Chopstick Etiquette: The Do's and Dont's

Last week, we wrote a post on 5 customs you need to know before visiting Japan. This week, we decided to take it a step further and talk about the Japanese etiquette for using one of the most symbolic items of Asian cuisine: Chopsticks.

Seeing as how we own a Japanese restaurant, we always come across people who use their chopsticks in a very interesting ways.

That being said, here are some Do's and Don'ts for any of you that want to use chopsticks the real Japanese way.

1) Don't stick your chopsticks in your rice. This is how rice is offered to the spirit of a dead person, and is usually inappropriate for dining room tables.

2) Don't pass food from one chopsticks to another. Not only will this prevent you from making a mess, but this is reminiscent of a Japanese custom performed at funerals involving bones.

3) Don't take food from a communal plate with your own chopsticks. In Japan, this is considered to be very unsanitary. You should use the supplied serving utensils. If there aren't any, turn your chopsticks the other way and use the fat or unused ends to pick up the food.

4) When you aren't using your chopsticks, do set them at the front, next to the table’s edge, with the pointed ends towards the left. (as opposed to setting them on your plate/bowl).

5) Do use chopsticks to pick up pieces of food that are slightly too large to eat in one bite. Simply bite off what you can and then return the rest to your plate.