When you eat at an authentic sushi bar, it is truly a great experience. You definitely don’t want to mess it up by making some of these common mistakes in etiquette.
If you follow this advice when you visit Japan, you won’t stand out in an embarrassing way. Everyone will know that you understand the Japanese cultural expectations and etiquette of eating sushi.
Trust the Sushi Chef
Sushi chefs have spent several years apprenticing under a master sushi chef before being able to be considered a master sushi chef themselves. They have learned the differences in a wide variety of fish and have honed the craft of sushi preparation.
Many sushi chefs are up early at the pier picking out the fresh fish they want to serve as sushi that day. They know their stuff!
This is why, when you sit at the sushi bar, it is often good to listen to the recommendations of the sushi chef. You don’t need to question the freshness of any of the fish, as this would be insulting.
When you make your orders, be sure to ask the sushi chef for your sushi orders, but ask the waiter for non-sushi dishes like soup, chawanmushi, drinks, etc.
A Word about Chopsticks
Although it is fine to use chopsticks to eat sushi, it is also fine to use your hands to pick up your sushi to eat it. Eating sushi with one’s hands is how sushi was traditionally eaten.
Under no circumstances in a Japanese restaurant should you ever stick your chopsticks up in a bowl of rice. This is only done at funerals or traditions that commemorate the dead.
Understand the Different Types of Sushi
Although some people think that sushi means raw fish, the literal meaning of the word “sushi” is rice flavored with vinegar.
Placing slices of raw fish on top of vinegar-seasoned rice is known as “nigiri sushi“, while rolled sushi is known as “maki sushi.”
While maki sushi is popular in America, it seems quite odd at a traditional sushi bar in Japan to primarily order these rolls. Besides, you miss out on the various fish types and tastes when you only order rolls.
Use Soy Sauce Appropriately
Use soy sauce sparingly. Dip your sushi into the soy sauce on the fish side rather than soaking the rice in soy sauce. Too much soy sauce adds a strong flavor and distracts away from the fish.
Understand that not all sushi should be dipped in soy sauce. Unagi sushi has already been coated with a special sauce, so it doesn’t make sense to add soy sauce. Other types of sushi that has been marinated in advance, such as marinated mackerel and marinated tuna, simply don’t pair well with soy sauce.
High-end sushi bars often serve sushi that is prepared and flavored so specifically by the sushi chef that soy sauce is not even needed.
Each piece is delicately prepared. Here, the sushi chef is brushing on a seasoning sauce.
Ginger Has a Purpose
Don’t mix the slices of pickled ginger with the sushi you are eating. Ginger has a specific purpose when served with sushi. Eating a slice of ginger before eating your next piece of sushi serves to clean your palate and enable you to enjoy the unique flavors of the next piece of sushi.
Making the Most of Wasabi
The most common mistake people make about wasabi is mixing it with the soy sauce. Mixing wasabi and soy sauce is a breach in etiquette at nice sushi restaurants.
Why shouldn’t you mix wasabi with soy sauce? Have you ever felt that effervescence in your nose when you’ve eaten wasabi? Well, that is lost when mixed with soy sauce, which some say, ruins the taste of the wasabi.
Sushi chefs at nice sushi restaurants add wasabi before serving. They have a sense of the right amount.
If you eat sushi at a cheaper “conveyer belt style” sushi restaurant where the wasabi isn’t added, put a small amount of wasabi on your fish rather than mixing it with your soy sauce.
The Benefits of Good Sushi Etiquette
Not only can understanding good sushi etiquette help you appear competent in Japanese culture, it adds to a fuller cultural and pleasurable dining experience. These guidelines have been encouraged by master sushi chefs and restaurant owners because they want their customers to enjoy the finest in taste.
You will likely notice that people are much more relaxed with these guidelines at “conveyer belt” sushi restaurants, so don’t be surprised if you see others mixing their wasabi and soy sauce together. Even so, following these recommendations from sushi master chefs can provide you with the opportunity to enjoy the fine tastes of sushi.
A Restaurant Recommendation
I can’t speak highly enough about the experience of eating the delicious sushi in the restaurant Sushi Yata (すし八咫) at Hotel Seamore in Shirahama, Japan. You must visit this place when you are in Shirahama.
Not only is the sushi chef a master at his craft, but he is also a master at customer service. He keeps meticulous notes about the customers he gets to know. He even remembered my preferences (and my name) from the year before. I was really impressed.
The view from this sushi bar, Sushi Yata, is an absolutely gorgeous view of the ocean as you can see from the background in the photos of the sushi we were served.
Reservations are required, but the cost of the meal is incredibly reasonable for what we ate and experienced. With drinks, our check came to just over 9000 yen for the two of us, which was approximately $30 American for each of us. I would expect to pay about $200 per person for a similar experience in California (if that could be found). Another reason why I like Wakayama so much.
So, take a trip to Wakayama and live it up. I recommend Hotel Seamore and a delicious meal at Sushi Yata in Shirahama, Japan. I know you’ll love it!
A Few Other Dishes We Enjoyed
If you’d like to see some of the other food we ate at Hotel Seamore’s Sushi Yata, here is a brief video with a few clips. Try not to drool too much. 😋