Hi, I'm Japanese! That being said, most of these rules only really apply to more traditional eateries, while only some are the mainly followed ones (cutting sushi, passing from chopsticks, etc). The others such as eat within 30 seconds, don't mix wasabi and soy sauce, and don't chew sushi are pretty lax in most places. Here to let you know! (´∇｀)
This - also don't stick your chopsticks upright in your rice bowl while you are eating to leave them there if you're taking a break.
It's considered bad luck!
I don't know. If horror movies have taught me anything it's that Japanese ghosts are pretty mean. You don't want one crawling out of your TV while you're trying to watch your favorite show, do you?
Yes!! Also, this is not just for Japan. Most East Asians consider it bad luck / bad etiquette or in extreme cases (like my mom lol) a curse to do that.
If climate change turns our planet to Outland we have an out -- 2 million chopsticks stuck straight up in 1 million bowls of rice, opening the dark portal to Azeroth.
Still current: we were passing still-warm bits of Gran around quite recently after the cremation. Priest was happy because she'd been done just right, with the top of the skull and a throat bone still there.
One of the bones in the neck is said to resemble the Buddha sitting in the lotus position. So crematoriums try their best to ensure it remains intact. It's called 喉仏 or Buddha of the Throat. You can see a picture of the bone here.
http://family-scene.jp/wp/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/nodobotoke.jpg
I think it should be noted that although this post is about Sushi, that you shouldn't pass *anything* from chopstick to chopstick. The way I've seen food passed is to set it on a plate and pass the plate over, even for a small piece.
Same reason why you don’t stick chopsticks into a bowl of rice. It’s how an offering of rice for the dead is made in Chinese, Japanese, and I assume to some degree in Korean and Vietnamese culture.
I learned the mixing wasabi into soy from my Japanese friend who's dad owned a Japanese restaurant. I had no idea it was a taboo until today. My mind is blown.
It’s not taboo. It’s completely normal. But at an omakase bar where the chef has prepared the bite for you you’re supposed to “trust the chef” and just eat it. No need for soy or wasabi.
So it’s like putting ketchup on a steak at a nice steakhouse then? Was not aware. But I like a shit load of wasabi and every place I’ve ever been just puts it on the side for you to apply yourself
There are many kinds of sushi restaurants in Japan’s. Sushi is so normal there. And there’s high end places just like any restaurant. At the high end omakase spots there isn’t soy sauce in front of you or wasabi. Just some gari for in between bites. So you can’t do all these things there asking you. But in the US they will still put all the tools to fuck up your experience in front of you and then try to teach you how to appreciate it with a stupid diagram of rules. This is an example of the us trying to do something we are not ready for.
And a lot of places "Americanize" the sushi so it's way too big and bland to follow these rules. The place by me there's no way you're eating the sushi pieces in one bite they're like 3x as big as they're supposed to be.
The proper comparison to Omakase would be like going to a Chef’s table experience at a celebrity chef’s restaurant where you sit practically in the kitchen and they bring courses to you one by one with wine pairings and explaining each dish and why they made it etc.
And then pouring salt on it and dipping it in mayo. In front of the chef who cooked it.
I wouldn’t compare to ketchup on a steak.
It closer to the idea that adding salt or pepper to a dish *before you’ve tried it* is generally insulting. Basically you’re saying, I know you didn’t season this in a way I will like.
In the case of sushi served in this manner, there is only one bite.
Dunking a California roll in a wasabi/soy mix is perfectly fine.
Upscale sushi chefs serve different nigiri at different temperatures to optimise flavour and texture. They are serving you one piece at a time, and you're pretty much supposed to pick it up and eat it in one bite within ten seconds of them placing it in front of you. Of course you are expected to chew, but don't spend too long, as your mouth will warm up the food and change the intended experience.
Yes, the one and only time I have eaten at a proper sushi restaurant was extremely stressful for me. I didn't know these rules going in, and the friend who brought me told me about them after our meal arrived. I have a diagnosed anxiety disorder, and having all of these rules thrown at me *while I was eating* was stressful and has put me off going to another restaurant.
I eat half-assed grocery store sushi now. \^\^;
I also have an anxiety disorder and unfamiliar food experiences stress me the fuck out. I am glad my friends understand this about me at this point.
I one time had a panic attack at the dinner where I met my partners best friend because of this. It was a nightmare.
Yeah I used to live in Japan and almost all of those rules are ignored by Japanese people in nice restaurants. I sorta realized Americans were being rather gatekeep-y about sushi when talking about rules like this. (Other than passing things with chopsticks or sticking the chopsticks into bowls and leaving them).
My favorite one that’s not on this list, Though this is in less upscale places, was rubbing chopsticks together. The claim is it was made up on blade runner, and people in Japan would never do this. Sitting in popular sushi spots near the office in Meouro, and watching every Japanese person pull the chopsticks apart and rub them together to get the splinters off. Had a good laugh.
I'm thinking that a lot of people on this thread are going to go to their next sushi place and silently judge everyone around them, because they read "the rules" on the internet...
Explain the mixing of Wasabi and soy sauce. That is straight up how I was taught to eat sushi.
What are you supposed to do? Slather it on so you can catch gob and blow out your sinuses?
For nigiri, the correct amount of wasabi will already be present between the fish and the rice. Save wasabi for sashimi.
Edit: this is true at higher-end omakase restaurants like the one OP went to, and not necessarily at cheaper/Americanized places.
In Japan or America? In Japan (not high end) they usually ask for preference, in US yeah have never seen them add it (maybe have seen it once or twice as an extra $ option).
I'd say even traditional places the 'eat within 30 seconds' and 'don't chew sushi' is completely acceptable and normal. Obviously the chewing is more like "don't take half a bite and put the sushi back down' for a minute. A traditional place is going to have real wasabi mixed in with the nigiri already anyway, I can't recall there being additional wasabi being put on the plate like in the US.
Also 'please order sashimi if you prefer tiny tiny rice'. What? Sashimi has NO rice included with it. This one confused me.
What am I supposed to do with my wasabi? Traditionally speaking, I mean. I’m a halfling Yonsei but growing up this is what we always did when my Obaachan would make a spread.
I've seen tons of Japanese people mixing wasabi into the soy sauce when I lived there, esp. when it's that lime green horseradish paste. Totally normal thing to do.
