HOW TO USE CHOPSTICKS

 

Several customers have asked us to publish this information. This page is dedicated to the proper handling, manners, and etiquette when using chopsticks.

For those of your friends who are starting to use chopsticks, and for children, please do not hesitate to ask us for chopsticks with "training wheels". These are a pair of chopsticks with a rubber band in one end that makes them easy to use.

 

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Chopsticks in most restaurants come in a paper package and are the type called Waribashi (half-split chopsticks). Take the chopsticks out of the wrapper and separate the back end. If you see wood splinters, rub both ends lightly. It is considered bad manners to rub them as though you wanted to start a fire, since this is indicating to the host that the chopsticks are of bad quality and require lots of cleaning
   
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There are minute variations, but this is the most common way of holding chopsticks. To start, hold the bottom chopstick in the crease between your thumb and index finger. Let the middle of the chopstick rest close to the tip of your middle finger. This chopstick does not move when you use them.
   

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Hold the top chopstick just as you would hold a pen. You should hold the chopsticks at the upper half of them, as shown in the picture.

To grab a piece of food, just move the top chopstick, as shown in the next picture.

All of these pictures can be enlarged if you click on them.

   
CLICK FOR A LARGER IMAGE Move your cursor over this picture to see the action of opening and closing the chopsticks. Click on the picture to see a larger image of the open chopsticks.
   
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When picking up or serving a piece of sushi or sashimi, it is considered polite to rotate your chopsticks and use the back end of the chopsticks. This maneuver takes practice, but it is recommended, particularly if you are eating in a group.

To align the back end of your chopsticks, tap them on a clean area of the sushi boat or on the table, not on your plate. This action is shown in the next picture.

   
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Other important notes regarding chopstick manners are:

  • Do not point at others with your chopsticks
  • Do not pass food from chopstick to somebody else's chopsticks, It is a funeral custom
  • Do not grab a bowl or a plate in the same hand that you are holding your chopsticks
  • Do not stab or spear your food with your chopsticks to grab it
  • Do not lick your chopsticks. It is not polite, and could leave splinters in your tongue!
  • Do not stick the chopsticks in the rice and leave them. This is another funeral custom
  • Do not leave your chopsticks in an "X". It is considered impolite


   
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