjoy each one's own expression. That variation is part of what you are choosing when you buy handmade glass rather than factory-made sets.

Here are the five pieces side by side. Prices are in Japanese yen including Japanese consumption tax, as of October 2026 (the amount shown on Buyee will vary with exchange rates and fees).

If you have a traditional guinomi (a small sake cup) in mind, the 250 ml glass is larger. The product page presents it as a glass for people who do not drink much at a time: you pour a little chilled sake, top it up as you go, and it works just as well for mizuwari (whisky and water) or soft drinks.

The small glass and the small bowl belong to a series called "artifact 積層" (sekisō, meaning layered). The small glass combines two colors the artist develops in-house, yamabuki (a golden yellow) and amber. It has a rounded, stable shape meant for daily use; the product page gives a lead time (nōki) of about 7 days.

The small bowl shows the two colors in layers, with a deliberately wavy rim and an irregular overall form. It is meant to sit among your other tableware as an accent.

The tulip glass swells gently and narrows toward the rim. The product page explains that the shape, said to be named after the tulip flower, keeps the aroma inside the glass after you pour, and helps hold aroma and bubbles over time. Tulip-shaped glasses are widely used for nosing whisky, sake and wine. This one stands 130 mm tall in a color called shiba. Its capacity is not listed.

Otsumami are the small snacks served with drinks in Japan, such as pickles, nuts or a few bites of sashimi. The two snack dishes, Ø70 × H60 mm, are made for exactly that, and the artist also suggests using them for jam or dipping sauce. One is in shiba, the other in gin-nezu, a traditional Japanese color name for a silvery gray. Each is sold singly, so you can buy one of each color as a pair.

Every piece here is soda glass, and the product pages for all but the gin-nezu snack dish (whose page has no care notes) state that it is not heat-resistant. The tulip glass and the shiba snack dish also warn that sudden temperature changes can cause breakage.

• Do not use them for atsukan (warmed sake), hot tea or hot food
• Avoid sudden temperature shifts, such as pouring hot water into a chilled glass
• Microwaves and dishwashers are generally not suitable for glass that is not heat-resistant; follow the notes that come with your piece and wash by hand

Soda glass is the everyday glass used for windows and bottles, so care is simple: wash gently with a soft sponge and dry with a cloth.

ITOSHIO does not ship directly to addresses outside Japan. To order from abroad, use Buyee, a proxy shopping service: open the product page and use the Buyee button on the page to start your order. International shipping, fees and any customs duties are shown on Buyee's screens, and Buyee's guidance tells you which countries and items it can ship. Glass is fragile, so read Buyee's shipping information before you order.

If you have a delivery address in Japan, for example when sending a gift to family there, you can switch to a domestic order from the product page ("I have a delivery address in Japan").

Step by step: How to buy from ITOSHIO overseas with Buyee. Buyee's site: Buyee

None of these pieces is made as a guinomi. For small pours, the 250 ml small glass is the closest choice; for aroma, the tulip glass. The snack dishes are small, but the artist intends them for snacks and sauces.

No. None of them is heat-resistant glass, so avoid hot drinks and boiling water.

Not exactly. Each piece is handmade, so color and shape vary slightly from the photos.

Prices are in Japanese yen including tax; the amount shown on Buyee will vary with exchange rates and fees.

The artist's page: 石橋和法(風村)

Further reading

• Japanese Handmade Gifts: Artisan Pieces You Can Order From Abroad
• How to Buy From Japan: Ordering ITOSHIO Crafts With Buyee
• Glass kagami mochi for the New Year, by the same artist (in Japanese)