73 comments

• 

  IEatMyPigeon

  9 months ago

  I hear you, Koichi - especially "if you can't read at least hiragana/katakana, I can't help you." I've seen a lot of foreigners blabbering in English to the waiters like they're in an Asian theme park, not a foreign country. "Kore" is so simple to learn and I think it goes a long way to dispelling the idea that foreigners are too ignorant to learn Japanese. I've never seen a "no Gaijin" sign on a restaurant but the thought that they have existed and still sometimes do is very scary. I went into a sushi restaurant a few months ago and the way everyone looked at me when I entered, you might have thought I was the only foreigner in the history of the world to stop by. Once they realized I could read Japanese, they relaxed and were lovely ...
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  Mai

  11 months ago

  I agree with your water drinkingness. I chug down water really fast, and I do tend to pay tip depending on how often its refilled XD.
  
  Unfortunately, I have been to very FEW (like two) authentic Japanese restaurants in my area. All of the other ones are Japanese-styled (and claim to be Japanese) but are actually owned&ran by Koreans. (I do live in "K-Town" XD).
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  Viet

  11 months ago

  It is the same deal in Seattle. I just call it Korean food. Most of these establishments also serve Korean food and they tend to taste much better. At least in my area they should have more pride (as if they don't have enough of it already) in their nation's food and just open Korean food restaurant instead of some generic "Japanese" teriyaki place. I love kimchi, bulgogi, kalbi, bi bim bap... I'm starting to get hungry.
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  insomniacgamer

  11 months ago

  i met a woman before who really really believed that chopsticks were only used as hair ornaments haha!!!
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  WOTDsctoo

  11 months ago

  Ahhh, the communal platter chop stick thing. My (American) friend always gets pissy at me for grabbing things with the pointy end. Well, sort of, but whatever...we've known each other since we were kids. >.>
  
  Anyway, eating at a restaurant in Japan sounds difficult XD, except for the tipping thing. The water and waiter thing sounds difficult...and I think I would fail at fighting for the bill. I'm not very good at doing that kind of thing here in America.
  
  Thanks for the info!
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  Popkornage

  11 months ago

  There's one thing I have in common with you, Koichi. At restaurants, I usually drink around 4-5 cups of water (the big ones). I'm usually done a cup or two before the appetizers come. (By the way, do they have appetizers at Japanese restaurants?) Also, I'm surprised in a country like Japan they would have "No Gaijin" signs.
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  koichi

  11 months ago

  There used to be (and still kind of is) a lot of xenophobia in japan,
  so it sort of makes sense, though it is becoming less and less common
  
  Sent from my phone
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  andy

  11 months ago

  would the "no gaijin" signs, technically, apply to japanese (and possible chinese) americans, like yourself? that's pretty scary..what are the consequences if you are a gaijin and attempt to eat there?
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  Viet

  11 months ago

  It is circumstantial.
  
  Why would you even want to eat at a restaurant that doesn't even want your patronage?
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  Hogawa

  5 months ago

  If you look asian and you speak Japanese they will let you in. But i never found anything special about them. They have women only bars in Japan I couldnt get in one of those. some body fill me in on that. But i really dont care maybe for the femms that visit this website.
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  djarno

  11 months ago

  The water to tip ratio thing must be fairly common and I'm pretty sure waiters are aware of it. Often at restaurants I have my water refilled even if it's more than half full (or empty for all the pessimists).
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  reallydonotcare

  11 months ago

  wat is " no gaijin"?
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  Bella

  11 months ago

  It means "No foreigners"
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  azappyz

  11 months ago

  Exactly what Happened to me, when I visited Japan. The waiters/waitresses were very kind, when I wanted to tip my Japanese friend looked at me like an idiot... is it my fault Im trying to be nice haha. The water issue was also something i was very nervous about, although they had special call-waiter-buttons at the place I was at, so it wasn't as bad as yelling for service. Anyways great post :D
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  mee

