Table Manners
Avoid any misunderstandings and follow these rules the next time you go out! Or even at school lunch...
Table Settings
This is a basic place setting that you may find at your next enkai. Let's start in the upper left hand corner. It's a bit square shaped in this picture, but that tiny little cup/bowl is actually for sake. Outside of Kochi, you likely won't be given this cup unless you order sake. But in the land of drinking, you receive it right off the bat. To the right of that is a shallow dish for soy sauce. The rest of the setting is pretty straight forward. Always keep your rice bowl at the bottom left (right if you're left-handed) place setting. This is so that you can easily lift the bowl with your free hand while eating.
Table Manners
Rule #1
Don't stab your food with your chopsticks. You also shouldn't use your chopsticks as a knife. However, if you find yourself in a situation where you want to split food, wrap your chopsticks around the food and squeeze (this works better with softer food like tofu). You can also hold your chopsticks together and press and drag them along the food to cut it.
Rule #2
Don't eat like a dog. When eating miso, pick up the bowl directly to your lips and drink. When eating rice, use your free hand (the hand not holding the chopsticks) and eat from the bowl. Besides these two bowls, it's rude to lift other plates or bowls directly to your mouth. However, it's better to hold a plate than it is to hunch over to get closer to the table. This is one of the reasons why Japanese meals are generally served on many smaller plates and bowls.
Rule #3
Do not double dip in communal sauces. It's unhygienic. Make sure to get enough sauce the first time you dip. If you need more sauce, pour it on your plate or simply gaman (endure the lack of sauce).
Rule #4
Do not transfer food from your chopstick's to someone else's chopstick's. In the Buddhist funeral tradition, after a body is cremated, the bones are picked from the ashes with special chopsticks and passed from one family member to another to transfer into an urn. If you need to pass food to someone else, ask them for their individual plate (called a torizara) and serve the food that way. To be hygienic, make sure to use the serving utensils or turn your chopsticks over and use the blunt end when handling food from a communal dish.
Rule #5
Do not leave your chopsticks standing up in your food bowl. Similar to rule #4, it's customary to leave a bowl of white rice with a pair of chopsticks standing upright in it for the deceased. When you're not eating, the best place for your chopsticks are on the hashi-oki (or "chopstick rest") that's usually provided. If you don't have one, lay your chopsticks together across your rice bowl or plate, do not cross them because this is also a reminder of funeral traditions.
Rule #6
No licking/sucking on your chopsticks.
Rule #7
No playing with your chopsticks. You also shouldn't point or gesture to people with your chopsticks. Same goes for gesturing towards your favorite dishes. It's also frowned upon waving your chopsticks over food.