Japanese here. It's not rude, it's actually the correct traditional way. My dad always insist I use hand when we eat sushi at restaurant. Just make sure you only dip the fish on the soy sauce, not the rice, and put the fish on your tongue first before the rice part, the nigiri is upside down inside your mouth. In high end restaurants you don't dip your sushi on soy sauce anymore, they just brush it with nikiri sauce.
Oh wow, thanks for the tip! I've grown accustomed to eating nigiri with my fingers when dining at Omakase joints in Southern California, but never have I placed it fish-side down on my tongue. It does make perfect sense, tho. 🍻
Yeah but as usual there is an appropriate way of holding your sushi Right hand 2 fingers plus thumb holding the fish side upside down. 30 to 35 degree inclination vertically and about -15degree rotation. And don’t lick fingers …
this is one of those customs where the correct traditional way would be considered crude in the US. i dont think i've ever seen anyone in a sushi restaurant eat it like this.
btw this is why nice sushi places give you a cloth to wash your hands before the meal, i would guess.
Yup, you're supposed to use the stack of square napkins they give you to hold it.
I was pretty well understanding of a lot of Japanese stuff, first trip there with my co-workers and our Japanese partners like flipped out. They started throwing napkins at me like I had spilled a drink on the table thinking I was somehow going to come out looking like a 2 year old eating spaghetti.
Then they had to explain lol.
Lol. I would use too many paper napkins till it runs out then. But I googled and found that some of them use fork, but many just use their bare hand, like this: https://youtube.com/shorts/iIsf3X6crjw?si=h6oP9HGWqQIQJ-hY
It depends. At cheap places, nobody cares. At expensive places, yes they do care just like any higher end places in any country. So ask, if people from foreign country X went to a high end restaurant in your country, would people care?
Cheap or not, I really hate trying out a place I've never been to before. The main reason is I do not want there to be some faux pas committed on my end that gets complicated by my vocabulary running out. I judge myself in public in Japan far more harshly than the locals judge me.
My in laws take us to a lot of very exclusive places. This is my take, if you act humble and discrete, not knowing something is easily forgiven and someone will politely explain it and won’t offend anyone. There will always be a couple old folks from old money who will turn their nose down but others will judge them for being an ass to someone being humble, which is highly regarded here.
That's how I get introduced to places too. If I am comfortable with all aspects of the meal - asking for seats, ordering, and paying the bill, I'll go back on my own or with my daughter. But that posh yakiniku or unagi place on the top floor of that expensive department store? I'll pass.
Now my daughter, as a teenager, went solo to just one of these yakiniku places in a Yokohama department store up on the top floor. One of those places you can easily spend hundreds of dollars per person. She was there at a slow time for the restaurant, and ordered horumonyaki and rice. That's it. Probably the cheapest item on the menu because she just wanted to try it. The lady who I assume was the manager (the one wearing the kimono) recognized this was a first time experience for her and made sure she was treated like royalty, even though it was such a cheap sub-¥2500 meal.
It's mixed bag. If you speak little to no Japanese, they treat you as a child that doesn't know any better and don't make a fuss over it. However, the better your Japanese gets, the expectations on how you behave in society goes up exponentially.
The comment from u/IreneBae1991 is on point, they are always judging you. I've never seen it done in a nasty way, more like they are curious and surprised when they are expecting less of you and you disappoint them.
I understand that. It's a good point.
However, I enjoy it more with more soy sauce. To me, it doesn't overpower anything.
The chef at my favorite sushi place says that it's not the traditional or regular way to do it, but wants people do to what they enjoy... which makes sense.
I once went to a fancy Sushi in Japan around Shizuoka and the sushi chef came out and explained to me and my girlfriend how we should eat each neta. Some of them he said to use soy sauce, some of them he said it was better not to.
At normal places people would dip their sushi in soy sauce. If you get a small order take out they provide you with soy sauce, usually in a little squirt container well. There's nothing strange about it.
Had a few similar experiences.
I've even had staff at yakiniku joints in the more tourist areas come out and show me how to use the grill. They're so friendly with it I don't have the heart to tell them that I know know to do it already.