  11 months ago

  As for your picture, that's the way to cut something in half with chopsticks, if you can't do the advanced reverse pulling method where the chopsticks are held in the normal way. Japanese people do it both of those ways, so I don't think poking fun at that person in the photo really makes sense.
  One more thing about Japanese restaurants, especially mom and pop style small places. You don't even need to look at the menu. Just say kyo no osusume no setto o kudasai, and you will get the days special with rice and a drink. That way you don't run much risk of having to answer follow up questions. Also they prepare a lot of the days special so you won't get something that's been sitting around for a week because no one ever orders it.
  Also, smoking is allowed in most restaurants in Japan at any table (except for chains which may have a smoking section), and be prepared for some serious eating sounds, such as grunting and slurping. Don't be grossed out, use the opportunity to learn to really make a show of enjoying your food. It can really be liberating.
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  koichi

  11 months ago

  I dunno, using two hands to pull stuff apart with the hashi is kinda
  pushing it. I woulda gotten a slap on my head from my mom for trying
  that...
  
  Sent from my phone
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  mee

  11 months ago

  Well luckily I'm not Japanese so I wouldn't get the head slap, but now I'm curious about this. What is the "correct" way to divide something in half, say a piece of aburaage or something tougher like karaage. Are you supposed to squeeze it in half with your amazing hand strength? Not divide things at all? What would mom tell you to do?
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  rockjon

  11 months ago

  I've lived in Japan for almost two years and a) I've never seen Japanese use chopsticks in two hands under any circumstances, b) I've never seen Japanese cut anything in half that is eaten with chopsticks, c) I have wondered this for some time. I'm going to ask a Japanese person what is with that. I'm assuming that they think there should be no need to cut as pieces are generally bite sized. It took me a while to get used to not wanting to cut those long pieces of pork in katsuudon ;)
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  Tofugu_Erin

  11 months ago

  I've always been (emphatically) taught not to do that. I can usually break things apart using one hand. If I can't, I just pick it up and bite it. I mean, you're not going to be eating steak with chopsticks, right?
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  gogo-tea

  11 months ago

  Hello, I'm a Japanese man who was born and raised in Japan. As everyone explained already, we don't use chopsticks all the time. We use knife and fork as often as we use chopsticks. When eating something which can't be separated with chopsticks, we just use knife and fork. I think that the way it goes in Japan. Thank you!
  btw I'm a big fan of this blog!
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  aliene

  11 months ago

  Don't know about the Japanese, but generally it is not too hard to break things apart, (like karaage) with 1 hand, as long as you're holding the chopsticks the right way (not with the tops crossed). You can poke the middle of the food with the chopsticks together at 1 point, then pull the chopsticks apart in different directions. Like I said, not sure about Japanese way, but seen many Chinese (myself included) do it.
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  Roxanne

  11 months ago

  I think it depends on what you're trying to cut. When I observe my friends eat, they usually try and separate something with one-handed chop-stick action, and then when failing, it being too tough or whatever, then they're like "damn, well I guess I gotta do this the hard way." and then they do it. So I have seen multiple Japanese do it.
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  Maciel

  11 months ago

  man cant we just use tortillas and it everything from one or two of them??? lol
  im mexican american and we eat a lot of things here with a tortilla and fork or a spoon lol
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• 

  ~

  10 months ago

  Yeah, my mom is Chinese/Taiwanese and she always yells at me for lack of chopsticks skills. I was never taught how to hold it "the right way" until I was too old to stop the way I did it naturally. Sometimes when something is really far away, I use one chopstick to puncture it and then bring it over to my side of the table. The one thing I can expect is a loud comment from my mom on how weird I am. Still, even I wouldn't try to cut something like that. o__O Talk about weird.
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  djarno

  11 months ago

  If you see a "No Gaijin" sign, you could always go Super Gaijin and walk right in. Afterall, how is a crazy gaijin like me supposed to know what "gaijin" means. But it's probably better not to stir the pot though.
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  Tonio

  11 months ago

  That's exactly why signs like that exist. Gaijin can always play the gaijin card and not follow rules. Although it's not cool that some places bar all foreigners out because of the idiots out there, they probably had bad experiences with gaijin enough to place a sign like that.
  
