When it comes to food etiquette, the Japanese aren’t a particularly picky people, but unless you want to draw disapproving looks while dining in Japan, check out these seven rules of Japanese food:
1. Make noise while eating, especially noodles (Soba Prayed udon).
A noisy eater enjoys food more, according to the Japanese. If you want to show how much you are savoring a plate of udon, sip and pound to your heart’s content. Conversely, if she is careful to eat quietly, her courtesy attempt will be considered a failure by her Japanese host: she was unable to offer tasty food that she can enjoy.
2. Don’t Dip Donuts: Don’t dip anything in your drink.
The Japanese do not dip cookies, donuts or anything else in their namemonkey (drinks), from the feeling that the submerged item (cookie, donut, etc.) is soiling the drink with crumbs.
3. Do not tip in Japan.
Tipping is practically unknown in Japan. In a typical Japanese restaurant, if you leave a tip on the table, your waiter will probably call you as you leave and say “o-kyakusama, o-wasuremono desu me!” (“Sir, you forgot this!”) If you want to insist that the waiter keep it as a tip, reply “chippu desu kara, o-uketori kudasai.” (“It’s a tip, so accept it .” )
On the other hand, bellhops and other employees at large Western hotels in Japan have become accustomed to tiptoeing Westerners. They don’t expect a tip for service, but they’re not likely to turn down 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 people still avoid eating while standing, 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 an ice cream cone on the street, but most Japanese people still disapprove of eating ice cream inside train stations.
After boarding a Japanese train, the rules are just as strict: eating or drinking is a faux pas on most Japanese trains (the Shinkansen the bullet train is an exception). However, as the plastic bottles (“petto botoru“) have been popular, more Japanese youths are seen taking sips from a bottle of oh (green tea) that they keep hidden in a handbag.
5. Put your chopsticks down carefully.
When you have finished a Japanese meal, there is an etiquette involved in how to place the used chopsticks. If you have a chopstick holder (“hashi oki“), place the chopsticks in it. If no chopstick holder is available, place the chopsticks in the bowl, again side by side with no space between them. If they don’t extend across the bowl, let the used ends rest inside the bowl bowl, but try to keep the two chopsticks together.
The point is to avoid separating the two chopsticks. Never stick 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 in chopstick etiquette.
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 you receive when you first sit down for your meal. The best restaurants may offer a cloth napkin, but the large paper napkins found in most American restaurants are rare in Japan.
7. Drink the soup straight from the bowl.
Japanese soups, like miso-shiru, are eaten correctly by bringing the bowl to the mouth and drinking from the bowl. While holding the bowl of soup in one hand, you can use your chopsticks to stir the liquid or scoop up tofu or other ingredients. The rim along the bottom of Japanese bowls (“chawan“) is designed to hold; it keeps hot contents away from your fingers and allows you to hold the bowl with one hand.