Are You Eating These Japanese Foods Wrong?
Japanese food etiquette has a series of dos and don’ts. But one etiquette expert says even most Japanese people get these things wrong.
By Jay Allen
Dining in a different culture means learning new rules of etiquette for what you should and shouldn’t do at the dinner table. As you’d expect, Japan has its own rules around what’s considered well-mannered eating. However, an etiquette expert says there are a few rules even some Japanese people don’t know (or are ignoring at their own social peril).
Basic etiquette
Casual visitors to Japan have probably heard some of the basic rules around Japanese food manners. Most know of the custom of saying いただきます (itadakimasu) before eating and ご馳走様 (go-shisou-sama) before and after a meal as a way of giving thanks for the food.
You’ve probably heard one or more of the rules surrounding usage of chopsticks (箸; hashi) as well. For example, in a group setting, you should grab food using the common utensils/serving chopsticks provided, as opposed to your own (a rule violation known as 直箸; jikabashi). There’s also sashibashi (刺し箸), or spearing your food with the…
