Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
27
you are with chopsticks. And it's perfectly
okay to pick up a bowl of rice or small dish
while eating.
As for etiquette involving chopsticks, if
you're taking something from a communal
bowl or tray, turn your chopsticks upside
down and use the part that hasn't been in
your mouth to transfer the food to your
plate. Then you turn the chopsticks back
to their proper position. The exceptions
are shabu-shabu and sukiyaki. Never point
your chopsticks at anyone. Also, never
stick your chopsticks down vertically into
your bowl of rice and leave them there,
and never pass anything from your chop-
sticks to another person's chopsticks—
both actions have origins relating to
funerary rites but are now mostly consid-
ered bad manners.
EATING SOUP
If you're eating soup,
you won't use a spoon. Rather, you'll pick
up the bowl and drink from it. Use your
chopsticks to fish out larger morsels of
food. It's considered in good taste to slurp
with gusto, especially if you're eating noo-
dles. Noodle shops in Japan are always
well orchestrated with slurps and smacks.
DRINKING
If you're drinking in Japan,
the main thing to remember is that you
never pour your own glass. Bottles of beer
are so large that people often share one. The
rule is that, in turn, one person pours for
everyone else in the group, so be sure to
hold up your glass when someone is pour-
ing for you. Only as the night progresses do
the Japanese get sloppy about this rule. It
took me a while to figure this out, but if no
one notices your empty glass, the best thing
to do is to pour everyone else a drink so that
someone will pour yours. If someone wants
to pour you a drink and your glass is full,
the proper thing to do is to take a few gulps
so that he or she can fill your glass; or, if you
truly don't want to drink any more, leave
your glass full and politely refuse any more
offers. At any rate, because each person is
continually filling everyone else's glass, you
never know exactly how much you've had
to drink, which (depending on how you
look at it) is either very good or very bad.
PAYING THE BILL
If you go out with a
group of friends (not as a visiting guest of
honor and not with business associates),
it's customary to split the dinner bill
equally, even if you all ordered different
things. This makes it difficult if you're try-
ing to spend wisely, especially if others had
a lot more to eat and drink. But even for-
eigners living in Japan adopt the practice
of splitting the bill; it certainly makes fig-
uring everyone's share easier, especially
since there's no tipping in Japan.
OTHER ETIQUETTE TIPS
It's consid-
ered bad manners to walk down the street
in Japan eating or drinking (except at a
festival). You'll notice that if a Japanese
buys a drink from a vending machine, he'll
stand there, gulp it down, and throw away
the container before moving on. To the
chagrin of the elders, young Japanese
sometimes ignore this rule.
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6
SOCIAL SKILLS 101
Because of its physical isolation and the
fact that it was never successfully invaded
before World War II, Japan is one of the
most homogeneous nations in the world.
Almost 99% of Japan's population is Japa-
nese, with hardly any influx of other genes
into the country since the 8th century.
The Japanese feel they belong to one huge
tribe different from any other people on
earth. A Japanese person will often preface
a statement or opinion with the words
“We Japanese,” implying that all Japanese
think alike and that all people in the world
can be divided into two groups, Japanese
and non-Japanese.
