How To: Eat properly using chopsticks

When sitting down to eat a Japanese meal, you will often be offered a warm towel. This is to be used to wash your hands. You should accept the towel and wash your hands with it. Fold the towel back up to look the way it was when it was given to you.

Wait for someone else to begin eating, before you eat. Pick up your chopsticks, keeping them level with one hand. Don’t point them at people. Don’t wave them around. You should allow one chopstick to rest on your ring finger. It will be stationary. Allow the upper one to sit under your pointer finger. The top chopstick will be the one that you will be manipulating. Don’t serve yourself from a communal bowl, with the end of the chopsticks that you had in your mouth.

You can pick up your bowl, if you like. Always watch the others.