Eating by the Rules

One of the things that is interesting about living abroad is the various customs, rules and etiquette that varies culture to culture.

In Japan here are a couple of table rules- as spelled out by a Japanese person- (hence the cute grammar?!) My comments below each point...

1. Blowing your nose in public, and especially at the table, is considered bad manner.

It is OK however to snuffle, snort and make other noises to keep your nose from running! This is one that is always SHOCKING to foreigners who find the snorting noise MUCH more distasteful than blowing your nose!

2. It is considered good manner to empty your dishes to the last grain of rice.

in Some Parts of Asia this is NOT true. It is polite in China to leave the last few grains of rice- shows that you were given an excess from the generous host of the meal.

3. Talking about toilet related and similarly disappetizing topics during or before a meal is not appreciated by most people.

I would assume this one to be universal!

4. Unlike in some other parts of East Asia, it is considered bad manner to burp.

though I hear older Japanese business men do this ALL the time. And strangely, burping is rude but Spitting loudly anywhere on the street or even in a train station is A-OK!

5. After finishing eating, try to place all your dishes in the same way as they were at the start of the meal. This includes replacing the lid of dishes which came with a lid and replacing your chopsticks on the chopstick holder or into their paper slip, if applicable.

I like this one, very neat and tidy! easy for the host to collect the dishes and looks much better. But then I have been here for a long time, and perhaps this shows I am becoming acculturated in my host country.