  The opening pic is great :) reminds me of that "Japanese Tradition - Hashi (chopsticks)" video
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  David

  11 months ago

  Well there are some places, like bars in Japan, that don't let gaijin in because the bars in Japan give you a snack and charge for it. Most gaijin get pissy about this when they see their bill, which is why bar owners will put No Gaijin sometimes. At least that's what I heard >.>
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  Raymasaki

  6 months ago

  First of all the have the word Foriegner NOT "Gaijin"
  it Has Nothing to do with people getting "pissy" or Not folling traditional Rules.
  most of the Places are run By Nationlists.
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  Adam F

  4 months ago

  Exactly. Often when an establishment encounters a few rowdy or ignorant or drunk foreigners they decide to ban foreigners from the business. I can understand that since there are very few foreigners in Japan. Those people that make such an impression make all gaijin look bad to many Japanese.
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  emiko

  11 months ago

  hey!
  
  a post!
  
  umm! I have a lot to say! It seems like the filipino culture is a bit similar to japan's culture. For instance, whenever we go out with my uncle, he and my mom always fight over the bill, one time they even had to jump for the bill (that was one mean waitress).
  
  Also, my mom calls for waiters and waitresses. I don't like it, but she does. She feels that since she is paying for service, she should get the service whenn she needs it. Although, she doesn't yell, ususally she waits for them to pass by.
  
  that's pretty much it!
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  Fujiko

  11 months ago

  I love your posts and videos! You could be a comedian, you are really gifted, it is a pitty not to do more about it.
  I just stayed one year in Japan, six month in kanazawa, 6 in yokohama.
  I wanted to blend in as much as I could, so I worked there. Went to restaurants and one of the most interesting place was a restaurant opened by a former sumo fighter.
  The hand in the picture above doesnt seem yellow ( my favourite colour), so I guess its just an unexperienced not- japanese somebody.
  All the best and please keep up with everything you do plus some more vids, as they are too cool:)
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  eLsa

  11 months ago

  nice =]
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  Fujiko

  11 months ago

  Don't know if you guys long for the delicious japanese food. I found this great site- yeah, I know I am a bit offtopic- but hey, I don't live in US and here where I live we don't have japanese restaurants....-Oh, God, I miss that food.
  Mai, you so right, I hate fake japanese restaurants, went to Wien, they were ran by chinese, omg awfull, nothing was the same.
  Here's a recipe for the delicious japanese potato salad :)
  The one you buy in Familly Marto :)
  Enjoy!
  http://www.justhungry.com/2006/05/japanese_pota...
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  aliene

  11 months ago

  Calling out for service
  
  Oh this is so true now that you mentioned it. I was out with a Japanese friend who had just arrived here for work a week ago and the same thing happened. Here, the most we'd do is to call softly, or raise our hand to wave at the waiters
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  Chirimotsumoreba

  11 months ago

  Most of the Japanese restaurants near me are pretty run of the mill eateries. However, a few in particular display distinctly Japanese characteristics. The water refilling issue is smack dab at number one on my list. They never refill your glass unless you ask. Its nerve racking to have that happen in a city were you can barely finish your first drink by the time the second is placed in front of you. Perhaps, I should learn to just not drink period. Ha.
  
  Every place is different though, one time I ate a place called Mt. Fuji and asked for a couple orders of ika, the all Chinese staff didn't really know what I wanted at first so I had to explain to them I wanted to orders (four pieces total) of squid sushi or whatever. They brought 2 pieces out on a dinner plate. It was one of those "Ok... wtf just happened" kind of moments.
  
