Oshibori

Oshibori presented on a small bamboo stand

An oshibori (お絞り) is a wet, hot or cold hand towel offered in a restaurant or tearoom in Japan. They are used to clean one's hands or face before eating and have long been considered a traditional custom in Japan. Cold oshibori are given in summer, while hot oshibori are given in winter.

Oshibori is now also given on most airplane flights to and from Japan, and it is now getting wider acceptance outside of Japan. Japan Airlines started giving oshibori in 1959.

Traditional cotton oshibori are still in use. Many establishments now give out disposable non-woven towels.

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.