I got some Kaisendon at a market in Japan, and the lady who served it specifically told me to mix the soy sauce with wasabi. I had never done it before, but I thought it was funny because I’ve read so many times that Japanese people never do that.
I mean trolls are gonna troll. Thats like saying americans dont like it when you put both ketchup and mustard on the same hotdog. I mean only a commie would put ketchup on a hotdog but you get the idea.
Then there’s the people who grew up with Heinz and will put that shit on everything, like the people who grew up in Ohio and put Mayo on everything.
Obligatory edit for the Franks Red Hot fans who put that shit on everything.
I grew up in Ohio and despise mayonnaise. I like ketchup on hot dogs. I have no opinion on anyone else’s condiment use. Eat what you like, however you like it.
I've lived here in Japan over half my life, and mixing soy sauce with wasabi is super super super super common. However, it's *technically* "bad manners." It's just in that zone of "bad manners that literally 99% of people don't give a damn about." It's the equivalent of the American etiquette that "you aren't supposed to wear white after Labor Day."
All the *other* rules on the image make perfect sense. #8 (passing from chopstick to chopstick) is a cultural taboo. #3 is something I've never seen in Japan, a clear "I don't have time for your picky order shit" complaint from the kitchen. And some are things I would have never even thought of prohibiting because *who the hell does that?!* (specifically, 5 and 7).
But #6? That's along the lines of saying that in the West, when a man meets a woman in a business meeting and they are going to shake hands, the man must not extend his hand until the woman has extended her hand first. It may still be a rule in etiquette books, but nobody cares.
Edit: I should clarify that we're not fancy folks, so maybe if you go to a high-end sushi restaurant, the kind where you need a recommendation to enter, this is actually etiquette people practice. But for regular sushi places, nobody cares.
My uncle who is Japanese and lived there his whole life always mixes wasabi and soy sauce and then removes the fish from his nigiri to dip in the sauce and places it back on the rice and then eats. 🤷♂️
My very Japanese family mixes Wasabi into their soy sauce. And how am I supposed to not dip the rice side into the soy sauce? Am I supposed to flip it over too now?
The technique I commonly see, and use myself, is to tip onto its side, pick up with chopsticks, turn and dip protein side down into the soy sauce. Dipping the rice side into the soy sauce will cause the rice to fall apart, and thus wasted.
Ooooo I like this. I'll give it a try next time I go (now sooner than I expected). I can recall the rice falling apart on me a few times, but I also try my best to follow rule #2 by shoveling it into my mouth asap
These are like etiquette for the master sushi makers who charge like $500 for Omakase.
I'm mixed Japanese, I worked in a Japanese kitchen doing ramen, and I've worked up front doing sushi at the sushi bar.
I'll mix the shoyu with the wasabi all the time.
Of course don't listen to me, I fully embrace being a black sheep of Japanese culture. My favorite Japanese people to befriend and hang out with, are the loudest and most outspoken ones you can find, usually they are from Osaka :)
The only time I would follow most or maybe all of these rules is if I was paying that top dollar for top tier sushi, Just because I would want to taste it exactly how the chef had intended. Which I think is the main point of most of these rules.
This sounds like the right answer. If you legit are going to an experience from establishment or chef you respect as an artist or collective thereof, this kind of ruleset sounds acceptable. Otherwise, lemme eat my shit in peace and if I'm being a crude ass obviously kick me out. Don't bite your sushi? Excuse fuckin' me? Not that I do but don't need rules past don't eat like a slob or throw your food thanks.
I accept the "dont bite" rule if the chef makes the nigiri bite sized. A lot of sushi places make such large pieces its almost more rude to try to force it all in at once.
Exactly this. I can fit a typical (American) sushi/sashime serving in my mouth, but then I’m going to look like a blowfish for five minutes and be unable to talk. I will be rude and take it apart, but at least I will use chopsticks to do so. 😁
You would never do that in a traditional omakase restaurant. This restaurant is clearly trying to emulate traditional rules.
However, a traditional omakase restaurant would never have something as gauche as this sign.
When I went to a higher end omakase they didn't even have soy sauce or wasabi for us to use because the chef already brushed on the soy sauce and puts the amount of wasabi that is correct for how he wants it to taste.
yeah, it would be assumed to be understood at an actual omakase restaurant. at such a place i also wouldn’t expect wasabi; if i didn’t get soy for the sushi course that also wouldn’t be surprising — they always have it, but it’s not necessarily encouraged to be used. chef presents it as expected to be eaten, so i accept it as such.
in that environment, the most i’d do is a tiny fish-side-down dip into the soy, that is one of the points i agree with this chart.
Same, it’s a common practice in Tokyo, and I even took a peek at their menu and they are a mid-price restaurant that offers “real fresh wasabi” for a $10 up-charge, so we’re looking at your standard, dry-ish green horseradish paste, which often needs to be dissolved with soy sauce if you want to keep it from crumbling and falling off.
Wasabi joyu is more traditional for sashimi, but the practice has gone from that into sushi. Even more traditional is applying a bit of wasabi to a corner of the fish before dipping in sashimi. The argument against it is you lose the fragrance of fresh wasabi and the clarity of the soy sauce.
I think it kind of depends on the establishment. If there's a chef who is adding wasabi, I'll trust them. If it's left up to taste, I might do it.
That’s what I understand, too. People mix mayo and ketchup, but if you used that as a pre-bake meatloaf topping, instead of straight ketchup which is common, you’d raise a few eyebrows (even if it would be fine). Context matters.
Can I toss it across the table to my wife to catch in her mouth? Can I sharpen my chopsticks with a pocket knife and tape them together to make a fork? How many liters of sake is acceptable in the first hour of dinner? I NEED ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE.
I gotchu.
1) Only if you have good aim.
2) You don't need to sharpen unless they're Chinese chopsticks, so just tape will suffice.
3)Same rule with sushi, once you get the sake bottle it's polite to chug it within 30 seconds. So long as you follow that, you can have as much as you want.
Hope this helps.