  Great post!
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  fallenangelessence

  11 months ago

  dude we should meet up if you still here in hawaii.
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  Tofugu_Erin

  11 months ago

  He's leaving in a few days, though D:
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  Zaywex

  11 months ago

  Ahah. This happened to me w/ my homestay. We were at the zoo and she insisted on paying for lunch. I tried paying for her, and then for split, but she was really insistant. Maybe because she's in college while I'm in middle school..?
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  Sukotto

  11 months ago

  I love tipping people! It makes me feel good inside. :D
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  D

  11 months ago

  I agree on the water thing, I always need plenty to drink with my food :]
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  non

  11 months ago

  Hi　SMALL　　glass　is　good　for　me．
  Because　Ｉ　can　drink　　cold　water　soon.
  Okawari　is　better！　Don't　you　think　so？
  this　picture　is　nice！　Ｉ　sometimes　ＤＩＤ！
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  loco for japan

  11 months ago

  they actually yell???? that's crazy to me, i thought japanese people were really quite everywhere, oh well, i learned something new today!!!
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  Brian M.

  11 months ago

  hey. hm...
  very interesting. lol
  
  I guess I learned something new. lol. okay, I lied, i learned more than just one thing. ha
  
  um, you said you went to japan in highschool and stayed with a host family. do you mind me asking what program you went through to go to japan
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  koichi

  11 months ago

  Went through the Japanese government. I think it was foreign ministry.
  They were even nice enough to pay for it, too, and pay my host family
  for things like bikes and food. mmm.
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  brian

  11 months ago

  hm, well I'm going to try to look into that because I tried to do a host family stay in japan this summer but I didn't receive a scholarship so [sadly] could not go.
  ありがとう！
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  D.A.K.

  11 months ago

  When I was in Japan during last winter break, a kind old Japanese colleague of my father's took our family out to dinner at a tempura-bar kind of place. I ordered orange juice, and, of course, the glasses were so tiny that I kept asking for refills. After unwittingly getting about 6 refills of orange juice, the host-waitress lady kind of suggested to me that they had completely ran out.
  
  Only later, in JAPN102, would I find out that refills on any drink besides water are almost always *not* free in Japan. I probably costed that poor guy a fortune in orange juice! >_<
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  Wafukari

  11 months ago

  Yeah, European countries are the same way. I also found out the hard way, only I was paying for my own. I had about 5 carbonated drinks before the nice British lady that I was stying with leaned over and said "You know, those aren't free." then she laughed at me. HA HA
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  D.A.K.

  11 months ago

  I think this no-free-refills tip should be added on to this Japanese Restaurant Culture guide! It could save someone's wallet (and dignity) someday!
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  Wafukari

  11 months ago

  Its a good thing I read this post before I went to Japan. I probably would have made the same mistake... again.
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  Laynne

  11 months ago

  I never seem to finish the huge waters that they have here in America. Its always too much, but then again I was raised eating meals with nothing to drink til dessert so I dunno. Huh. The only problem I ever had when eating out in Japan was not being able to find many vegetarian meals. Most of the time everything came with meat so I would just have to eat around it or on the odd chance that they had vegetarian meals there would still be fish in it...which is still meat. So confusing, but at least the waiters were always helpful and super nice even without being tipped.
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  Zaakro

  11 months ago

  I was always wondering why everytime i go to get ramen my waitress never comes back to take my order, give me refills, or give me the bill when I'm done. And this isn't in Japan, its in Los Angeles or Orange County. I always just wait there and they come back sooner or later and say "oh are you ready?" One time I have sat there for about 10 minutes waiting for the bill. I always feel that it is rude to call someone over but I guess its not.
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  Eszti