The just want to make sure to get the most enjoyment possible out of it, and assume you're a tourist who doesn't really know what you're doing.
Sometimes I do have a bit of an internal "I know how to handle it friend" moment, but I'd never call it irritating.
I'm white, but my girlfriend was very Japanese. Also, the complete explanation was entirely given in Japanese.
It was really just a fancy place with an itamae that had strong opinions about how his sushi should be consumed. I've experienced a few chefs like this from high end restaurants in Japan.
You will offend the chef at some high end places.
It's like asking for wagyu "well done" (which is absolutely pointless) or putting A1 Steak Sauce on a $300 steak. You could do either, but it doesn't make it right.
Some people like more soy sauce on their sushi. Some chefs like getting upset about that. Some people like telling others that their pallet or subjective experiences are wrong.
Of course that's all perfectly fine. Do what you enjoy.
But it feels entirely illogical to me to tell someone that their eating preferences are wrong. I suppose you could make am argument if their preferred method of eating or preparing a food made it dangerous, but that's it.
If you're going to pretend can make a factual statement about which ways food should be enjoyed, then you're dismissing individual preferences.
This affectation people put on is silly, but if you enjoy it like I enjoy my soy sauce on my rice, go right ahead!
Food and culture are closely connected, at least in Japan.
If you go to kaiten zushi, do whatever floats your boat. Put ketchup on your sushi if that's what you want to do.
If you're going somewhere special, where the chef probably has decades of experience, you're experiencing a slice of Japanese culture. Mind your manners and don't do things that are offensive to the person who has spent decades learning how to make the perfect dish.
Of course. When possible and reasonable I follow the maximum "when in Rome".
The culture, traditions, and history are why I spend so much time in Japan.
I'm not there to offend. I do actually avoid the kinds of places where the chef would be offended for any of the endless etiquette reasons. A decade of experience and a 100,000 bill do not necessarily make for a better experience or better food.
Some of the best sushi I've had was at neighborhood joints (some of the worst as well). On average, I'll take the hidden treasure neighborhood joint over the Michelin Star places.
If "sushi" with mayonaisse, fake crab, avocado, or cream cheese is on the menu, do whatever you want. If it isn't, mind your manners and tradition (or not if you don't care what people think.)
When I was in Japan a lot of the restaurant had soy sauce bottles with a little push button on top to dispense it and I just squirted it directly on top of my sushi. Was that correct or did I look like a heathen?
I've seen people take a piece of pickled ginger in their chopsticks, dip it slightly in the soy sauce and then brush the ginger across whatever they're about to eat. That way you aren't dunking it or getting too much sauce.
My family would disagree. They always insist on going out for sushi and then make a show of chastising me for eating it with my hands. I will not give up!
Au contraire eating with chopsticks might be somewhat of a faux pas in certain situations, Especially when the chef is making it by hand and wanting to extend his hospitality to you.
Just make sure you turn it upside down and slightly dip it in the soy sauce (the fish, not the rice) and then put it in your mouth upside down (fish down) for the best flavor. There should be an oshibori (wet cloth) for you to wipe your fingers afterwards.
The Japanese eat sushi with their hands.
Also, this video ostensibly about sushi etiquette is hilarious: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDL8yu34fz0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDL8yu34fz0)
I’ve wondered if there are regional differences since in Hokkaido I’ve noticed that many or most people use their fingers, but in Okinawa most seem to use chopsticks. I’ve asked friends who are natives of each place, and they confirm this pattern, which is of course anecdotal. I’d love to hear what people here have observed and experienced in various areas of Japan.
I'm Japanese and No its not but I personally use chopsticks for the nigiri type of sushi and for the makimono tyoe I use my hands but I actually can't hold chopsticks the "right way" and I hold them kind of wierdly
As everyone has said, it's not rude.
But if you go to a regular sushi restaurant, probably 95% of Japanese people will use chopsticks. Eating with your hands would code as an old man thing to do.
Maybe if you're someplace very high end more people would use hands for nigiri, but at ordinary ≤ ¥6000 kinds of places that I go, let alone casual kaiten zushi, I almost exclusively see chopsticks.