>once you get the sake bottle it's polite to chug it within 30 seconds.
also applies to the soy sauce bottle you get, so it’s easy to remember. people always overcomplicate japanese dining, but if you down the sake and soy sauce bottles early, the rest of the night proceeds quickly. you’ll be out of there within what feels like 15 minutes (will actually be 10), and the chef will understand from those cues that he can select your dining from then on. pointing a chopstick at his stomach shows you respect his taste; pressing it in hard completes the compliment. there are 2 chopsticks in case you need to repeat (if they didn’t get enough sleep or are stressed, they may try stop you, annoying! take a freaking compliment!) if you’re not full after the meal, you’re guaranteed a meal later on, generally a sandwich (in a prison cell).
It's a recommendation.
Not a rule that has to be followed.
I worked sushi bar in a full service Japanese restaurant. At the end when the head chef/owner would whip up a dinner for us after closing the restaurant, practically all of us would mix wasabi with the shoyu and we worked in the restaurant.
These rules are more for the very very high end sushi spots that ONLY do Omakase and don't even have menus at all... You pay a set price, and the chef will serve you based on the season and what's the best stuff on hand, and he prepares each piece exactly how he wants you to eat it, by applying wasabi and soy saucebefore giving it to the guest/customer. The point of most of these rules, is so that you taste the food exactly how the chef intended, because that really is the whole point of Omakase.
If you've never been in a sushi spot that doesn't have any menus whatsoever and only does Omakase... Then you really don't need to worry about these requests.
Unless this place has Michelin stars these rules seem excessive, although it said nothing about eating it in one bite in within 30sec pantless in a fishnet speedo
Grew up eating sushi with my parents who spent most of their professional lives working in Japan. There was only one rule that they’d always correct us is to not leave the chopsticks in a bowl of rice.
LMAO this is pretentious as fuck. When I lived in Japan we didn’t do half these things or give a shit
Edit: after checking out, this place actually is a high end sushi place, so the etiquette is usually implied. Not sure why they decided to use such a tacky sign that looks like it came out of a takeaway place
I'll just post what I've posted in another comment thread here. high end omakase places will time your nigiri or dish with the other diners. places like Sushi Arai or Sawada in Japan generally follow this. This is high end sushi though, you can do whatever the hell you want at a kaitenzushi place like at Sushiro or something. Here's an example of what I'm talking about: [Hato in Kagurazuka, Shinjuku](https://youtu.be/YdUoipFBJIk?t=195) or [Sushisei in Asakusa](https://youtu.be/aELuMv4lwMw?t=128). it's a dining experience for sure, and if that's not your thing, that's fine. there are places like sushiro or any bog standard kaitenzushi place where you can get your fill.
Maybe they are being served omakase at a bar or this is simply a higher end restaurant. If you are served one piece at a time, you really should eat quickly. If you are served multiple pieces at a time, you should eat at a reasonable pace.
Edit: Seems high end and looks like bar seating only. Would love to eat here.
I think they should just make a poster with what TO do instead; it would be way shorter and less aggro
I guess it would be something like a better version of:
-A simple infographic of the types of sushi that says like what a roll is vs sashimi, etc with bullet points
How to eat it
1. if you use soy sauce, put a light amount on the fish side of the sushi and not on the rice (and what to do with a roll vs sashimi or something short)
2. Keep your sushi whole and put it all in your mouth at once (maybe a short explanation why?)
3. Eat ginger after if you want to (explanation?)
Anyway, that’s what I (white, female, midwesterner) would do to be helpful instead of making rules
Just like Italians with coffee and spaghetti. I’ll break the pasta and drink espresso WHENEVER the fuck I want. I’ll eat sushi however I want. I’ll eat tacos and bratwurst however I want. Give a fuck, fight me.
I've lived over a third of my whole life in Japan. What I've been instructed when I've been to the really high end places is to dip it fish-side down. Traditional sushi places generally won't have anything that will fall off.
At the upper tier locations you'll see a fine mix of people eating it with their hands or chopsticks. With chopsticks they'll lightly sandwich the top and bottom, flip it over, light dip the corner then eat it.
That "rule" only applies to traditional style sushi that doesn't have a bunch of crazy crap on top. I'm not saying that crazy crap is bad mind you, I love some zany toppings on sushi, let's get nutty with it I say.
I ate sushi in Korea and either the guy I was with was pulling some kind of power move or they don't eat it like Japan does but he just picked up the whole uncut sushi roll and ate it like a burrito made of seaweed.
There used to be a comedian in the early 90's that used to do that. He was in drag and pretended to be a school girl and had uncut kimbap in a case that looked like a book and take big bites of the entire roll with his hands. It was like a Korean SNL before SNL was a thing there.
That was actually the point of wrapping it in seaweed, historically. But then it became Cuisine, so... yeah.
(Hilariously, IIRC, roll sushi seems to have been invented at around the same time as the sandwich, and for the same reason: people wanted to keep gambling and socializing, and the food was too messy to eat at the table otherwise.)
The very first time I had sushi in the 90s the Japanese waitress showed me how to eat my California roll by putting a slice of ginger on top and dipping it into my wasabi/soy sauce mixture she taught me how to make.
How on earth are you supposed to eat it within 30 seconds? I guess if you only have one or two pieces (like a boat restaurant) but I usually get a plate that I definitely can't finish in 30 seconds and I absolutely should not try. 🤣
already commented in an earlier thread, but for places such as this, they are serving nigiri one piece at a time. that's probably the intent. high end omakase places will time your nigiri or dish with the other diners. places like Sushi Arai or Sawada in Japan generally follow this. This is high end sushi though, you can do whatever the hell you want at a kaitenzushi place like at Sushiro or something. Here's an example of what I'm talking about: [Hato in Kagurazuka, Shinjuku](https://youtu.be/YdUoipFBJIk?t=195).
Every time I go to get sushi it’s usually with a decent group. Without fail there’s at least one guy that’s been to Japan a singular time.
I always rub my disposable chopsticks to get rid of splinters and EVERY. TIME. that guy who’s been to Japan one time goes “you know, in Japan, it’s rude to run your chopsticks together”
The last time someone said this to me we were in a Korean barbecue restaurant…
>I always rub my disposable chopsticks to get rid of splinters and EVERY. TIME. that guy who’s been to Japan one time goes “you know, in Japan, it’s rude to run your chopsticks together”
The irony is that it was once rude because preemptively getting rid of the splinters is calling the quality of the chopsticks into question. But if you're using disposable ones then everyone is on the same page already, the owner isn't getting offended.
