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JAPANESE EATING ETIQUETTE


It is impolite to eat or drink something while walking down the street.

Do not bite or clean your fingernails, gnaw on pencils, or lick your fingers in front of others.

In restaurants or when visiting it's customary to get a small, moist rolled-up towel (cold in summer, hot in winter) called an "oshibori" to wipe their hands with. It's impolite to wipe the face and neck with it though some do in less formal places.

In Japan it is impolite to pour your own drink when eating with others--you pour your companion's drink and your companion pours yours.

If you don't want any more to drink, leave your glass full.

It's customary to say "Itadakimasu" before eating and "Gochisosama deshita" after eating, especially if you're being treated, as well as "Kanpai" for "Cheers".

When sharing a dish, put what you take on your own plate before eating it.

Do not make excessive special requests in the preparation of your
food, nor wolf it down.

Do not use your chopsticks to skewer food, move dishes around, and
NEVER dish out food to another using the same ends you just ate
from--use the top ends.

Don't use your chopsticks to point at somebody.

Don't leave your chopsticks standing up out of your food.

It is normal in Japan to pick up your rice or miso soup bowl and hold it under your chin to keep stuff from falling.

Traditional Japanese food is served on several small plates, and it's normal to alternate between dishes instead of fully eating one dish after another.

Don't leave a mess on your plate--fold your napkin neatly.

Don't take wads of napkins, sugar packs, or steal "souvenirs" when you leave a restaurant.

Do not put soy sauce on your rice--it isn't meant for that.

Do not put sugar or cream in Japanese tea.

There is no real custom like "help yourself". Wait until the host offers something.

If you act as host, you should anticipate your guest's needs (cream/sugar, napkins, etc.).

If you must use a toothpick, at least cover your mouth with your other hand.

Be aware that in Japan it is normal to make slurping sounds when you're eating noodles.

In Japan, it's good (in commercials, anyway) to make loud gulping noises when drinking. Expect to hear lots of it in ads.

It is normal to pay a restaurant or bar bill at the register instead of giving money to the waiter/waitress. There is no tipping in Japan.



#12.9


ETIQUETTE FOR EVERYDAY LIVING


��������� Thou shalt NOT BE LATE for appointments.


��������� There is no custom of "Ladies First".


��������� Avoid excessive physical and eye contact--forget the back-slapping,
prodding, and pointing directly at someone with your finger (use
your hand to point, if you must).


��������� Japanese often use silence for communication as much as speaking.


��������� Do not chew gum when working or in other formal situations.


��������� When Japanese start work at 9 AM, they START WORK at 9 AM.


��������� Avoid lots of jewelry or very colorful clothes when going to work.


��������� White-collar Japanese typically leave the office only after their superiors have done so. Do not expect someone to be instantly free once the official business hours are over.


��������� Exchanging business cards is de rigueur in formal introductions. You should extend your card to the other person with both hands, right side up to them (upside down to you). You receive cards with both hands also. Be sure to look at the card and not just pocket it. Never put it in your pants pocket and sit on it in front of them.


��������� It is polite to put "-san" after anothers name, or "-chan" after a young girl�s name, or "-kun" after a boy's name, but NEVER use these after your own.


��������� Do not scream about why nobody speaks English, why there aren't
5 different varieties of a product you want, or why workplaces or
restaurants are filled with chain-smokers. The "health thing" is
not big here yet.


��������� Avoid shouting loudly at someone to get their attention--wave, or go up to them.


��������� If you have to blow your nose, leave the room, or at the very least try to face away from other people--and use a tissue--not a handkerchief!


��������� Don't wear tattered clothes outside, nor socks with holes when visiting someone.


��������� Japan has no tradition of making sarcastic remarks to make a point,
nor "Bronx cheers" or "the Finger" -- avoid using them.


��������� The Japanese gesture of "Who, me?" is pointing at their nose, not their chest.


��������� The Japanese gesture for "Come here" is to put your hand palm out, fingers up, and raise and lower your fingers a few times. The western gesture of palm-up, closing your hand is only used to call animals to you.


��������� The Japanese gesture for no is fanning your hand sideways a few times in front of your face.


��������� Don't wear your slippers into a tatami (straw) mat room.