  11 months ago

  I had to laugh at the picture, when I saw it. Then, I realized that it's really not that amusing. I mean for the people who know how to eat with chopsticks, it may be funny and we (they) laugh at it. We should actually help them, teach them how to use chopsticks correctly. They have never used it, how should they know? They can also ask for help, or they should just stick to using a fork or a spoon, instead of looking lame (sorry). I totally agree with the fact that before visiting a country, we should try to get to know more about the culture, so we don't face situations like the one above. I'm not just saying this about chopsticks, but about anything having to do with different cultures. Learning is a great thing, if we make it fun.
  Yeah, I do think that it's funny but it's also something to think about. :)
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  Shimi

  11 months ago

  Whats the difference between Chinese chop sticks and Japanese ones?
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  BaKa-NEKO

  9 months ago

  The Japanese chopsticks are round, I believe, while the Chinese ones are more square.
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  Bobby

  7 months ago

  You can get square Japanese chopsticks as well, but I think Chinese ones are longer (at least in restaurants).
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  JackTamaki

  11 months ago

  Yeah, I drink a ton at restaurants too. When I was at one okonomiyaki place in Kyoto the waitress came and refilled my midget water glass about 8 times. The service was great, but it was still embarrassing to have my cup refilled every few minutes.
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  Bella

  11 months ago

  Japanese restaurants in my area, well, there are two and I've been to one. Expensive as hell, but good food. The other just opened (Right down the street from the old one -_-). But what I hate is that if you dive around a bit you'll always find "Chinese-Japanese" restaurant and like they dont list "Chinese meals" and "Japanese meals". Most idiots I know think Chinese and Japanese are the same thing, I had some kid yell "They're the same exact thing!" When I told him the Chinese language and Japanese language arent the same (He thought Konnichiha was chinese for "Goodbye") - and those restaurants only make the two cultural foods seem...I dunno, "The same"
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  Izeyhec

  10 months ago

  i think this would be funny mainly the little water glasses im sher i would be hated if i didnt ask for a big glass because i would drink like 40 of tho's little glasses before my thirst was even close to bein full filled lol
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  Maciel

  10 months ago

  haha everytime i look at this picture, the lady on the right with the weird face and the chopsticks on the left look like they go perfect together
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  Vicky

  10 months ago

  In England refills are seldom free. In fact, I have only ever come across Pizza Hut that offer free refills. I was told once that you can get free refills in Macdonalds but you have to ask for them and as the British public expect to have to pay for refills no-one has ever (to my knowledge anyway) asked for a refill.
  
  Japanese table manners.
  
  I remember being told once that you must not let the eating end of your chopsticks touch the table and that there are chopstick rests you can make. Also that you never stand your chopsticks upright in your rice, instead you should place the chopsticks side by side resting either on the rest or across the sides of the bowl. I was told this was something to do with death rituals, but I may have been the butt of someones joke there!
  
  As for breaking food apart with chopsticks, I was always under the impression that if food was not small enough to eat with chopsticks, a knife and fork would be used, or (as Erin said) the eater would just bite enough off and continue to hold the remaining with their chopsticks.
  
  But then, as I haven't been to Japan, nor do I know anyone who is Japanese, I could very well (and have on several occasions) be wrong!
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  kakapoopy

  9 months ago

  I dun think i could survive drinking with little cups the size of shot glasses. I drink like a freaking lion at a watering hole i couldnt do that.
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  SaKuRa

  8 months ago

  haha, fun stuff.
  I personally prefered calling out to get something, its soo much faster. Or those little electronic magic button thingys that tell the server your ready. And I know the thing with flipping chopsticks over when with strangers is a little hard. But most people would look at me and be like its okay. Like this one time I went out with my familys tutor (a college kid) and they just shared the same untensils and everthing with me. So I think in that case it also depends on the person you are hanging out with and their personal preferences, just as some people in america don't mind sharing drinks and some do. Though I suppose if your in doubt you should deffinately flip em. Just to be safe...
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  Mashimaro

