Although Kenshin liked sake very much, he did not prefer to drink with others, he would step out onto a veranda (a narrow wooden passage along the end of a house facing the garden) and help himself to sake while eating pickled ume (plum).
大の酒好きであったが、他人と酒を酌み交わすような飲み方を好まず、ひとり縁側に出て、梅干だけを肴に手酌で飲んでいたと言われる。