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

Attitudes Towards Vegetarians in Japan

Before I came to Japan I had slight reservations about if I was going to be able to eat well as a vegetarian. The only Japanese food I knew of was sushi, which to the best of my knowledge back then was just raw fish.
I thought to myself, well there must be vegetarians in Japan, so I'll just eat what they eat! Plus if the worst comes to the worst, I can just make pasta or other simple things like that.

Well, all I can say is - I wish I'd done more research before coming here!

In the UK, almost 5% of the population is vegetarian, that accounts to millions of people. In the USA and other countries there are similar figures. Taiwan is leading the pack with almost 30% of people being veggie!
However, so far in Japan, I have only met one, singular Japanese vegetarian, that was the owner of "It's Vegetable" a specialised vegetarian restaurant in Kinshicho.

So the figures aren't good. The number in Japan is one of the smallest in the world, probably in the thousands rather than millions. (In a country of 120 million people)
There is a Japanese Vegetarian Society, but they don't have as much power as the British one does. They couldn't force a chocolate manufacturer to stop putting gelatine in their products or anything like that!

There are no concessions for vegetarians, you will not find any "V" symbols on products or "suitable for vegetarians" labels, you will have to learn kanji or at the very least katakana and read the ingredients yourself to know if it's suitable. (gelatine for example is ゼラチン, ZERACHIN)

If you go to a Japanese persons house for dinner and announce you are vegetarian, you may either get less meat/fish than everyone else or a few more vegetables added to your plate. (with the meat still there!)

I can't count how many times I've been told "but there's only a little bit of meat in it", "they are just small fish" or "it's only shellfish, not fish" etc etc
Another popular response is "oh, but I love meat", as if to say "why the hell are you a vegetarian?".
I find this is the most common response from older people.

Fact is, there is no real easy way to explain your vegetarianism to Japanese people, you may end up getting tired of explaining and just have to lie and say you are allergic, otherwise they may just assume you just don't like it or being fussy.

Tip: You can say "I'm a vegetarian" - watashi wa bejitarian desu" (Japanese people can't pronounce the V sound, so it becomes a B)
However, you may be hit with the problems I mentioned before if you just say this, as most Japanese people (and I really mean most, like 99%) don't really know what that means.

Pro tip! There is an old fashioned, but still understood way to call someone who only eats vegetables. This would exclude eggs and milk etc, so in essence it's a kind of veganism - better than eating "tiny" bits of meat, yes?
"watashi wa saishoku shugi sha desu"
A bit hard to say, but it will save your life! However, if the person/restaurant is not equipped to feed you, you may be simply told they don't have anything for you to eat!

In searching for restaurants, "SHOJIN RYORI" is the safest and most delicious option for veggies in Japan. It is an old Buddhist way of eating, where no animal products are used at all. (basically vegan)
I know you must be thinking, well why don't you just to to those restaurants then and stop your complaining...
Well, unfortunately they are among the rarest restaurants in Japan. Kyoto is famous for them, Kamakura has some and there are other dotted around Japan, but good luck finding them!!

The next safest option is Indian food, if the owner is Indian they will definitely have at least a couple of veggie options and will understand vegetarianism way better than any other regular Japanese restaurant.
The last option is Italian food and sticking to safe options like Margarita Pizza and tomato sauce spaghetti (although with that last one be careful it doesn't have "little" bits of meat in it).

Other useful phrases:
niku wa haitemasu ka? (is there meat in it?)
sakana wa haitemasu ka? (is there fish in it?)

My advice before living here is research nearby vegetarian restaurants, learn how to cook simple dishes at home, learn katakana at the very least and if possible get a Japanese friend asap to help show you which foods are suitable!

Of course if you are not vegetarian (why are you reading this entry then?) you will no doubt enjoy the vast quantities of meat that Japanese people eat these days.

Also if you are a "vegetarian" that eats fish, gelatine and doesn't mind that your vegetable soup is made with chicken stock, you may also find life is easier. (PS: Please stop calling yourself a vegetarian, you make life more difficult for actual vegetarians - you are a Pescatarian, got it?)

Thanks to the rising popularity of American style fast food and increasing amounts of meat in their diets, Japanese are quickly losing their title for "healthiest country in the world" and getting more and more obese.
Personally I think it's a shame they are turning their backs on their roots, which is basically vegetable based with some fish.