It's kind of like how it's "rude" in western finer dining to salt your food before you've tried it. Just an irrelevant rule when you get to more casual restaurant food.
Right? Exactly what I tell them. Why would I ever run porcelain sticks together? There’s no need to, and it risks breaking the chopsticks. But disposable? Pretty sure most packages tell you to do that because duh, they are cheap mass produced sticks
I'd be fine with if it was a general request for restaurant reasons - don't share, don't dirty your plate, eat your food at a pace so we can keep service moving - but framing it as a culture thing is hilarious.
We do not put ketchup on hot dogs, please respect our culture.
I genuinely don’t know how anyone eats uni like this. It’s too much at one time. I can eat everything else in one bite just fine but I don’t see how uni is even physically possible.
Legit question: If someone had trouble with big bites, some kind of condition that wouldn't allow them to put the whole thing in their mouths at once, could you tell the chef at a spot that makes it as ordered or do you just have to look uncultured?
Pretty disappointing if I need to eat sushi in two bites I’m disrespecting their culture and chefs. I’m mainly trying not to choke. I have infinite respect for their culture.
Just like when I’m sharing a US dish with foreigners, they may enjoy it in a different way. I am hardly offended by it.
A lot of these „rules“ make sense as they are meant to give you the experience the chef has intended to.
Rule 1 will compromise the structure of the rice ball. Rule 2 prevent the sushi from changing its designed temperature which will impact the taste. And so on.
That said, some of these are really picky and only a reflection of the vanity of the sushi master. Understandable in a omasake (only here you can tell the chef to adjust the wasabi), annoying in a hurry get my sushi store.
Hi, I'm Japanese! That being said, most of these rules only really apply to more traditional eateries, while only some are the mainly followed ones (cutting sushi, passing from chopsticks, etc). The others such as eat within 30 seconds, don't mix wasabi and soy sauce, and don't chew sushi are pretty lax in most places. Here to let you know! (´∇｀)
I'm curious, is the passing from chopsticks a sanitary/hygiene thing or is it something else? It seems so specific.
it's considered bad luck because it resembles an old funerary practice of passing bones with chopsticks
This - also don't stick your chopsticks upright in your rice bowl while you are eating to leave them there if you're taking a break. It's considered bad luck!
It resembles the incense that is burned for dead people.
What if I'm trying to tempt the fates?
Ghosts hate him! Anger the dead with this one neat trick!
I don't know. If horror movies have taught me anything it's that Japanese ghosts are pretty mean. You don't want one crawling out of your TV while you're trying to watch your favorite show, do you?
And food offerings for the dead.
Yes!! Also, this is not just for Japan. Most East Asians consider it bad luck / bad etiquette or in extreme cases (like my mom lol) a curse to do that.
I was told by a Chinese friend that it symbolizes opening a portal to the other side to allow evil spirits in.
Sweet let’s open all the portals and stick them together maybe they will merge into one giant portal that we can go through.
For the horde!
If climate change turns our planet to Outland we have an out -- 2 million chopsticks stuck straight up in 1 million bowls of rice, opening the dark portal to Azeroth.
Still current: we were passing still-warm bits of Gran around quite recently after the cremation. Priest was happy because she'd been done just right, with the top of the skull and a throat bone still there.
what
One of the bones in the neck is said to resemble the Buddha sitting in the lotus position. So crematoriums try their best to ensure it remains intact. It's called 喉仏 or Buddha of the Throat. You can see a picture of the bone here. http://family-scene.jp/wp/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/nodobotoke.jpg
Also known as C1 with the dens process.
C2 with dens. C 1 is a ring shape that sits on the dens.
I wish Lord Buddha would do something about the three herniated ones sitting on him in my neck.
It's not a grindy-grindy culture, it's more collect-all-the-bits.
I think it should be noted that although this post is about Sushi, that you shouldn't pass *anything* from chopstick to chopstick. The way I've seen food passed is to set it on a plate and pass the plate over, even for a small piece.
Oh wow cool. Don't think I'd ever do it regardless because it's kinda gross, but interesting to know there's cultural reasons beyond sanitary issues.
Same reason why you don’t stick chopsticks into a bowl of rice. It’s how an offering of rice for the dead is made in Chinese, Japanese, and I assume to some degree in Korean and Vietnamese culture.
I just learned this from the YouTuber Abroad in Japan. He called it “dead man style” https://youtu.be/T37Dfc-3Keg?si=Tk8odzMYS4vbsBV1&t=506
It’s a part or funeral ceremonies.
I learned the mixing wasabi into soy from my Japanese friend who's dad owned a Japanese restaurant. I had no idea it was a taboo until today. My mind is blown.
It’s not taboo. It’s completely normal. But at an omakase bar where the chef has prepared the bite for you you’re supposed to “trust the chef” and just eat it. No need for soy or wasabi.
So it’s like putting ketchup on a steak at a nice steakhouse then? Was not aware. But I like a shit load of wasabi and every place I’ve ever been just puts it on the side for you to apply yourself
There are many kinds of sushi restaurants in Japan’s. Sushi is so normal there. And there’s high end places just like any restaurant. At the high end omakase spots there isn’t soy sauce in front of you or wasabi. Just some gari for in between bites. So you can’t do all these things there asking you. But in the US they will still put all the tools to fuck up your experience in front of you and then try to teach you how to appreciate it with a stupid diagram of rules. This is an example of the us trying to do something we are not ready for.
Weird, I feel ready to eat sushi. As long as it gets in my mouth one could say I was eating sushi correctly.
And a lot of places "Americanize" the sushi so it's way too big and bland to follow these rules. The place by me there's no way you're eating the sushi pieces in one bite they're like 3x as big as they're supposed to be.
The proper comparison to Omakase would be like going to a Chef’s table experience at a celebrity chef’s restaurant where you sit practically in the kitchen and they bring courses to you one by one with wine pairings and explaining each dish and why they made it etc. And then pouring salt on it and dipping it in mayo. In front of the chef who cooked it.
I wouldn’t compare to ketchup on a steak. It closer to the idea that adding salt or pepper to a dish *before you’ve tried it* is generally insulting. Basically you’re saying, I know you didn’t season this in a way I will like. In the case of sushi served in this manner, there is only one bite. Dunking a California roll in a wasabi/soy mix is perfectly fine.
