Japanese Etiquette Travel Etiquette

In Japan, many streets have no names. If you get lost, you can ask the police for help. Buses and cars in the urban area extend in all directions. Taking a taxi is expensive. Tipping is not very popular in Japan, so if you are unsure, don't tip. When tipping, you should put the money in an envelope or wrap it in a tissue. Japanese people think that receiving cash is an embarrassing thing. Paying attention to etiquette is a Japanese custom. Usually when people meet, they always bow to each other and say "hello", "goodbye", "please take care of me", etc.

Japanese people attach great importance to exchanging business cards when they meet for the first time. If you don't bring a business card to your first meeting, it's not only rude but the other person will think you're not easy to get along with. When exchanging business cards, bow first and pass the business card with both hands. After receiving the other party's business card, you should read it carefully to see clearly the other party's identity, position, and company, and nod to indicate that you know the other party's identity. The Japanese believe that business cards are a representative of a person and treat business cards as if they are themselves. It is considered impolite to just put the business card into your pocket without reading it. If you are going to participate in a business negotiation, you must deliver business cards to everyone in the room and accept their business cards without leaving out anyone. Although this takes a lot of time, it shows mutual friendship and respect. a way. The Yushima Shrine in Tokyo is filled with prayer cards for students to enter higher education. Yushima Shrine is similar to the Confucius Temple in China and enshrines Michizane Sugawara, known as the "God of Learning" in Japan.

When visiting a Japanese home, you must make an appointment with the host in advance and ring the doorbell to announce your name before entering. If the house does not have a doorbell, never knock on the door. Instead, open the sliding door and ask: "Excuse me, is there anyone inside?" After entering the house, take the initiative to take off your clothes and hat, and take off your scarf (but be careful even if The weather is hot, and you cannot wear a vest or bare feet, otherwise it will be rude), put on spare slippers, and give the gifts you brought to the host. When you sit in the house, it is polite to sit with your back to the door. Only with the persuasion of the host can you move to a distinguished position (referring to the seat in front of the alcove with various artworks and decorations). Specially prepared for VIPs). Japanese people are not used to letting guests visit their homes, so don't make requests to look around. Japan is particularly taboo about men breaking into the kitchen. You must also ask for the owner's permission to use the toilet. When eating, if you don't know how to eat a certain meal, you should ask the host for advice. When picking up food, you should turn your chopsticks over and use them. When saying goodbye, the guest should first propose it and express his gratitude to the host. When you return to your residence, call the person to tell them that you have returned safely and thank them again. Don’t forget to express your gratitude when you meet your owner again after a while. When the Japanese hold a banquet, the traditional way of toasting is to place a bowl filled with water in the middle of the table and place a piece of clean white gauze in front of each person. Before pouring the wine, the host should rinse his own glass in the water. , press the cup with the rim down on the gauze so that the water droplets are absorbed by the gauze, then fill the cup with wine and pass it to the guest with both hands. After the guests have finished drinking, they do the same to show the friendship and intimacy between the host and guest.

Japanese people bring gifts whether they are visiting relatives or friends or attending banquets. A family spends 7.5% of its monthly income on gifts. When visiting a Japanese home, you must bring gifts. The Japanese believe that sending a gift is much more meaningful than saying "thank you" because it expresses gratitude with practical actions. When giving gifts to Japanese people, you must grasp the "value sense". The gifts should be neither too heavy nor too light. If it is too heavy, he will think that you are asking for something from him, and thus infer that your goods or services are not good; if it is too light, he will think that you despise him. When going to a Japanese home for a general visit, it is more appropriate to bring some packaged food, but do not give flowers, because some flowers are used when people are courting or doing funerals. The Japanese pay attention to packaging of gifts. The gifts must be wrapped in several layers and tied with a beautiful ribbon or paper rope. The Japanese believe that the soul of someone in the knot marks the sincerity of the gift giver. Those who accept gifts usually give gifts in return. Japanese people do not open gifts in front of guests. This is mainly to avoid embarrassing the guests due to the discomfort of the gifts. Gifts that you don't need can be given to others, and Japanese people don't mind this. Japanese people generally do not use even numbers when giving gifts. This is because "four" in even numbers has the same pronunciation as "death" in Japanese. In order to avoid bad luck, "four" is not used in many occasions. Over time, even numbers such as two, four, and six are simply not given. . They love to send odd numbers, especially three, five, and seven. But "Nine" should also be avoided, because "Nine" and "bitter" have the same pronunciation in Japanese.

Japanese etiquette when entertaining guests

Japanese people generally do not entertain guests at home. If you are invited to a Japanese home, you must take off your hat, gloves and shoes in the foyer. When a man walks into a room, the sitting posture is more casual, but it is best to sit on his knees with his upper body straight; women should sit upright or kneeling sideways, and it is taboo to sit cross-legged. When saying goodbye, don't put on your outer clothes until you leave the room.