��������� It's customary to sit on the floor in a tatami room (called "washitsu").


��������� Don't wear your slippers into the genkan (at the entrance to a home, where the shoes are kept), nor outside.


��������� Don't wear the toilet room slippers outside the toilet room.


��������� It's better to wear shoes slipped on easily when visiting someone.


��������� It's polite to initially refuse someone's offer of help. Japanese may also initially refuse your offer even if they really want it. Traditionally an offer is made three times. It may be better to state you'll carry their bag, call a taxi, etc., instead of pushing them to be polite and refuse.


��������� When they laugh Japanese women often cover their mouths with their hand. This comes from an old Buddhist notion that showing bone is unclean, as well as a horrendous lack of orthodontics in Japan. If you're a woman you have no obligation to copy this, but you will soon notice how frequently Japanese do this.


��������� It's polite to bring some food (gift-wrapped in more formal situations) or drinks when you visit someone.


��������� Gift giving is very important in Japan, but extravagant gifts require an equally or slightly higher extravagant gift in return. Avoid giving pricey gifts.




They don't sell envelopes at the post office� (you must buy them at the convenience store)

At a restaurant, they usually only provide one menu per table

Even after you've been studying accelerated Japanese for 1 year, the 3 year old boy talking to his mother at the supermarket seems to have better command of the language than you do.

Everybody is walking around talking on a miniature cell phone.� We even saw a woman flipping through dresses at the department store with both hands permitted to be free because she was wearing a headset type mobile phone.

Your Japanese friends email you from their mobile telephone.

There is a particular looking booth in all the convenience stores where you can change the melody of your cell phone's ring for $4.00.

The Chinese food is nothing like in the USA.� For that matter, it's still nothing like the Chinese food you find in China itself.

You're not full after just spending more than $20 on dinner

When you arrive at the train station your first time in Japan, you don't recognize any of the food, except maybe some M&M's if you're lucky.

There are no paper towels or means to dry your hands in any restroom.

No one is wearing sunglasses - the sunglass image is associated with the mafia here

Nobody seems to pull over to the side of the road for an ambulance that has it's sirens on

You can't find celery at the supermarket

The bananas (expensive) you bought yesterday have turned to liquid on your kitchen counter today.

You have a dead whole fish staring at you from the plate at breakfast

After you've carefully studied your introduction and manner (in Japanese, with a bow and no handshake), the party you are meeting gestures to shake your hand anyway and says "Pleasure to meet you"

There are many stairs to climb at the train station, and no escalators

Nobody accepts a tip (not even the movers or the barber)

The napkins at the restaurant are coated with plastic, so they effectively just serve to smear everything and never absorb.

At the restaurant, you get your bill before your meal even arrives (they're not trying to get rid of you)

As a Westerner, you may not be permitted to enter some bars.

The popcorn is coated with fish flakes.

There is corn and mayonnaise on the pizza

You can order squid ink on your pizza in lieu of tomato sauce.

Credit cards and checks are not as generally accepted as in America, most transactions are in cash.

You may see grown men peeing in the street.

An innocent looking roll at the bakery usually has a surprise filling, like beans, or some other surprise ingredient.

When you walk into any shop, the employees yell "EERASHAIMASAEE!" - it means welcome, how can we help you?.

When you leave any shop or restaurant, you may find several people yelling "DOMOARIGATO GOZAIMASHTA!" - Thank you very much.

The young women are wearing shoes that are about 6 inches tall.

The automatic ticket booths on the highway often have a ticket dispenser on the left hand side - for those who have American, left hand drive cars

There is no door at the entrance to the public bathroom.

The men's room on the bullet train has a window - to the inside of the train

You spend about $50 filling up you small car's 15 gallon tank.

Your brand new car doesn't come with a full tank of gas.

You see some people walking down the street wearing a sort of mask over their mouth and nose - they are sick and are trying to both get better and prevent others from catching what they got.

The gas station attendant offers to take any garbage you have lying around in your car and then when your tank is full, he runs out into the street to stop traffic so� you may safely merge in.

There are heated toilet seats at your workplace.

You blow the "optimal" weight to height guideline shown on the bathroom scale at the Rihga Royal hotel - this is intended for a Japanese person.