Final Word:
As vegetarianism simply isn't understood or known about, it makes life a daily struggle for veggies living in Japan.
Confusion, resentment and irritation are often the reactions of learning you are a vegetarian.
The best you could hope for is a peculiar fascination of why you became one, when there is so much "lovely meat" to be eaten.
Be aware - you wont be able to be a lazy vegetarian here, every meal is a battle!
Japan has a long way to go before it even reaches 1940's-England level of awareness!
VERDICT: LOW POINT

Useful links:
Making safe veggie choices in Japan

Happy Cow - Veggie Restaurant Guide

iHerb - Import shop that ships all sorts of international brands to Japan

Dairy Products in Japan

I have lived in Japan for a long time now, and I have still yet to see a cow or even a sheep grazing in a field!
That's because most, if not all, dairy products are made in the northern island of Hokkaido. The climate there is very similar to that of the UK, cool summers and cold, cold winters - which I assume is good for cows.

Milk:
In the UK, organic (cows) milk is not only common, but we actually have several brands/types to choose from. It is slightly more expensive than regular milk of course, but it's there.
In Japan? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Even pasteurised milk isn't that common, Japanese people prefer the UHT variety it seems.
The taste? Well many foreigners coming to Japan comment that Japanese milk is overly creamy and too sweet. People accustomed to "semi-skimmed" milk, which balances taste and healthiness, may be discouraged to learn that no such milk exists in Japan.
When I first started buying milk in Japan, before I could read Japanese it was a literal "lucky dip" with each kind that I bought!
I now stick with the "Takanashi" brand, which is pasteurised and tastes good, it comes in a white and blue carton.
When sampling milk in Japan, get the smallest size and keep trying till you get something you like!
It's not all bad news though for people who buy organic, in my local 'Aeon' supermarket there is 1 kind of organic Soy Milk which is very good, I'm sure vegans are happy to learn that!
Flavoured Soy Milk (such as the Alpro brand in the UK) is hard to come by, pretty much all of them are filled with chemicals and taste awful. I'd stay away.

Cheese:
A more dire situation than milk I'm afraid! As a vegetarian, I'd become used to buying cheese with the "V" symbol on which means it doesn't contain animal rennet. (cow stomach lining)
In Japan, no such system exists of course, so every single Japanese brand isn't vegetarian. Yikes.
Unfortunately that also spreads to imported cheese, for example if you were to buy an English Cheddar, it has to be re-branded with Japanese stickers/ingredients etc when it reaches Japan, which removes any sign of if it was vegetarian or not!
Anyway if it's being exported to Japan it is highly unlikely they would ship over vegetarian varieties, which would be a specialised cheese in their home countries anyway.

But there is some good news! There is one brand that gets imported to Japan from America called Natures Valley, which offers organic (and veggie friendly) Mozzarella and Cheddar cheeses! They are both delicious, but weigh in at about 1,200 Yen each, (£8.50/$12) and can only be found from certain organic shops or online.

For those that don't care about anything I just said, Japanese cheese unfortunately isn't that good anyway, mostly processed sliced cheese or balls of cheese in the shape of Pokemon!
You can buy French and Dutch cheese from some supermarkets, if you can find a Carrefour you should be OK as they have lots of imported cheeses.
You can also get Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft cheese slices. I mention those 2 because they are the only commonly found foreign brands in Japan.
They are Japanese versions however and have slightly different ingredients and are no longer vegetarian.

Butter/Margarine:
Hokkaido butter is generally excellent, not too much to complain about here! You can get salted and unsalted brands without too many problems as well.
If you find an organic shop, you should also be able to get several organic versions too.
Margarine on the other hand is a bit more tricky, for anyone concerned about food additives/chemicals then I'd stay away from it completely.
Anyone accustomed to brands like "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" etc, will be disappointed to learn that no such things exist in Japan.

Final Word:
For vegetarians, the choices are few and expensive for most dairy products.
For those that aren't, they should still be wary of additive-filled products that are below the standard you may be used to in your home country.
As organic products are not that widespread in Japan yet, it is very hard to get an dairy that is organic, the ones you do find will no doubt be British or American and cost significantly more than you are used to.
VERDICT: LOW POINT

Recommended
Organic Valley Soft Cheese:

No animal rennet, absolutely delicious, soft creamy cheese, way better than Philadelphia.

Organic Valley Sharp Cheddar Cheese:

Veggie-safe rennet, lovely mild taste, perfect for sandwiches, grated on pasta etc

I bought both of these at my local organic shop, but can also be order at certain import shops like Alishan
Useful link for veggies in Japan! Alishan Online - "Tengu Foods"