Gesture & etiquette

Hold your glass with both hands when senior colleagues are present — with one hand for peers. Raise your glass to about chin height, make brief eye contact around the table, then clink glasses. Smile warmly. For a large group, simply raise and say kanpai without physically clinking with everyone. Take a visible sip after the toast before setting your glass down.

At Japanese izakaya (informal pub), the person who initiated the gathering usually proposes the first toast (kanpai). Everyone raises their glass — touch the rim slightly below your companion's glass if they are a senior (showing respect). Nobody drinks before the kanpai is called. After the first kanpai, the atmosphere relaxes considerably.