At the supermarket checkout, you're given a handful of plastic bags so that you can bag your groceries yourself.

No "paper or plastic" choice at the supermarket, you have "plastic or plastic"

Each of the 12 donuts you just bought are individually wrapped in plastic.

A single movie ticket will run you about $18 US

You and your Western friends may be the only people laughing during the movie.

It's ok to bring McDonald's, a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken, or whatever into the movie theater.

The Japanese stay seated after a movie and watch ALL the credits (except if the movie is over 3 hours)




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# 12.10
JAPANESE CULTURE UP CLOSE
1. The correct way to bow in Japan is to lower your eyes and keep your palms flat against your thighs.


2. Slip-on shoes are best in Japan for ease of removal when entering homes.


3. In Japan, avoid giving gifts (such as flowers in a bouquet) containing an even number of components.� Especially avoid giving 4 items of anything.


4. When meeting Japanese business reps for the first time, they will probably check to see if your shoes are shined.


5. Japanese negotiators prefer to look at issues in a circular, rather than linear, fashion in which one issue may be at discussed at several different times or several issues may be discussed simultaneously.


6. 99% of the Japanese population is native born.� Extremely high population density fuels the culture�s group mentality.


7. Close-up on Japan


������� A. 4000 character alphabet


������� B. Only past and present verb tenses


������� C. Only 5% of the U.S. crime rate


������� D. 120 million people on a land mass the size of California


������� E. Superiors resign if subordinates engage in wrong-doing


������� F. Japanese employees in large companies offer over a million annual suggestions for improvement


������� G. Dependence is seen as a sign of health; independence as a kind of sickness.


8. A shokai-sha (3rd party relationship facilitator) is essential in negotiating with the Japanese to build high context rapport and to handle negotiation tensions where face-saving is needed.


9. Kimonos in Japan should be wrapped left side over right.� Only corpses use right over left.


10. The Japanese may ask you a lot of personal questions.� Don�t be upset, they�re merely trying to determine your social standing so they can address you correctly.


11. To promote harmonious relationships with the Japanese, send negotiating questions well in advance of the meeting and don�t be surprised if executives engage in long pauses of silence before answer questions.


12. You should keep your hands and face still in Japan, since small gestures and expressions often have significant meaning.


13. The Japanese are very neat and clean.� Use tissue rather than a handkerchief, and change your clothes often.


14. The Japanese consider it rude to show the inside of the mouth, so they typically cover their mouth when laughing.


15. Most Japanese know what will be discussed in a meeting, how everyone feels about it, and how it will impact their business before they ever get there.� The purpose of a Japanese meeting is for the participants to reach some sort of consensus.


16. Japan leads the world in alcohol and cigarette consumption.


17. The 3 largest cities in Japan are Tokyo, Yokohama and Osaka.


18. The Nikkei (�knee-kay�) is the name of the Japanese stock market.


19. Tipping is virtually nonexistent in Japan, and a tip may very well be refused.� At hotels and restaurants, be prepared to have a service charge added to your bill.


20. The four main islands of Japan are Hokkido, Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku.


21. Honshu (with the cities of Toyko, Osaka, Fukuoka, Kyoto, and Hiroshima) is the most populated Japanese island.


22. The Japanese have the longest lifespan (for both men and women).


23. Responding to a recent trend back to more traditional Japanese tastes, teriyaki burgers often appear on the menu alongside the Big Mac.� Mild curries, rice dishes and rice balls have been added from time to time in an attempt to beat tough local competitors.


24. Japan has been ruled by emperors for over 2,000 years.� According to legend, the first Emperor was Jimmu in 600 B.C.


25. Japan came under the cultural influence of China in the sixth century A.D. with the import of Buddhism and the Chinese writing system.� It modeled its governmental and cultural institutions on the Chinese Tang Dynasty.


26. Shoguns (feudal lords) held political control from the 12th century A.D. until the late 19th century.� Portuguese traders and missionaries arrived in the 16th century, followed by the Dutch and the British.� The shoguns expelled all foreigners in the 17th century with the exception of a few on Deshima (an island off the coast of Nagasaki).


