#5: Table Manners and Etiquette

This one isn’t perplexing so much. I understand where a lot of the rules and etiquette come from. It doesn’t make it any harder to follow though.

You cannot pass food from chopsticks to chopsticks, because that’s what they do with bones at a funeral. You cannot stick your chopsticks in your rice because they stick the chopsticks in the ashes at a funeral? Is that right? 

Also, you must start and end each meal with a saying. The saying at the beginning is “itadakimasu” or “I gratefully receive”, loosely translated. The saying at the end is “gochisosama deshita”, or “it was a feast”, designed to convey respect and gratitude for the food you’ve just eaten.

When drinking alcohol, you’re not supposed to refill your own glass. Wait for someone else to do it for you, and always offer to fill someone else’s if you see that they’re getting low.

Finally, slurping your noodles is alright. In fact, you should do it. Apparently it is so that you can eat the hot ramen without burning yourself, thereby keeping the maximum taste.

This is just my experience, and could be completely wrong. If I’ve made any glaring errors, please correct me in the comments. I quite like the table manners, although I do at least one thing wrong at every single meal.