this post was submitted on 27 May 2024
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Today I Learned (TIL)
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This is not accurate. Source: been living in Japan for 14+ years. In extremely rare cases (pun unintended but welcome) it’ll happen either at a high class joint (like in Jiro Dreams of Sushi) or in informal drunken situations, but if you come over here and start shoveling nigiri into your gob with your hands in a general restaurant setting, people are going to think you’re simply an idiot.
Why is it ok in a high class joint, but not in a general restaurant?
Good question. It’s been a while since I asked someone so forgive me if my memory is a little off, but if I recall the reasoning is that when sushi became big in the Edo era it was eaten by hand because it would fall apart easier. But times change and as techniques got better and you could eat it with chopsticks, that became the more ‘proper’ thing to do. Keep in mind that in izakaya (like a Japanese pub) people will even eat French fries with chopsticks - it’s just the thing to do (again, unless it’s super informal with friends and people are starting to get tipsy and then they may start snacking by hand bc they just can’t be bothered lol).
So I guess the reasoning is that the super high class joints pride themselves on their heritage and the “way it used to be done“ rather than worrying about modern sensibilities.
All that said, the best advice is watch what people around you are doing in a situation and follow their lead. That’ll usually keep you in pretty good graces. :)
Ty!