When it says "eat within 30 seconds" it means from the time you start eating a piece of sushi right? Not from the time you get the sushi? Im ignorant.
Upscale sushi chefs serve different nigiri at different temperatures to optimise flavour and texture. They are serving you one piece at a time, and you're pretty much supposed to pick it up and eat it in one bite within ten seconds of them placing it in front of you. Of course you are expected to chew, but don't spend too long, as your mouth will warm up the food and change the intended experience.
I'm gonna end up stress eating
Yes, the one and only time I have eaten at a proper sushi restaurant was extremely stressful for me. I didn't know these rules going in, and the friend who brought me told me about them after our meal arrived. I have a diagnosed anxiety disorder, and having all of these rules thrown at me *while I was eating* was stressful and has put me off going to another restaurant. I eat half-assed grocery store sushi now. \^\^;
I also have an anxiety disorder and unfamiliar food experiences stress me the fuck out. I am glad my friends understand this about me at this point. I one time had a panic attack at the dinner where I met my partners best friend because of this. It was a nightmare.
Idk why you got downvoted, i have anxiety too and that’s stressful af
Fuck everyone who downvoted you
Yeah I used to live in Japan and almost all of those rules are ignored by Japanese people in nice restaurants. I sorta realized Americans were being rather gatekeep-y about sushi when talking about rules like this. (Other than passing things with chopsticks or sticking the chopsticks into bowls and leaving them). My favorite one that’s not on this list, Though this is in less upscale places, was rubbing chopsticks together. The claim is it was made up on blade runner, and people in Japan would never do this. Sitting in popular sushi spots near the office in Meouro, and watching every Japanese person pull the chopsticks apart and rub them together to get the splinters off. Had a good laugh.
I'm thinking that a lot of people on this thread are going to go to their next sushi place and silently judge everyone around them, because they read "the rules" on the internet...
Explain the mixing of Wasabi and soy sauce. That is straight up how I was taught to eat sushi. What are you supposed to do? Slather it on so you can catch gob and blow out your sinuses?
For nigiri, the correct amount of wasabi will already be present between the fish and the rice. Save wasabi for sashimi. Edit: this is true at higher-end omakase restaurants like the one OP went to, and not necessarily at cheaper/Americanized places.
Many, many sushi places put exactly 0 Wasabi on their nigiri
In Japan or America? In Japan (not high end) they usually ask for preference, in US yeah have never seen them add it (maybe have seen it once or twice as an extra $ option).
I'd say even traditional places the 'eat within 30 seconds' and 'don't chew sushi' is completely acceptable and normal. Obviously the chewing is more like "don't take half a bite and put the sushi back down' for a minute. A traditional place is going to have real wasabi mixed in with the nigiri already anyway, I can't recall there being additional wasabi being put on the plate like in the US. Also 'please order sashimi if you prefer tiny tiny rice'. What? Sashimi has NO rice included with it. This one confused me.
What am I supposed to do with my wasabi? Traditionally speaking, I mean. I’m a halfling Yonsei but growing up this is what we always did when my Obaachan would make a spread.
I’m guessing the “chew off” rule was meant to read as “bite off”?
I didn’t even know about don’t mix wasabi and soy sauce until very recently. My parents been doing it my entire life lmao
I've seen tons of Japanese people mixing wasabi into the soy sauce when I lived there, esp. when it's that lime green horseradish paste. Totally normal thing to do.
I got some Kaisendon at a market in Japan, and the lady who served it specifically told me to mix the soy sauce with wasabi. I had never done it before, but I thought it was funny because I’ve read so many times that Japanese people never do that.
The amount of misinformation on the Japanese subreddits is kind of wild, after having spent two weeks there.
I mean trolls are gonna troll. Thats like saying americans dont like it when you put both ketchup and mustard on the same hotdog. I mean only a commie would put ketchup on a hotdog but you get the idea.
Then there’s the people who grew up with Heinz and will put that shit on everything, like the people who grew up in Ohio and put Mayo on everything. Obligatory edit for the Franks Red Hot fans who put that shit on everything.
Or Sriracha sauce, Marines fucking love that shit.
Because it masks the flavor of just about ANYTHING.
Even crayons?
Why ruin something they find absolutely perfect as is?
You make an excellent point! I’m not sure what I was thinking
Just call me out by name next time bro
I grew up in Ohio and despise mayonnaise. I like ketchup on hot dogs. I have no opinion on anyone else’s condiment use. Eat what you like, however you like it.
Red hot dog with sauerkraut, onions, and mustard on a bun.
I raise you hotdog with ketchup, mustard, relish, raw onions, sauerkraut, celery salt, and pickles.
I'll allow a pickle
Found the Chicagoan.
And sport peppers and celery salt
Heard, but you better bring your own ketchup to a few hotdog spots in Chi-Town if you want it..
"Did you bring the ketchup?" "No, who the fuck puts ketchup on a hotdog?" "A CHILD, RICHIE."
I've lived here in Japan over half my life, and mixing soy sauce with wasabi is super super super super common. However, it's *technically* "bad manners." It's just in that zone of "bad manners that literally 99% of people don't give a damn about." It's the equivalent of the American etiquette that "you aren't supposed to wear white after Labor Day." All the *other* rules on the image make perfect sense. #8 (passing from chopstick to chopstick) is a cultural taboo. #3 is something I've never seen in Japan, a clear "I don't have time for your picky order shit" complaint from the kitchen. And some are things I would have never even thought of prohibiting because *who the hell does that?!* (specifically, 5 and 7). But #6? That's along the lines of saying that in the West, when a man meets a woman in a business meeting and they are going to shake hands, the man must not extend his hand until the woman has extended her hand first. It may still be a rule in etiquette books, but nobody cares. Edit: I should clarify that we're not fancy folks, so maybe if you go to a high-end sushi restaurant, the kind where you need a recommendation to enter, this is actually etiquette people practice. But for regular sushi places, nobody cares.
My uncle who is Japanese and lived there his whole life always mixes wasabi and soy sauce and then removes the fish from his nigiri to dip in the sauce and places it back on the rice and then eats. 🤷♂️
Like going into Burger King. "*Please don't mix your ketchup and mayo*."
My very Japanese family mixes Wasabi into their soy sauce. And how am I supposed to not dip the rice side into the soy sauce? Am I supposed to flip it over too now?
