I’ve been able to use chopsticks for years, but in the last 6 months I’ve been using them almost daily, and due to that I’m finding it easier to use chopsticks instead of regular utensils for many foods. The other day I made a Caesar salad, and found myself staring into the utensil drawer with my brain completely locked up in deciding whether to use a fork or chopsticks…I chose the chopsticks.

It was a minor decision, but it some ways it was as though I crossed a line in how I live my life. I chose chopsticks because they were easier to use, and more convenient, but 6 months ago the thought wouldn’t have even crossed my mind. Just another small way I’m becoming Japanese.

Some Chopstick Etiquette:

  • Don’t point at people with chopsticks.
  • Don’t stick them up in your food (that’s only done as an offering to the dead), rest them on the dish.
  • Don’t let the tips sit on the table.
  • Don’t use them with both hands.
  • If you are getting more food from a community dish, turn them around and use the wide end.
  • Don’t lick the ends.
  • If a piece of food is too large for a mouthful, pick it up and take a bite out of it, or push the chopsticks into it and spread them apart to rip it in half, which can be difficult with one hand…
  • Don’t stab food to pick it up.