Dining

							HINTS FOR EATING – JAPANESE STYLE

The following information is taken from www.japan.guide.com

Some of the most important chopsticks rules are:

    Never stick the chopsticks into the food, especially not into rice. Only at funerals are
    chopsticks stuck into the rice that is put onto the altar. When you are not using the
    chopsticks, put them in front of you onto the table or a dish with the tip to the left.

    Do not pass food with your chopsticks directly to somebody other's chopsticks. Only at
    funerals are the bones of the cremated body given in that way from person to person.

    Do not spear food with your chopsticks.

    Neither point with the chopsticks to something or somebody nor move them too much
    around in the air.

    If you want to separate a piece of food into two pieces with chopsticks, do it step by step
    in exerting controlled pressure on your chopsticks.

Knife and fork are used for Western food only. Spoons are used for eating certain Japanese
dishes, for example donburi or Japanese style curry rice. A Chinese style ceramic spoon is
sometimes used to eat soups.

In Japan, you start eating after saying "Itadakimasu" (I will receive) and finish with "Gochiso
sama deshita" (Thank you for the feast).

When eating noodles or soups, it is Japanese style to slurp. However, it is considered bad
manners to burp. Blowing your nose in public, and especially at the table, is also considered
very rude.

When drinking beer or sake, it is good manner to pour the alcohol into each other's cups, i.e.
one does not pour it into his or her own glass. You should always check if your friends' cups
are getting empty, and then give them more. If someone wants to give you more to drink, you
should hold your glass towards that person.

How to eat ...

       ... Rice:
        Take the rice bowl into one hand and the chopsticks into the other. Do not pour soya
        sauce over white, cooked rice.
       ... Noodles:
        Lead them with the chopsticks step by step into your mouth. Keep the distance
        between the bowl and your mouth small, and do not hesitate to slurp.
       ... Soup:
        Drink the soup out of the bowl as if it were a cup and fish out the solid stuff with your
        chopsticks. That is also true for eating noodle soups (e.g. Udon, Ramen). Sometimes
        a ceramic spoon will be provided for eating soups.
       ... Sushi (Nigiri, Maki):
        Give some soya sauce into a special little plate. The correct way of dipping nigiri
        sushi is to dip it upside-down with the fish part into the sauce. A few kinds of nigiri
        sushi should be eaten without soya sauce. In general, you eat a sushi piece in one
        bite. Hands or chopsticks can be used to eat sushi.
       ... Sashimi:
        Give some soya sauce into a special little plate. Add wasabi into the soya sauce and
    mix it. Use the sauce for dipping the sashimi pieces. Some types of sashimi are eaten
    with ground ginger instead of wasabi.
   ... big pieces of food:
    (e.g. tempura prawn, futo maki, tofu) Generally, you either separate the piece with
    your chopsticks, or you just bite a piece off and put the rest back onto your plate.