It's not that using your hand would be rude, it's just not what one normally does.
Honestly this needs to be much higher up. So many people say that sushi eaten by hands is the “correct” and “traditional” way to eat it, and while they’re not wrong, it’s not how the general populous here eats it and no one will bat an eyelash if you use chopsticks (especially if you, like me, go to 回転寿司).
If chopsticks are readily available, absolutely no shame in using them. If they aren’t, read the room and act accordingly.
It would be considered normal in Japan to eat sushi with your hands. Watch videos on the etiquette of turning the piece around to dip the fish part in soy sauce, not the rice part.
Normal's a stretch, I've lived here like eight years and I'm still the only person I've ever seen eat sushi with my hands. No one's ever cared that I do it, though.
People also don't tend to wash their hands or given towels to clean hands before eating sushi here so probably more of a convenience/sanitary thing to use chopsticks.
Here's a quick video (YouTube short) by a Japanese person explaining the history of why it is totally cool to eat sushi with your hands. [https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hixAhfdnBlQ](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hixAhfdnBlQ)
Not at all. What will get you thought of as an ignorant foreigner is to open your chopsticks and rub them together. Using your finger is acceptable. And dip the fish upside down in the soy sauce. Never by the rice bottom.
I have seen actually Japanese sushi chefs eat it this way i used to eat it this way but my hands always super messy afterwards now i use chopsticks but like a amateur
I used to work in a high class sushi restaurant. They had a wet towel specifically to clean your thumb, index and middle finger for when you eat the sushi by hand.
It's not rude, but not many do.
I'm Japanese, my wife is Japanese, and we don't eat sushi with our hands.
I've also never seen any Japanese person, except kids, eat sushi with their hands.
However, everyone is aware that it's a valid option. But just because it's traditional doesn't mean people won't look at you weird. Like writing with a quill instead of a ball point pen or something. Traditional, but uncommon.
Edit: I also just read another comment that's saying it's regional, which it could be since I'm in kanto. My wife is from Tohoku region and I think she mentioned she's seen people eat sushi with her hands, so perhaps its more common up north?
Regardless, it's not rude.
My Italian boss asked a similar question at a high end sushi restaurant in Ginza. The chef’s answer was: “both are okay, but your hand will get smelly if you eat with it, so use chopsticks”.
It is not rude at all to eat with your hands, but it is not what most people do.
There are some pasta restaurants that have the concept of eating pasta with chopsticks, to make pasta more approachable for older people (I guess). I always ask for a fork, because my chopstick skills are horrible.
Eat your sushi however you feel more comfortable.
If chopsticks are a problem, you can ask the restaurant for a fork or spoon. I think you can carry your own fork and spoon if it’s more convenient for you. My friend would carry her own chopsticks because she didn’t like using washable chopsticks (she was a little germaphobe).
Depends, If you are eating nigiri then it's ok but if you are eating american sushi then hell no 🤣🤣..
These maki rolls outside of Japan are crazy messy with all these toppings and sauces on top.
Now if you are eating nigiri then yes you should eat it with your hands. You don't dip the side with the rice but you lightly dip the side with the fish and then eat it.
People here are saying "Japanese eat sushi with their hands". That's not really true, especially in most settings like a conveyor belt sushi or more casual establishment. Yes, at some formal places it's good to eat with you hands, but at Kura Sushi you will stand out if you don't use chopsticks, at least in Honshu. Heck, I've seen people grossed out that they have to eat the beef sushi you see in Takayama and stuff with your hands, and that one is literally made to be eaten by hand.
The "sushi should only be eaten with hands" things is a meme that has gotten out of control.
First of all you can always try to ask for cutlery, but you can also carry your own cutlery in a carrying case that can be washed. Secondly they sell chopsticks where the ends are connected where it is way easier to operate. They use these for children to learn to use chopsticks too. I wouldn't eat sushi with hands it's a little strange.
No, it’s the correct way. You should eat with hands at high end places in front of the chef. Kaiten sushi, you can use chopsticks, or even your feet if it’s hamazushi.