  7 months ago

  Is it just me,or does fighting for the bill seem rude?I mean,if somebody wants to pay for it,I think it would be rude not to let them!Heh,well that's just me.I guess I'm just not used to customs.
  As for not tipping,I think I would tip even if it did seem weird,if the person was real nice or something...
  And Koichi,was that host...thingy...for school or what?
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  lisa lisa

  7 months ago

  koichi, i just wanted to say - you rule!
  love your topix...
  btw, my dad's name is koichi too!
  =)
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  Racing School

  6 months ago

  My favorite is Japanese Curry with Pork Cutlet. It's amazing how the Japanese turned 'curry' a product dominated by the Indians into Japanese curry into something that is flavorful yet unique in it's own taste. More importantly, the Japanese curry has stormed into almost every country in the world.
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  Ashley

  6 months ago

  My fiance and I have been living here in Japan for a year and a half and we've both studied abroad here before. So, I guess you could say we've been around. Our friend, a complete neophyte in all things Japanese, was actually rather excited about the whole calling out thing but he was worried about his pronunciation of sumimasen. We went over it a few times, telling him to slightly raise his glass when she turned so that he wouldn't even have to resort to grunting to get the message across. He screwed up his courage right as the waitress was turning and shouted "sumi-MASEN" (only masen pronounced like mason XD) and threw his glass up like a salute at a bar. The poor girl nearly killed herself when she tried to turn around suddenly. Laughter was had by all except for the girl who probably got the crap scared out of her.
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  Raymasaki

  6 months ago

  make sure they are Japanese, Before speaking ive seen several people say Arigatou & the people are Chinese & of course NEVER respond or Talk, Some people leave the place thinking Japanese people arnt that friendly. Anyone studying Japanese, mandarin, Korean will have a better chance of telling. Remember "Tako" is NOT tortias salsa & meat
  its Otopuss Abunai!
  -RayMasaki-
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  TannerGrovyle

  6 months ago

  Uh oh... I'm REALLY dependant on water, especially at the elevation I live at. Thanks for the advice on asking for the water in a beer glass, it's really gonna help.
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  Parker2038

  5 months ago

  Why do you drink water when you can have sake? every time I go to a Japanese restaurant I have a portion of sake just for me... Eh Eh Eh... (Don't get yourselves drunk...)
  I live in Portugal, here Japanese food are a bit expensive but it totally wort it...
  
  -- I LOVE JAPAN! --
  -- Parker2038 --
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  SEO

  4 months ago

  Everyone has his/her own opinion, perception regarding different matters.. Every country has its own culture and they represent themselves accordingly... Someone want waiter to come and ask for their order while dinning and other doesn't want this... So this doesn't mean that we ll change our ways and wont go and visit there just because we don't like their ways of presenting themselves... Do go all those places you are getting chances for and try to find out the things that you like among them instead of criticizing them always..
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  daifuku

  1 month ago

  I'm loving this site! YAY! Hawaii IS as Japanese as America gets, that's why I want to go there(I have other reasons as well). I don't think I'll ever get the chance to visit Japan, but it seems like a nice place. I didn't know they didn't tip-I decpise tipping-In my Country we don't tip either. Thanks for your informative posts.:)
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  shukumei

  2 weeks ago

  ha ha. i went on a student exchange program to japan as well. ^_^
  i had no idea about the chopstick flipping thing or the tipping, so thanks for those tidbits. before i went, i did a lot of research on customs. now i'm learning the language. =__= oy.
  have any suggestions on memorizing kanji???? x____x i can recognize what some of them say, but i cannot write them from memory.
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  Random

  4 days ago

  My thoughts while reading:
  
  "If you are eating with people that aren’t really close friends or family, then yes, it’s important you turn your chopsticks around to grab the food."
  ME: Crap I don't know how to use chopsticks...
  
  "If you don’t know how to use chopsticks, then you should probably turn your fork around"
  ME: That sounds hard. Maybe I should just try the chopsticks..
  
  "and look like the idiot you are for going to Japan without learning how to use chopsticks beforehand."
  ME: /Dies]
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