When visiting a Japanese home, you usually need to bring a bouquet of flowers for the hostess, as well as a box of snacks or candies. It is best to wrap them in light-colored paper and tie them with colored ribbons.

When the Japanese receive close relatives and friends, they use the traditional toasting method. The host places a bowl filled with water in the center of the table, rinses everyone in the water, and then presses the rim of the cup on the gauze. With one press, the water drops in the cup are absorbed by the gauze. At this time, the host fills the cup with wine, hands it to the guest, and watches the guest drink it all.

After drinking the wine, the guest also rinses the cup in clean water, absorbs the water droplets on the gauze, and pours a full glass of wine back to the host. This way of toasting expresses the close friendship between the host and the guest.

The Japanese are also very particular about serving wine. The wine glass should not be held in the hand, but should be placed on the table. The right hand holds the pot and the left hand rests on the bottom of the pot. Never touch the wine glass.

You must accept the first glass of wine offered by the host, otherwise it will be rude. You can refuse the second drink. Japanese people generally do not force people to drink.

Note;

You should take off your shoes before entering a Japanese home. You cannot wear any shoes (including slippers) when entering a "Japanese-style" room. But if it's a Western-style house, you don't have to take off your shoes.

Gestures

Due to different cultural backgrounds and living habits, the meanings expressed by gestures in various countries are also different. The Chinese people extend their thumbs to express praise, which means "top guagua", while for Japanese For people, this action means scolding him "you old man" without any appreciation. In China, extending the little finger means "poor, backward", while in Japan it means "girlfriend". Also, use the thumb and index finger. Making a circle means money, putting it to the mouth means drinking, bending the index finger means a thief, shaking hands when friends say goodbye.

Tatami

Most rooms in Japanese families have "Western-style room" and "Japanese-style room", "Western-style room" is also called a Western-style room, which is similar to the layout of our current rooms, with chairs, sofas, beds, etc., while "Japanese-style room" is also called a Japanese-style room, without chairs, sofas, beds, etc. The floor is covered with straw mats called tatami, which are equivalent to our current carpets. "Tatami" is actually a straw mat with a bottom layer made of straw and a mat woven with rushes on top. People usually sit on their knees. Slippers are not allowed when walking on "tatami".

Tatami is a piece of furniture woven from rushes that is laid on the ground for people to sit or lie on all year round. The same name means tatami, which is the result of mutual introduction. The pieces of tatami are connected with cloth strips and fixed on the floor. People can walk on it with bare feet. It is flat and not slippery, so it will not be cold under the feet in winter and in summer. It’s not hot, it’s clean and comfortable. The tatami mat in the living room is the “kang mat”, which helps people fall asleep after the lights are turned off. The tatami mat in the living room is the “carpet”, which is very elegant and simple.

Main taboos

Japanese people don’t like purple, which they think is a sad color; they are most taboo with green, which they think is an ominous color; they also taboo the number of three people together, such as 9 and 4. , it is believed that the person in the middle is sandwiched between the left and right people, which is a sign of misfortune. The Japanese hate gold and silver cats and think that people who see such cats will be unlucky; they also do not like foxes. Funeral etiquette

In Japan, people still attach great importance to the birth of a new life. The traditional Japanese wedding ceremony is: three days before the wedding, the bride’s family moves all the bride’s belongings to the new house; on the wedding day, the woman gets a haircut. The groom will dress up the bride. Nowadays, weddings in Japan are held in various forms, some are held in shrines, and some are held in Christian churches. Generally, during the wedding, a wedding dresser will dress the deceased. , is a kind of respect for the dead

Eating habits

Japanese drinks include "Japanese cuisine" unique to Japan; "Chinese cuisine" passed from China; The special geographical environment of Japan determines their unique eating habits. The biggest feature of "Japanese cuisine" is that it mainly uses fish, shrimp, shellfish and other seafood. They eat it hot, cold, raw or cooked. Their staple food is rice, and other main grains include wheat, barley, millet, corn, buckwheat, glutinous rice, soybeans, adzuki beans, sweet potatoes, etc. Some of these main grains are made into steamed rice, boiled rice; porridge, mixed porridge, fried rice, bean paste rice balls, dumplings, etc.; some are made into rice noodles, rice cakes, bread, scones, noodles, steamed buns, etc. as noodles. . They always like to eat red beans and rice on their birthdays to show good luck. They like miso and miso soup very much because it contains a lot of protein and iron and is easy to digest. It is suitable for the elderly, weak, sick and disabled. It is also one of the indispensable recipes in Japanese families.