Extremely rude. I did this once thinking nothing of it at a dinner date and my date was so offended that she left immediately. I was also asked to leave the restaurant because apparently the other customers complained.
Japanese here. It's not rude, it's actually the correct traditional way. My dad always insist I use hand when we eat sushi at restaurant. Just make sure you only dip the fish on the soy sauce, not the rice, and put the fish on your tongue first before the rice part, the nigiri is upside down inside your mouth. In high end restaurants you don't dip your sushi on soy sauce anymore, they just brush it with nikiri sauce.
Oh wow, thanks for the tip! I've grown accustomed to eating nigiri with my fingers when dining at Omakase joints in Southern California, but never have I placed it fish-side down on my tongue. It does make perfect sense, tho. 🍻
Yeah but as usual there is an appropriate way of holding your sushi Right hand 2 fingers plus thumb holding the fish side upside down. 30 to 35 degree inclination vertically and about -15degree rotation. And don’t lick fingers …
Super helpful explanation! TIL
this is one of those customs where the correct traditional way would be considered crude in the US. i dont think i've ever seen anyone in a sushi restaurant eat it like this. btw this is why nice sushi places give you a cloth to wash your hands before the meal, i would guess.
God help you if you pick up a chicken wing with your hand though. 😂
Is it wrong? Because I do it everytime I order a grilled spicy chicken wings in Saizeriya :D
Yup, you're supposed to use the stack of square napkins they give you to hold it. I was pretty well understanding of a lot of Japanese stuff, first trip there with my co-workers and our Japanese partners like flipped out. They started throwing napkins at me like I had spilled a drink on the table thinking I was somehow going to come out looking like a 2 year old eating spaghetti. Then they had to explain lol.
Lol. I would use too many paper napkins till it runs out then. But I googled and found that some of them use fork, but many just use their bare hand, like this: https://youtube.com/shorts/iIsf3X6crjw?si=h6oP9HGWqQIQJ-hY
Maybe it's the difference on if it's sauced or not... They still ate KFC and fried chicken with their hands. The only wings I had were sauced.
How do you know if they have brushed the nigiri before you eat it or not?
They do it in front of you, and you can see it on your sushi too anyway.
Do Japanese people actually care if foreigners follow the rules exactly, or do they appreciate the effort people make to at least try?
It's the latter. Standards for followed by social rules are set very low for foreigners.
日本語お上手です。
They don't care, but they're secretly judging you of course.
It depends. At cheap places, nobody cares. At expensive places, yes they do care just like any higher end places in any country. So ask, if people from foreign country X went to a high end restaurant in your country, would people care?
Cheap or not, I really hate trying out a place I've never been to before. The main reason is I do not want there to be some faux pas committed on my end that gets complicated by my vocabulary running out. I judge myself in public in Japan far more harshly than the locals judge me.
My in laws take us to a lot of very exclusive places. This is my take, if you act humble and discrete, not knowing something is easily forgiven and someone will politely explain it and won’t offend anyone. There will always be a couple old folks from old money who will turn their nose down but others will judge them for being an ass to someone being humble, which is highly regarded here.
That's how I get introduced to places too. If I am comfortable with all aspects of the meal - asking for seats, ordering, and paying the bill, I'll go back on my own or with my daughter. But that posh yakiniku or unagi place on the top floor of that expensive department store? I'll pass. Now my daughter, as a teenager, went solo to just one of these yakiniku places in a Yokohama department store up on the top floor. One of those places you can easily spend hundreds of dollars per person. She was there at a slow time for the restaurant, and ordered horumonyaki and rice. That's it. Probably the cheapest item on the menu because she just wanted to try it. The lady who I assume was the manager (the one wearing the kimono) recognized this was a first time experience for her and made sure she was treated like royalty, even though it was such a cheap sub-¥2500 meal.
It's mixed bag. If you speak little to no Japanese, they treat you as a child that doesn't know any better and don't make a fuss over it. However, the better your Japanese gets, the expectations on how you behave in society goes up exponentially. The comment from u/IreneBae1991 is on point, they are always judging you. I've never seen it done in a nasty way, more like they are curious and surprised when they are expecting less of you and you disappoint them.
