When it comes to food etiquette, the Japanese aren’t particularly picky people, but unless you want to attract disapproving glances while dining in Japan, take a look at these seven rules of Japanese food:
1. Make noise while eating, especially noodles (soba gold udon).
A noisy diner enjoys food more, according to the Japanese. If you want to show how much you are savoring a bowl of udon, sip and punch to your heart’s content. On the contrary, if you worry about eating leisurely, your attempt at courtesy will be seen as a failure by your Japanese host: he did not offer you tasty food that you can enjoy.
2. Do not dip donuts, do not dip anything in your drink.
The Japanese do not dip cookies, donuts or anything else in their nomimono (drinks), from the feeling that the submerged element (biscuit, donut, etc.) dirties the drink with crumbs.
3. Tipping is not allowed in Japan.
Tips are practically unknown in Japan. In a typical Japanese restaurant, if you leave a tip on the table, your server will probably call you when you leave and say “o-kyakusama, o-wasuremono desu yo! “(” Sir, you forgot this! “) If you want to insist that the server save it as a tip, reply with” chippu desu kara, o-uketori kudasai “. (” It’s a tip, so take it. “)
On the other hand, bellboys and other employees in large Western hotels in Japan have become accustomed to tipped Westerners. They do not expect a tip for the service, but they are not likely to decline an offered tip either.
4. Don’t eat on the street, unless it’s an ice cream cone.
This custom is slowly changing in Japan, but most Japanese still avoid eating while standing or walking down the street or waiting at a train station. The only exception is an ice cream cone, called sofuto kuriimu (“soft cream”) in Japanese. You are free to enjoy ice cream on the street, but most Japanese still frown when eating ice cream inside train stations.
After boarding a Japanese train, the rules are just as strict: eating or drinking is a misstep on most Japanese trains (the shinkansen The bullet train is an exception.) However, as plastic bottles (“petto botoru“) have been popular, more young Japanese are seen sipping from a bottle of ocha (green tea) that they keep hidden in a handbag.
5. Put your chopsticks down carefully.
When you have finished a Japanese meal, there is a tag involved in how to place your used chopsticks. If you have a toothpick holder (“hashi-oki“), place the chopsticks on it. If a chopstick holder is not available, place the chopsticks along the length of your bowl, again next to each other with no space between them. the used ends rest inside the bowl, but try to keep the two toothpicks together.
The point is to avoid separating the two chopsticks. Never stick your chopsticks upright in a bowl of rice – this is how rice is offered to the spirit of a deceased person, which is why the Japanese consider it the worst offense on chopstick label.
6. Use a napkin only if necessary.
The Japanese are frugal with napkins. In many Japanese restaurants, the only “napkin” is the disposable hand towel that you receive when you first sit down to eat. The finest restaurants may offer a cloth napkin, but the large paper napkins found in most American restaurants are rare in Japan.
7. Drink soup straight from the bowl.
Japanese soups, like miso-shiruThey are eaten correctly by bringing the bowl to the mouth and drinking from the bowl. While holding the bowl of soup with one hand, you can use your chopsticks to stir the liquid or scoop up the tofu or other ingredients. The edge along the bottom of Japanese bowls (“chawan“) is designed to hold, keeping hot contents away from your fingers and allowing you to hold the container with one hand.