TABLE MANNERS IN JAPAN

At the Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa you can enjoy the most exquisite delicacies from Asia at any of the restaurants available at our resort. You can also try some of the most exotic and traditional dishes, but, do you know what your table manners should be like in Japan?

Many of us think that it is enough to know how to use chopsticks, but in Japan there is a whole protocol that must be followed. Today, we are going to tell you about some of these manners:

– Shoes must not be worn at the dining room, or anywhere inside a Japanese home or restaurant. Socks are offered to guests.

– Men must cross their legs when sitting at the dining table. However, women normally kneel on their heels with their knees to the one side.

– When they start eating, they say “Itadakimasu”, an expression meaning “bon a petit”. When they finish, they say “Gochisousamadeshita” to give thanks for the food they have just had.

– Chopsticks are only used to eat. It is considered rude to use them as sticks or to point. It is not mannerly to lick them either.

– Chopsticks must always be kept together. If there is a chopstick holder available, it should be used; otherwise chopsticks should be left in front of a bowl or plate. Chopsticks should never be crossed or on top of a bowl (the way we do it in the west when we finish eating).

– If there is a sauce on the table, the chopsticks must be dipped in it and then brought towards the food, as opposed to dipping the piece of food to the sauce.

– When having soup, you must directly drink from your bowl, not using a spoon. When having noodle soup, use your chopsticks if necessary. Slurping is not impolite in Japan.

– Another person must serve us, not ourselves, and we must do the same for others.

If you wish to put everything you have learnt into practice, come to one of our Asian restaurants at the Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa for a magnificent gastronomic experience.