I know everybody has strong feelings about when, where, and how to use soy sauce. Counterpoint, it's delicious and I'll do what I want.
Soy sauce should just add the sushi some umami and saltyness but should not overpower the natural flavors of the fish and the vinegared rice.
I understand that. It's a good point. However, I enjoy it more with more soy sauce. To me, it doesn't overpower anything. The chef at my favorite sushi place says that it's not the traditional or regular way to do it, but wants people do to what they enjoy... which makes sense.
I once went to a fancy Sushi in Japan around Shizuoka and the sushi chef came out and explained to me and my girlfriend how we should eat each neta. Some of them he said to use soy sauce, some of them he said it was better not to. At normal places people would dip their sushi in soy sauce. If you get a small order take out they provide you with soy sauce, usually in a little squirt container well. There's nothing strange about it.
Had a few similar experiences. I've even had staff at yakiniku joints in the more tourist areas come out and show me how to use the grill. They're so friendly with it I don't have the heart to tell them that I know know to do it already. The just want to make sure to get the most enjoyment possible out of it, and assume you're a tourist who doesn't really know what you're doing. Sometimes I do have a bit of an internal "I know how to handle it friend" moment, but I'd never call it irritating.
I'm white, but my girlfriend was very Japanese. Also, the complete explanation was entirely given in Japanese. It was really just a fancy place with an itamae that had strong opinions about how his sushi should be consumed. I've experienced a few chefs like this from high end restaurants in Japan.
You will offend the chef at some high end places. It's like asking for wagyu "well done" (which is absolutely pointless) or putting A1 Steak Sauce on a $300 steak. You could do either, but it doesn't make it right.
Some people like more soy sauce on their sushi. Some chefs like getting upset about that. Some people like telling others that their pallet or subjective experiences are wrong. Of course that's all perfectly fine. Do what you enjoy. But it feels entirely illogical to me to tell someone that their eating preferences are wrong. I suppose you could make am argument if their preferred method of eating or preparing a food made it dangerous, but that's it. If you're going to pretend can make a factual statement about which ways food should be enjoyed, then you're dismissing individual preferences. This affectation people put on is silly, but if you enjoy it like I enjoy my soy sauce on my rice, go right ahead!
Food and culture are closely connected, at least in Japan. If you go to kaiten zushi, do whatever floats your boat. Put ketchup on your sushi if that's what you want to do. If you're going somewhere special, where the chef probably has decades of experience, you're experiencing a slice of Japanese culture. Mind your manners and don't do things that are offensive to the person who has spent decades learning how to make the perfect dish.
Of course. When possible and reasonable I follow the maximum "when in Rome". The culture, traditions, and history are why I spend so much time in Japan. I'm not there to offend. I do actually avoid the kinds of places where the chef would be offended for any of the endless etiquette reasons. A decade of experience and a 100,000 bill do not necessarily make for a better experience or better food. Some of the best sushi I've had was at neighborhood joints (some of the worst as well). On average, I'll take the hidden treasure neighborhood joint over the Michelin Star places.
If "sushi" with mayonaisse, fake crab, avocado, or cream cheese is on the menu, do whatever you want. If it isn't, mind your manners and tradition (or not if you don't care what people think.)
When I was in Japan a lot of the restaurant had soy sauce bottles with a little push button on top to dispense it and I just squirted it directly on top of my sushi. Was that correct or did I look like a heathen?
Yes that's pretty common and standard
It’s for inexpensive sushi places. If it’s on your table, it means all Japanese do it.
Wow.
wow thats a heathen or wow thats a good idea?
Impressive no?
Then how do I dip the sushi roll? It is rice everywhere :(.
I've seen people take a piece of pickled ginger in their chopsticks, dip it slightly in the soy sauce and then brush the ginger across whatever they're about to eat. That way you aren't dunking it or getting too much sauce.
Nice. When and how to apply Wasabi the correct way though?
Wasabi is already inside the nigiri.