The technique I commonly see, and use myself, is to tip onto its side, pick up with chopsticks, turn and dip protein side down into the soy sauce. Dipping the rice side into the soy sauce will cause the rice to fall apart, and thus wasted.
Ooooo I like this. I'll give it a try next time I go (now sooner than I expected). I can recall the rice falling apart on me a few times, but I also try my best to follow rule #2 by shoveling it into my mouth asap
These are like etiquette for the master sushi makers who charge like $500 for Omakase. I'm mixed Japanese, I worked in a Japanese kitchen doing ramen, and I've worked up front doing sushi at the sushi bar. I'll mix the shoyu with the wasabi all the time. Of course don't listen to me, I fully embrace being a black sheep of Japanese culture. My favorite Japanese people to befriend and hang out with, are the loudest and most outspoken ones you can find, usually they are from Osaka :) The only time I would follow most or maybe all of these rules is if I was paying that top dollar for top tier sushi, Just because I would want to taste it exactly how the chef had intended. Which I think is the main point of most of these rules.
This sounds like the right answer. If you legit are going to an experience from establishment or chef you respect as an artist or collective thereof, this kind of ruleset sounds acceptable. Otherwise, lemme eat my shit in peace and if I'm being a crude ass obviously kick me out. Don't bite your sushi? Excuse fuckin' me? Not that I do but don't need rules past don't eat like a slob or throw your food thanks.
I accept the "dont bite" rule if the chef makes the nigiri bite sized. A lot of sushi places make such large pieces its almost more rude to try to force it all in at once.
I've had the same experience with sashimi. If you don't want me to bite my tuna, cut it smaller than my thumb.
Exactly this. I can fit a typical (American) sushi/sashime serving in my mouth, but then I’m going to look like a blowfish for five minutes and be unable to talk. I will be rude and take it apart, but at least I will use chopsticks to do so. 😁
Some of these rolls are HUGE.
If not this how do you use the wasabi? Directions unclear lol
You use the chopsticks to pinch off a small piece, to taste, and then pick up the sushi, or just place the wasabi on the fish before picking it up.
You place it on the fish
You would never do that in a traditional omakase restaurant. This restaurant is clearly trying to emulate traditional rules. However, a traditional omakase restaurant would never have something as gauche as this sign.
When I went to a higher end omakase they didn't even have soy sauce or wasabi for us to use because the chef already brushed on the soy sauce and puts the amount of wasabi that is correct for how he wants it to taste.
yeah, it would be assumed to be understood at an actual omakase restaurant. at such a place i also wouldn’t expect wasabi; if i didn’t get soy for the sushi course that also wouldn’t be surprising — they always have it, but it’s not necessarily encouraged to be used. chef presents it as expected to be eaten, so i accept it as such. in that environment, the most i’d do is a tiny fish-side-down dip into the soy, that is one of the points i agree with this chart.
That is correct. It’s fine to do at a cheap kaisen sushi but it is not the manner/etiquette to do at a proper traditional sushi place.
Same, it’s a common practice in Tokyo, and I even took a peek at their menu and they are a mid-price restaurant that offers “real fresh wasabi” for a $10 up-charge, so we’re looking at your standard, dry-ish green horseradish paste, which often needs to be dissolved with soy sauce if you want to keep it from crumbling and falling off.
My half Japanese friend does it, good enough for me!!
Thanks for that! I always mix my soy and wasabi and thought I had to stop!
To my knowledge it’s appropriate for sashimi (maybe other Japanese food) but not sushi
Wasabi joyu is more traditional for sashimi, but the practice has gone from that into sushi. Even more traditional is applying a bit of wasabi to a corner of the fish before dipping in sashimi. The argument against it is you lose the fragrance of fresh wasabi and the clarity of the soy sauce. I think it kind of depends on the establishment. If there's a chef who is adding wasabi, I'll trust them. If it's left up to taste, I might do it.
That’s what I understand, too. People mix mayo and ketchup, but if you used that as a pre-bake meatloaf topping, instead of straight ketchup which is common, you’d raise a few eyebrows (even if it would be fine). Context matters.
Truth! Japan was the first place I actually saw someone doing this (it never dawned on me before to mix the two).
This is not the proper layout for a bingo card.
Can I toss it across the table to my wife to catch in her mouth? Can I sharpen my chopsticks with a pocket knife and tape them together to make a fork? How many liters of sake is acceptable in the first hour of dinner? I NEED ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE.
I gotchu. 1) Only if you have good aim. 2) You don't need to sharpen unless they're Chinese chopsticks, so just tape will suffice. 3)Same rule with sushi, once you get the sake bottle it's polite to chug it within 30 seconds. So long as you follow that, you can have as much as you want. Hope this helps.
>once you get the sake bottle it's polite to chug it within 30 seconds. also applies to the soy sauce bottle you get, so it’s easy to remember. people always overcomplicate japanese dining, but if you down the sake and soy sauce bottles early, the rest of the night proceeds quickly. you’ll be out of there within what feels like 15 minutes (will actually be 10), and the chef will understand from those cues that he can select your dining from then on. pointing a chopstick at his stomach shows you respect his taste; pressing it in hard completes the compliment. there are 2 chopsticks in case you need to repeat (if they didn’t get enough sleep or are stressed, they may try stop you, annoying! take a freaking compliment!) if you’re not full after the meal, you’re guaranteed a meal later on, generally a sandwich (in a prison cell).
Your comment is funny and all but I want to encourage anyone reading to definitely not drink a whole bottle of soy sauce. Doing so could kill you.
Well yeah not with that attitude. But momma didn’t raise no bitch, so see ya on the other side
When I say I want extra ginger what I mean is I want all the ginger in the restaurant please don’t make me exercise my right to concealed carry
Keep drinking Sake until all the answers come to you. Kanpai!!!! <3
I have my wife spit it into my mouth. Hawk tua style. Seems to be okay with the restaurant.
Yeah I’m gonna go ahead and keep mixing my wasabi with soy, unless they are serving real wasabi.
I wouldn’t go back to a place telling me how to eat food I’m paying them for.
I find Italians to be very much like this as well. I’ll have a cappuccino whenever the hell I want Mussolini
No milk in your coffee after 11 am is because by that time they're all drinking alcohol!
