Will You Get a Perfect Score? Test Your Knowledge of Japanese Dining Etiquette!

You’ll have opportunities to dine with your boss or coworkers when you start working in Japan. To avoid any embarrassing moments, it’s important that you are familiar with Japanese dining etiquette! Therefore, I’ll introduce some essential dining etiquette in quiz format. Give it a try and test your knowledge!

Should you lift your rice bowl while eating?

In Japan, rice is often served in a small bowl which is called “ochawan”. Japanese people, especially at home, always use one for their rice. Should you lift the “ochawan” while eating rice from this bowl?

“A: Yes” is the correct!

Perhaps, many foreigners feel hesitant about lifting their rice bowl while eating. However, in Japan, it’s a bad etiquette to eat rice while putting “ochawan” on the table.

That said, not all dishes are meant to be lifted. Regularly, you should lift items that fit comfortably in your hand, such as bowls for rice, soup, or soy sauce, small plates for dipping sauces, or small dishes for appetizers or simmered foods.

When drinking miso soup, should you bring the bowl to your mouth?

“Miso soup” is a staple of Japanese-style meal and is often served as part of a traditional Japanese meal. Is it considered a good etiquette to bring the bowl directly to your mouth when drinking miso soup?

“A: Yes” is correct!

This way of drinking is the general method for soup in Japan. Historically, Japanese tableware did not have spoons, so the only way to drink soup was to lift the bowl and sip from it directly, like drinking water from a cup.

Is there a specific rule you should follow when eating?

In Western cuisine’s case, meals typically start with an appetizer, followed by soup, and then the main course. On the other hand, is there a specific rule in which dishes should be eaten in Japan, like in Western dining?

“B: No” is correct!

In Japanese-style meal, there’s no rule like “soup first!”. Instead, it’s correct to rotate between rice, miso soup, and side dishes, enjoying them in a balanced way throughout the meal.

In a high-end sushi restaurant, should you eat sushi with chopsticks or with your hands?

Sometimes, you will have a meal at a high-end sushi restaurant. Naturally, you’d want to eat with a good etiquette. You will wonder if you should use chopsticks or your hands when you have sushi. Do you think either is acceptable?

“A: Yes” is correct!

You can eat sushi with chopsticks or your hands, either way is fine. But the taste can change depending on the freshness of the fish and the way the rice is prepared.

Then it might affect the flavor if the rice is squeezed too tightly or the warmth of your hands transfers to the sushi. When eating sushi with your hands, lightly pick it up with your fingers and eat it promptly for the best experience.

In a high-end sushi restaurant, should you separate the fish topping and rice when eating sushi?

When you have a meal at a high-end sushi restaurant, one of the keys is how to properly eat the sushi. Should you separate the topping (neta) from the rice (shari) or eat them together in one bite? Do you think “it’s correct to separate the topping and the rice” when you have sushi?

“B: No” is correct!

Sushi is a single dish made up of both the topping (neta) and the rice (shari) together. It’s important to eat it in one bite without cutting it with chopsticks, biting it in half, or separating the topping from the rice. You feel free to ask the chef to make it a bit smaller by saying, “Could you make it a little smaller, please?” if the piece is big for you.

[Bonus] Improper ways to use chopsticks

Finally, I’ll share the “10 Chopstick Taboos”. You should check whether you usually do them or not on this occasion.

• Sticking chopsticks in the food
• Indicate what you want to eat next by moving the chopsticks
• Transfer foods from chopsticks to chopsticks
• Mix foods inside dishes to find the food you want to eat
• Pull a dish towards your seat with chopsticks
• Put chopsticks on small dishes or bowls
• Lick chopsticks
• Stand chopsticks up in rice
• Point at somebody with chopsticks
• Make a sound by hitting dishes with chopsticks

Even if you feel it is difficult at first, you will get used to it step by step. If you wonder about Japanese dining etiquette, you should ask your Japanese coworkers or friends, and research it by yourself. Let’s learn it little by little! Keep etiquette in your mind, but don’t forget to enjoy your meal.

reference:
Well mannered? Bad mannered? Meal manners that are different in foreign countries.
Basic Etiquette When Eating at a High-class Sushi Restaurant