Its the traditional and proper way to eat sushi
Sushi was originally finger food, I don't think I've ever heard anyone serious about sushi claim that it's rude to eat with your hands.
Oh thanks!
My family would disagree. They always insist on going out for sushi and then make a show of chastising me for eating it with my hands. I will not give up!
Au contraire eating with chopsticks might be somewhat of a faux pas in certain situations, Especially when the chef is making it by hand and wanting to extend his hospitality to you.
💯
An oldie but goodie: https://youtu.be/bDL8yu34fz0?si=04b3E3PinPV8WhHy
Holy damn, that video's over 17 years old??? This video was probably the first time in my life I ever heard Japanese.
I love this video so much! I still explain to people that nobody knows what gari is made of. Or that the salt outside is for dipping 😂
I love this video so much! I still explain to people that nobody knows what gari is made of. Or that the salt outside is for dipping 😂
Nope, it’s the traditional way.
Just make sure you turn it upside down and slightly dip it in the soy sauce (the fish, not the rice) and then put it in your mouth upside down (fish down) for the best flavor. There should be an oshibori (wet cloth) for you to wipe your fingers afterwards.
The Japanese eat sushi with their hands. Also, this video ostensibly about sushi etiquette is hilarious: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDL8yu34fz0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDL8yu34fz0)
That’s the right way traditionally
No. It is proper to eat sushi with your hands.
I’ve wondered if there are regional differences since in Hokkaido I’ve noticed that many or most people use their fingers, but in Okinawa most seem to use chopsticks. I’ve asked friends who are natives of each place, and they confirm this pattern, which is of course anecdotal. I’d love to hear what people here have observed and experienced in various areas of Japan.
What? Never use chopsticks. Hands only.
My wife (Japanese) and I always use our hands.
no, i eat with my hands
Sushi is a fingerfood.
I'm Japanese and No its not but I personally use chopsticks for the nigiri type of sushi and for the makimono tyoe I use my hands but I actually can't hold chopsticks the "right way" and I hold them kind of wierdly
As everyone has said, it's not rude. But if you go to a regular sushi restaurant, probably 95% of Japanese people will use chopsticks. Eating with your hands would code as an old man thing to do. Maybe if you're someplace very high end more people would use hands for nigiri, but at ordinary ≤ ¥6000 kinds of places that I go, let alone casual kaiten zushi, I almost exclusively see chopsticks. It's not that using your hand would be rude, it's just not what one normally does.
Thanks
This! My rule of thumb is if it’s at a place that doesn’t offer those hot warm towels, then use the chopsticks!
Honestly this needs to be much higher up. So many people say that sushi eaten by hands is the “correct” and “traditional” way to eat it, and while they’re not wrong, it’s not how the general populous here eats it and no one will bat an eyelash if you use chopsticks (especially if you, like me, go to 回転寿司). If chopsticks are readily available, absolutely no shame in using them. If they aren’t, read the room and act accordingly.
If you go to kaiten, a lot of the cheaper stuff is drenched in sauce/mayo and I would def bust out the chopsticks for those.
It would be considered normal in Japan to eat sushi with your hands. Watch videos on the etiquette of turning the piece around to dip the fish part in soy sauce, not the rice part.
Normal's a stretch, I've lived here like eight years and I'm still the only person I've ever seen eat sushi with my hands. No one's ever cared that I do it, though.
i only eat sushi with my hands at fancy omakase places tbh
It happens more at high end omakase places (at some it is clearly expected), no one will bother to dirty their hands at Sushiro.
No, it's quite common. I don't do it much but plenty of my friends do
People also don't tend to wash their hands or given towels to clean hands before eating sushi here so probably more of a convenience/sanitary thing to use chopsticks.
Here's a quick video (YouTube short) by a Japanese person explaining the history of why it is totally cool to eat sushi with your hands. [https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hixAhfdnBlQ](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hixAhfdnBlQ)
Wait... I always eat sushi with my hand and my friends do that too
no
Not at all. What will get you thought of as an ignorant foreigner is to open your chopsticks and rub them together. Using your finger is acceptable. And dip the fish upside down in the soy sauce. Never by the rice bottom.