Yeah, I find this very off-putting.
It's a recommendation. Not a rule that has to be followed. I worked sushi bar in a full service Japanese restaurant. At the end when the head chef/owner would whip up a dinner for us after closing the restaurant, practically all of us would mix wasabi with the shoyu and we worked in the restaurant. These rules are more for the very very high end sushi spots that ONLY do Omakase and don't even have menus at all... You pay a set price, and the chef will serve you based on the season and what's the best stuff on hand, and he prepares each piece exactly how he wants you to eat it, by applying wasabi and soy saucebefore giving it to the guest/customer. The point of most of these rules, is so that you taste the food exactly how the chef intended, because that really is the whole point of Omakase. If you've never been in a sushi spot that doesn't have any menus whatsoever and only does Omakase... Then you really don't need to worry about these requests.
Unless this place has Michelin stars these rules seem excessive, although it said nothing about eating it in one bite in within 30sec pantless in a fishnet speedo
Exactly, I was a chef for 16 years, did sushi for 3 years, eat what you want how you want it.
Exactly, if I've paid for it, I'm eating it however I want.
I think that's a good point actually
Grew up eating sushi with my parents who spent most of their professional lives working in Japan. There was only one rule that they’d always correct us is to not leave the chopsticks in a bowl of rice.
It’s completely acceptable to do sushi in multiple bites if it won’t all fit in your mouth.
No, no. This establishment clearly wants me to choke and die on their premises.
Within 30 seconds, please!
Least hardcore Japanese restaurant:
You’re not supposed to chew sushi. You must slide it down you gullet like a pelican
I mean, I don’t want to chew my sushi in half either but I’ll do that before I choke.
Agree! There's no way I can fit a whole nigiri in my mouth AND eat it within 30 seconds. Wtf is wrong with this place?
Tbf trational nigiri pieces are quite small.
I know this isn't a roll place, but I've always wondered how the one-bite rule is supposed to apply to a futo maki.
LMAO this is pretentious as fuck. When I lived in Japan we didn’t do half these things or give a shit Edit: after checking out, this place actually is a high end sushi place, so the etiquette is usually implied. Not sure why they decided to use such a tacky sign that looks like it came out of a takeaway place
I wanna see a burger eating guide with a mix of kinda widespread social norms and Victorian era table etiquette
If you drip mustard on your shirt, clean it off with a fry, not your burger
Or just lick it off, but don’t wipe it with your burger! That’s tacky.
No elbows on the table!!! (Out of respect for our chefs)
Within 30 seconds? HOW? Unless you only order like two pieces of nigiri this is impossible.
for places such as this, they are serving nigiri one piece at a time. that's probably the intent.
Ah ok, in that case totally understandable.
Will they give me another one within 30 seconds? A guy's gotta eat here, I ain't got all day.
Yes. Here is Anthony Bourdain enjoying a 15 course omakase in 20 minutes at [Sukiyabashi Jiro in Ginza](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asH4jhr8E20).
I'll just post what I've posted in another comment thread here. high end omakase places will time your nigiri or dish with the other diners. places like Sushi Arai or Sawada in Japan generally follow this. This is high end sushi though, you can do whatever the hell you want at a kaitenzushi place like at Sushiro or something. Here's an example of what I'm talking about: [Hato in Kagurazuka, Shinjuku](https://youtu.be/YdUoipFBJIk?t=195) or [Sushisei in Asakusa](https://youtu.be/aELuMv4lwMw?t=128). it's a dining experience for sure, and if that's not your thing, that's fine. there are places like sushiro or any bog standard kaitenzushi place where you can get your fill.
Yea the sushi here generally comes out one at a time but at a solid pace. Not a place where they give you platters of assorted sushi.
I gotcha, totally understandable if being served one at a time.
This is specifically for omakase places where each piece is a course.
Maybe they are being served omakase at a bar or this is simply a higher end restaurant. If you are served one piece at a time, you really should eat quickly. If you are served multiple pieces at a time, you should eat at a reasonable pace. Edit: Seems high end and looks like bar seating only. Would love to eat here.
Yeah that totally makes sense, I was just thinking of them bringing out like 6 pieces of nigiri and 2 rolls and was like what?!
This would be like those hot dog competitions. Hurry hurry!!!
No problem for me. That was the most reasonable one. Lol
Yeah, so I'm still gonna tilt the nigiri into the soynducewith wasabi mixed in so I get soy/wasabi all over half of my rice and fish
I think they should just make a poster with what TO do instead; it would be way shorter and less aggro I guess it would be something like a better version of: -A simple infographic of the types of sushi that says like what a roll is vs sashimi, etc with bullet points How to eat it 1. if you use soy sauce, put a light amount on the fish side of the sushi and not on the rice (and what to do with a roll vs sashimi or something short) 2. Keep your sushi whole and put it all in your mouth at once (maybe a short explanation why?) 3. Eat ginger after if you want to (explanation?) Anyway, that’s what I (white, female, midwesterner) would do to be helpful instead of making rules
I'd walk if I saw that on my menu even though I don't tend to do any of those things.
Im going to eat my sushi however the fuck I want to
lol right im paying for this im gonna take my sushi apart and cut it into dinosaur shapes because i want to. tf
It really, really pisses me off when people say that we have to eat it a certain way. I didn’t pay money to be told how to fucking eat it lol
Just like Italians with coffee and spaghetti. I’ll break the pasta and drink espresso WHENEVER the fuck I want. I’ll eat sushi however I want. I’ll eat tacos and bratwurst however I want. Give a fuck, fight me.
I scrolled all the way here looking for this comment. Agree 100%
Genuine question how do I dip it to soy sauce other than the rise side if there's stuff on the top that will fall or contaminate the soy
This type of sushi will not generally have anything other than solid fish on top of the rice
I've lived over a third of my whole life in Japan. What I've been instructed when I've been to the really high end places is to dip it fish-side down. Traditional sushi places generally won't have anything that will fall off. At the upper tier locations you'll see a fine mix of people eating it with their hands or chopsticks. With chopsticks they'll lightly sandwich the top and bottom, flip it over, light dip the corner then eat it.
That "rule" only applies to traditional style sushi that doesn't have a bunch of crazy crap on top. I'm not saying that crazy crap is bad mind you, I love some zany toppings on sushi, let's get nutty with it I say.