27. In 1853, Matthew Perry (U.S. Navy) renewed Western contact with the Japanese. The shoguns lost power in the 1860s, and the emperor again took control. In 1895, the Japanese defeated China.� The Japanese then gained the influence that China had held in Korea. Japan was also victorious in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, which led to its recognition as a military power. Japan invaded Manchuria and much of China in the 1930s. After its defeat in World War II, Japan was occupied by military forces (mainly from the U.S.), from 1945 to 1952.� In 1947, a new constitution was adopted that declared Japan a democracy. The current emperor,� Akihito, ascended to the throne in 1989.� He is the head of state, but has no governing power. In January 1996, Ryutaro Hashimoto became Japan�s Prime Minister.� This was the fourth change in government since 1993, and it returned the Liberal Democratic Party to power.� Throughout the political instability of the early 1990s, the fundamental problems of Japanese politics such as factionalism, corruption, the dominance of big business and �money politics� continued to exist.


28. Spoken Japanese is not closely related to the spoken Chinese language, but written Japanese is based on Chinese ideographs (characters).� The Japanese also use two phonetic alphabets simplified from the ideographs.� A third phonetic alphabet uses Roman letters.


29. Japanese people don�t like surprises.� It is necessary to prepare them for upcoming presentations or discussions by sending them written material well in advance.� Arrange for several copies to be printed�translated into Japanese�of any written material you plan to use.� This will allow each member of the team to have a copy, which will in turn, speed the decision-making process.


30. Traditional etiquette among the Japanese people emphasizes humility.� If you are offered tea or fruit, before accepting you should express a slight hesitation.� It is also courteous to deny compliments graciously and to avoid extending excessive compliments on the d�cor.� Understated compliments are more appropriate.


31. Japanese culture is steeped in tradition, a part of which applies to dining.� Japanese people generally consume food in a certain order.� For example, first a chopstick full of rice is eaten, then one of the side dishes and then more rice.� It is considered rude to eat just one dish at a time.


32. After being seated, you will be given an oshibori (damp cloth) for cleaning your hands.� Remember not to use this on your face, neck or arms.� Put it back on the tray from which it was served when you are done.� Handkerchiefs are often used in place of napkins during a meal.


33. Japanese food is frequently served to individuals on square or rectangular trays containing food in dishes or compartments.


34. Wait until your host/hostess picks up his/her chopsticks before you touch yours, but do not wait until he/she starts eating.� The highest-ranking guest is the one who should start eating first.� The custom is for the host to bow to the guest and for the guest to say �Itadakimasu,� which means literally �I receive this feast.�� A variation is for your host to bow and say this; you should then reply with the same word and start eating.


35. Green tea is the most popular drink in Japan, although coffee has become more common in recent years.� Western-style soft drinks are also popular.


36. Sake, a traditional drink in Japan, is made from rice.� It is served slightly warmed in tiny cups.� A sake cup should be held with one hand underneath the cup and the other around it.


37. If you are sitting at a meal and have to blow your nose, it is polite to get up, excuse yourself and leave the table.� Use a paper tissue to blow your nose, not a handkerchief.� A handkerchief is used for wiping the fingers, the brow or as a napkin during a meal.


38. The main meal of the day is eaten in the evening.� Popular Japanese specialties include miso (bean paste) soup, various kinds of noodles (ramen, udon and soba), sashimi (uncooked fish), and tofu (soybean curd) and pork dishes.� Sushi is a combination of fish (cooked or raw) and rice with vinegar.� Sukiyaki is thinly sliced beef cooked with vegetables in soy sauce and sake.� Tempura is fish or vegetables dipped in batter and deep-fried.


39. Be aware that Japanese people generally do not eat desserts, except for fresh fruit.


40. Shoes are removed before entering a Japanese home.� Place them together, pointing away from the house.


41. Men and women do not wear shorts, except at resorts or while jogging.


42. Traditional sports include sumo wrestling, judo, kendo (fencing with bamboo poles) and karate.� Baseball has been played in Japan since the 1870s and is considered the national sport.


43. The Japanese have always loved trendy gadgets, especially high tech ones.� Some of the latest �gadget fads� include �negative ions� (which dispense �positive moods�) air conditioners, hair dryers, jewelry, etc; Pokemon, pet robots, bottled Chinese tea, and skin-whitening soap.


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[Celeste]