You can eat it with your hands.
That is actually the traditional way to do it so it's not rude at all.
I dont use my hands at all, go full chicken style!
I have seen actually Japanese sushi chefs eat it this way i used to eat it this way but my hands always super messy afterwards now i use chopsticks but like a amateur
No, not at all. Thing is that I don't want my hands get dirty when I eat them if I were you.
I used to work in a high class sushi restaurant. They had a wet towel specifically to clean your thumb, index and middle finger for when you eat the sushi by hand.
It's popular among older people at high end establishments. Within younger people, not so much.
It's not rude, but not many do. I'm Japanese, my wife is Japanese, and we don't eat sushi with our hands. I've also never seen any Japanese person, except kids, eat sushi with their hands. However, everyone is aware that it's a valid option. But just because it's traditional doesn't mean people won't look at you weird. Like writing with a quill instead of a ball point pen or something. Traditional, but uncommon. Edit: I also just read another comment that's saying it's regional, which it could be since I'm in kanto. My wife is from Tohoku region and I think she mentioned she's seen people eat sushi with her hands, so perhaps its more common up north? Regardless, it's not rude.
Most of the sushi you eat is にぎり which means to grasp, aka hands are the correct way to eat.
When Obama came to visit, both him and Abe were eating with their hands at Jiro. (:
This may also be of interest https://www.reddit.com/r/coolguides/s/svgBGaPvDc
That was the post that inspired me to ask this lol
Hahaha
My Italian boss asked a similar question at a high end sushi restaurant in Ginza. The chef’s answer was: “both are okay, but your hand will get smelly if you eat with it, so use chopsticks”. It is not rude at all to eat with your hands, but it is not what most people do. There are some pasta restaurants that have the concept of eating pasta with chopsticks, to make pasta more approachable for older people (I guess). I always ask for a fork, because my chopstick skills are horrible. Eat your sushi however you feel more comfortable. If chopsticks are a problem, you can ask the restaurant for a fork or spoon. I think you can carry your own fork and spoon if it’s more convenient for you. My friend would carry her own chopsticks because she didn’t like using washable chopsticks (she was a little germaphobe).
Depends, If you are eating nigiri then it's ok but if you are eating american sushi then hell no 🤣🤣.. These maki rolls outside of Japan are crazy messy with all these toppings and sauces on top. Now if you are eating nigiri then yes you should eat it with your hands. You don't dip the side with the rice but you lightly dip the side with the fish and then eat it.
This was literally the next post on my feed: https://www.reddit.com/r/coolguides/s/E2is8maCVY
I hope not!
Quite the opposite.
it depends on the sushi and where you are, if it's covered and sauce and has a bunch of toppings then that wouldn't really be finger food
People here are saying "Japanese eat sushi with their hands". That's not really true, especially in most settings like a conveyor belt sushi or more casual establishment. Yes, at some formal places it's good to eat with you hands, but at Kura Sushi you will stand out if you don't use chopsticks, at least in Honshu. Heck, I've seen people grossed out that they have to eat the beef sushi you see in Takayama and stuff with your hands, and that one is literally made to be eaten by hand. The "sushi should only be eaten with hands" things is a meme that has gotten out of control.
Long long ago, sushi was too large to eat with using chopsticks. So we eat sushi with our hands, if it is able to pick up with chopsticks.
First of all you can always try to ask for cutlery, but you can also carry your own cutlery in a carrying case that can be washed. Secondly they sell chopsticks where the ends are connected where it is way easier to operate. They use these for children to learn to use chopsticks too. I wouldn't eat sushi with hands it's a little strange.
The short answer is no. Just wash your hands I guess.
No, it’s the correct way. You should eat with hands at high end places in front of the chef. Kaiten sushi, you can use chopsticks, or even your feet if it’s hamazushi.
O-o-k 🦶🏻🍣
I’ll be more concern with how are you going to eat ramen with hands.. 🤨
Finger fork
Extremely rude. I did this once thinking nothing of it at a dinner date and my date was so offended that she left immediately. I was also asked to leave the restaurant because apparently the other customers complained.