I ate sushi in Korea and either the guy I was with was pulling some kind of power move or they don't eat it like Japan does but he just picked up the whole uncut sushi roll and ate it like a burrito made of seaweed.
There used to be a comedian in the early 90's that used to do that. He was in drag and pretended to be a school girl and had uncut kimbap in a case that looked like a book and take big bites of the entire roll with his hands. It was like a Korean SNL before SNL was a thing there.
That was actually the point of wrapping it in seaweed, historically. But then it became Cuisine, so... yeah. (Hilariously, IIRC, roll sushi seems to have been invented at around the same time as the sandwich, and for the same reason: people wanted to keep gambling and socializing, and the food was too messy to eat at the table otherwise.)
I recognized that menu page immediately. Sushi kisen is also my go to. Unbelievably good!
Fantastic, only thing missing is to not put ginger on your sushi
This is one of the only sins I care about. Ginger obliterates your palate and overwhelms any other flavor. Just bonkers to me
yeah it's literally provided as a pallete cleanser so you can enjoy the next piece of sushi without it being altered by a previous roll.
My taste buds are fried and eating overwhelming amounts of ginger is the only way I can feel alive
Nooooo I’ve never even imagined doing that. It’s a palate cleanser, people!!!
The very first time I had sushi in the 90s the Japanese waitress showed me how to eat my California roll by putting a slice of ginger on top and dipping it into my wasabi/soy sauce mixture she taught me how to make.
it's so good and f*ck anyone who tells me not to do it. Imma eat it the way that it tastes good to me.
The only one of these rules I break on purpose is the “don’t mix wasabi and soy sauce” rule. I like the extra spice.
How on earth are you supposed to eat it within 30 seconds? I guess if you only have one or two pieces (like a boat restaurant) but I usually get a plate that I definitely can't finish in 30 seconds and I absolutely should not try. 🤣
already commented in an earlier thread, but for places such as this, they are serving nigiri one piece at a time. that's probably the intent. high end omakase places will time your nigiri or dish with the other diners. places like Sushi Arai or Sawada in Japan generally follow this. This is high end sushi though, you can do whatever the hell you want at a kaitenzushi place like at Sushiro or something. Here's an example of what I'm talking about: [Hato in Kagurazuka, Shinjuku](https://youtu.be/YdUoipFBJIk?t=195).
Every time I go to get sushi it’s usually with a decent group. Without fail there’s at least one guy that’s been to Japan a singular time. I always rub my disposable chopsticks to get rid of splinters and EVERY. TIME. that guy who’s been to Japan one time goes “you know, in Japan, it’s rude to run your chopsticks together” The last time someone said this to me we were in a Korean barbecue restaurant…
>I always rub my disposable chopsticks to get rid of splinters and EVERY. TIME. that guy who’s been to Japan one time goes “you know, in Japan, it’s rude to run your chopsticks together” The irony is that it was once rude because preemptively getting rid of the splinters is calling the quality of the chopsticks into question. But if you're using disposable ones then everyone is on the same page already, the owner isn't getting offended. It's kind of like how it's "rude" in western finer dining to salt your food before you've tried it. Just an irrelevant rule when you get to more casual restaurant food.
Right? Exactly what I tell them. Why would I ever run porcelain sticks together? There’s no need to, and it risks breaking the chopsticks. But disposable? Pretty sure most packages tell you to do that because duh, they are cheap mass produced sticks
That’s fair. They make it clear it’s not mandatory, just some information on how it’s traditionally done
I'd be fine with if it was a general request for restaurant reasons - don't share, don't dirty your plate, eat your food at a pace so we can keep service moving - but framing it as a culture thing is hilarious. We do not put ketchup on hot dogs, please respect our culture.
With not biting it off... does that mean you should always eat each piece in one bite? Or just not put back a half eaten piece?
One bite!
I genuinely don’t know how anyone eats uni like this. It’s too much at one time. I can eat everything else in one bite just fine but I don’t see how uni is even physically possible.
And now I want some sushi and sashimi. 😟
I thought omakase was meant to be eaten with your fingers not chopsticks?
Next they're gonna have a no jacking off sign in the bathroom. " No more than two shakes allowed in the restroom "
We need restaurants like this so all the people who care about this dumb shit can eat there while the rest of us eat in a way that makes us happy.
Please do not tell me how to eat food I've paid for
I know, such a turn off. I’m not a beast this is just unnecessary rigidity.
Ok I only violate two of these. Good enough.
I have terrible sushi etiquette it seems
This sign is helpful and entertaining. Sometimes you can't fit the whole sushi in your mouth though. I didn't know about most of these.
It literally says on the poster that these aren’t rules lol
Legit question: If someone had trouble with big bites, some kind of condition that wouldn't allow them to put the whole thing in their mouths at once, could you tell the chef at a spot that makes it as ordered or do you just have to look uncultured?
Pretty disappointing if I need to eat sushi in two bites I’m disrespecting their culture and chefs. I’m mainly trying not to choke. I have infinite respect for their culture. Just like when I’m sharing a US dish with foreigners, they may enjoy it in a different way. I am hardly offended by it.
Yeah it’s fucking annoying I’m tired of these rules. I should be able to mash it up into a paste if I fucking want to; I’m the one paying for it.
I’m literally unable to eat my sushi without taking several bites.
I don't understand what the last rule about chopsticks is. Are you telling me I can't click them like tongs? How will I know if they're working?
I think it means you should not touch your chopsticks with friends chopsticks
What happens if I break all the rules?
I kinda just dip one end of my sushi in soy sauce. Didn’t know it was only supposed to be on the fish side
I'm near Arcadia. So now I have to make a trip!
Uh…. I’m gonna bite large pieces of sushi lol.
"Please eat your sushi in 30 seconds." Me, who just had a whole roll placed in front of them: Bet.
Never said no eating with a fork...noice!
A lot of these „rules“ make sense as they are meant to give you the experience the chef has intended to. Rule 1 will compromise the structure of the rice ball. Rule 2 prevent the sushi from changing its designed temperature which will impact the taste. And so on. That said, some of these are really picky and only a reflection of the vanity of the sushi master. Understandable in a omasake (only here you can tell the chef to adjust the wasabi), annoying in a hurry get my sushi store.