Eating Etiquette in Japan

As with all countries, there are plenty of eating faux pas that can be made in Japan by people unaware of the differences.
I will point some of them out to you in this article, but also give some of my thoughts on the Japanese eating style in general.

General table manners

Before every meal, it's generally polite to say "Itadekimasu" (ETAH-DEKEE-MASS) which is a kind of "Bon Appetite" equivalent, but I'd more compare it with how Christians would say grace, it's a kind of appreciation of the food/cook.

Similarly, at the end of the meal "Gochisosamadeshita" (GOH-CHEE-SO-SAMA-DE-SHEE-TAH) should be said, which is like "compliments to the chef", but again, culturally it's more similar to giving thanks, e.g to the animals that died to make your food (vegetarians conscious' are clear though!) or the effort that the chef went through to prepare your food.

If you master those two phrases, you'll do well at social gatherings with Japanese people, I'd say it's especially important if you are doing a home stay in a Japanese family home.



Chopstick Etiquette

OK now this could easily turn into "the 1001 don'ts and 5 dos of using chopsticks in Japan", there are that many things you're not supposed to do it's exhausting thinking about it, but here are a few of the main ones:

*Don't stab food with a singular chopstick. I have however seen Japanese people slyly do it with both sticks if it's something large they want to transfer to their plate.

*Don't pass food into the grasp of another persons chopsticks using your own. This is probably the worst thing you can do as it is what is done at a Shinto funeral. A couple of ex-colleauges of mine did this in front of an elderly lady once, she freaked out, shouted at them and left the table in disgust! (they had no idea what they'd done wrong at the time)

*Don't stick your chopsticks vertically in your rice. Again, it's a funeral thing, it looks like what they do with incense sticks during the ceremony.

There are loads more like; don't move plates with them, don't lick them, don't wash food off them in your soup, don't tap your glass to get peoples attention, don't do a walrus impression with them etc etc.
Most are pretty obvious and as long as you don't act like a 5-year-old, you'll be all right!

Other things to note, Japanese people eat everything with chopsticks, especially in a Japanese restaurant. It's not unusual for people to cut and eat pizza, eat spaghetti, soup, beans, salad and of course rice with chopsticks - get practising if you're not good with them!

On that not I should tell you that in many instances, Japanese people will assume that western face = spoon and fork. Personally I was quite offended when given a spoon to eat with when everyone else was using chopsticks, when I refused and starting eating as everyone else it was greeted with gasps and the occasional round of applause.
OK, so slight exaggeration, but you get the point - it's not that they are looking down on you, they are trying to be culturally sensitive, and they assume no one uses chopsticks outside of Asia...

Eating manners

OK, now this is where things start to differ a bit and may be surprising to the uninitiated.

Noodles: When eating some delicious Soba, Somen or Udon noodles, it will be either in a hot soup, or if cold - served with a small pot of black sauce. (Fish or Seaweed based stock, vegetarians should ask for the latter - KOMBU-DASHI)
The Japanese at your table will no doubt either crane their necks down to their bowl or bring the pot very close to their mouth and start slurping their noodles with incredible speed and noise.
In western culture, a child doing this will be scolded and told to stop being so disgusting and rude, but in Japan this is considered polite as it is showing you are enjoying the food.

Personally, even after all my time in Japan, I'm still not used to it and I refuse to bow to this particular tradition. If asked about it, I kindly explain the differences in culture and most people understand. In fact a lot of Japanese already know of this difference and would understand if you didn't slurp loudly.
The main reason I don't do this is that it is only Japan and a few other Asian countries that practice this, and I feel they should be aware that if they eat with westerners either here or abroad, more often than not they are going to gross people out with the sounds and actions they make while eating certain foods.
I know a lot of foreigners here who do "go Japanese" in this regard, but I just fear the day when you go back home and you forget your manners!
I bow to many traditions in Japan, but I have to draw the line sometimes!

I should mention that eating soup, rice (served in a small separate bowl) spaghetti, sandwiches and pretty much any other moist foods are slurped or sucked ferociously by many Japanese.
I honestly feel that some guys here think that they are either part of some eating contest, or that someone will steal their food if they don't eat everything within 5 minutes!
Men are the loudest of course, but I've seen plenty of women do it too.
Also, to be fair, there are many Japanese who aren't so loud and understand/sympathise with the western mentality.

Complimenting: In many western countries it's customary to thank the chef or compliment on the food at the end of a meal, "That was delicious" or "I loved the potatoes" etc.
In Japanese custom though, I've noticed that people tend to comment on the food from their first bite of it, rather than their last.
I've seen many a host wait patiently and nervously for a comment from their foreign guest, not to receive one until the end of the meal or sometimes just as they are leaving. (Waving goodbye: "That was great thanks, see you later!")
This is bad game in Japan, I'd recommend you say something at the first opportunity.
A very common and important word to learn in Japan is "Oishii" (OI-SHEE) meaning delicious. I survived my first year in Japan by only knowing 2 words "Oishii" and "Sugoi" (SOO-GO-EE) which means "great"!
In one day in a Japanese person's life, I bet they say those 2 words about 100 times each.
Anyway, the main point is - compliment a lot and do it as early as possible, your host will be beaming from ear to ear and they'll feel relaxed and secure for the rest of the meal.

Final Word:

Now this might be rude of me to be "reviewing" another peoples culture, but this blog is all about foreigners being in Japan and how it feels to live here.

With that in mind, while I love the idea of complimenting more at mealtimes and appreciating the chef and the food, there are so many other things about Japanese etiquette that is difficult to witness (or hear!) and annoying to abide to.

I've seen many a Japanese person be offended at the mistakes foreigners have made concerning chopstick manners, many of which are only known in Japan, yet many are blissfully unaware that slurping food and shovelling it in your mouth (by bringing the bowl to your face) is considered rude and even disgusting by many more cultures around the world.
This blog is all about preparing you for your stay in Japan, so whether you decide to "be Japanese" or not whilst here, the rest of the people certainly will be, so prepare yourself for some noisy meal times!
VERDICT - LOW POINT