The biggest issue with Japan is two-fold.
#1 - There are a lot of rules: Etiquette, gift-giving, male/female specific grammar, exchanging business cards, walking, smoking, working, bathing, bowing, listening, toilet-ing… the list goes on and on.
#2 - The Japanese will never correct you if you do any of them wrong.
And nowhere was that more true than my first sushi binge. Oh sure, I’d eat about one roll a day from the convince store, but when I finally had a chance to sit down and go to town on a conveyer belt restaurant, I almost immediately broke about 11 of the unspoken rules. So let’s learn what I did wrong, along with a handful of other tips of decorum.
The biggest thing I did wrong was mix wasabi and soy in a cup and dip my sushi. This is a huge no-no. Each piece of fish tastes differently, so should your additional toppings. The correct way of doing this is to add a tiny amount of wasabi on top, and then dip (fish down, rice up) it down into the small smattering of soy sauce.
Soy sauce: Use sparingly and leave none. Waste here is looked down upon.
Sushi is meant to be eaten in one bite. Don’t be a weirdo.
Never ever ever ask “Is the ______ fresh?” Ever. An insult of all insults.
Order of eating: Start with the lightest fish (whitefish) and slowly make your way to the fatty stuff (tuna, eel). A sip of tea or sake and a bite of ginger in between each roll to cleanse the palate is the way to go.
Easy on the perfume. Sure, it’s a great date meal, but any Japanese chef will tell you to come au naturel, as something like a strong smelling person can ruin it for everyone—including the chef who'll be just a few feet away.
Sake: The high quality stuff is to be served cold. In fact, I’ve never had warm sake anywhere in Japan.
A rule that is known, but I decided not to follow was eating fast. In fact, all of Japan seems to eat quickly. I do not. I’m one of the world’s slowest eaters. So this one is kind of take it or leave it.
Another rule I shun but it still practiced is not rubbing your chopsticks together. Granted, you’ll probably be eating at a nice place with non-disposable silverware/chopsticks/etc, but this is also supposed to apply to the wooden ones that come connected. However, these often have little bits hanging off and I don’t like that, so (usually under the table), I’ll give them both a scrape on one another.
Another HUGE no-no is placing your chopsticks in rice. This is an all-around-Asia faux pas, as it resembles incense left for the dead. Place them to the side.
Oh! Speaking of utensils, the Japanese being amazing and thinking of everything hide all cutlery, napkins, wasabi, soy, etc in a hidden drawer in front of you, or at the end of the table.
But let’s not end with all of these negative rules.
How about two completely appropriate practices:
Slurping noodles, if you order them, is not only fine, it’s seemingly desired.
Eating sushi with your hand is also completely acceptable.
Again, there isn’t one person in the country here who would pull you aside and say “You’re doing it wrong.” And many of those above are understandable if you forget–save for a few, the mixing of soy/wasabi being unforgivable, as is asking if it’s fresh. And the chopsticks in rice. Other than that, you’ll be forgiven.