Japanese people have the following characteristics in their eating habits:

① Pay attention to the quality and quantity of dishes, and pay attention to the nutritional value of dishes. ②Taste: Generally, people don’t like too salty and prefer sweet, sour and slightly spicy tastes. ③Staple food: Rice is the staple food. I am very interested in fried rice, red bean rice, assorted fried rice, eight-treasure rice, steamed buns, dumplings, soup noodles, fried noodles, etc. ④They like to eat fish as non-staple food, especially sashimi; they like to eat beef, wild poultry, eggs, shrimp, crab, kelp, and lean pork; they also like to eat seaweed, green vegetables, eggplant, cabbage, cucumber, radish, bamboo shoots, Celery, tomatoes, spinach, bean sprouts, green peppers, cauliflower, cabbage, fresh mushrooms, fungus and tofu; seasonings like seaweed, ginger, sugar, sesame, soy sauce, etc. ⑤Preparation method: Preference for dishes prepared by cooking methods such as cold salad, pan-frying, stir-frying, steaming, deep-frying, and grilling. ⑥For Chinese food, I like Beijing cuisine, Shanghai cuisine, Cantonese cuisine and less spicy Sichuan cuisine. ⑦Menu
I really like the cold jellyfish, mushroom crispy rice soup, stir-fried grass head, marinated fish fillet, winter melon cup, crab meat and fresh mushrooms, fresh bamboo shoots and shredded pork, hibiscus chicken breast, fried pheasant slices, oyster sauce beef, green beans Shrimp, dry-roasted pomfret, soft fried chicken, Peking duck, sweet and sour pork and other flavorful dishes.

⑧Shuijiu are very interested in Chinese Shaoxing wine and Maotai wine; most people like to drink green tea, black tea and scented tea. ⑨Fruits: Prefer cantaloupes, honeydew melons, watermelons, citrus, apples, pears, grapes, bananas, pineapples, peaches, apricots, strawberries, etc.; prefer dried fruits such as walnuts, almonds, cashews, etc.

Taboo about "eight chopsticks"

Japanese people have many taboos about using chopsticks: they are taboo about inserting chopsticks straight into the rice, because they think it means worshiping the dead; they are taboo about licking the chopsticks with their tongue, because they think it means worshiping the dead. This is extremely unsightly; avoid using chopsticks to pierce or insert food into food, as this is not the proper behavior at the dinner table; avoid using chopsticks to pick food out of dishes, as this is considered a bad habit, and is regarded as a lack of Etiquette: avoid using chopsticks to move one dish and not eat it, and then move to another dish, as this picky behavior will make people laugh; avoid placing chopsticks on top of dishes, as it will remind people of unfortunate things; Avoid using chopsticks instead of toothpicks to pick your teeth, as this is considered unhygienic and will make people sick; avoid twisting the chopsticks and licking the rice grains stuck on the chopsticks with your mouth, as this is a bad habit and will lead to no future; avoid using chopsticks on Walking around the table looking for food is considered a sign of lack of education; avoid using the same pair of chopsticks for everyone to pick up food in turn, as this will remind people of the scene of passing the bones of the deceased in the Buddhist cremation ceremony.

Japanese people also have many dietary etiquette taboos; when entertaining guests, it is taboo to overfill the rice bowl, and do not fill a bowl with one spoon; Symbolism should also be added, because eating only one bowl is considered by them as a symbol of failure; it is taboo to arrange one's clothes or touch or arrange hair with hands during the meal, because this is unhygienic and impolite behavior.

Japanese people generally do not eat fatty meat and pig offal; some people do not eat mutton and duck.

Taboos about spoons

There are many taboos about spoons in Japan, which shows that spoons are closely related to Japanese life. For example, when you are eating, you cannot greet the guests while holding a spoon. You must first put the spoons away in an orderly manner, and then get up to greet the guests. Even if the guests have already reached you, they must Put the spoon on the table before talking to the guests, otherwise it is extremely impolite for a well-bred family. You won't let others accept you.

In ancient Japan, prostitutes brought spoons to crossroads at night and waved them in four directions, hoping that customers would come to visit them more. It is precisely because they use spoons in their profession that some people call prostitutes "spoons". Now everyone should know how embarrassing it is to hold a spoon in your hand and wave it around, especially female friends. In Japan, it must be Pay attention to this etiquette to avoid unnecessary trouble.

In daily life, there are many taboos about spoons. For example, it is taboo to lick a spoon with your mouth and tongue. This is similar to Western etiquette. Even if there is sticky food attached to the spoon, you must not directly use your mouth or tongue to remove it, but find other methods. Because a spoon is generally used to ladle soup or hold liquid food, the spoon is a public utensil. If an individual touches it with his mouth, it will affect the use of others again, which is extremely impolite. Behavior, even within the family, this kind of etiquette needs to be observed.

Japanese legend says that if someone’s mouth touches the spoon while eating, it will rain, and a dog will bark when you get married, which is unlucky, and you may get sick or give birth to a baby. The child has a flat face, like a spoon. It is also taboo to use the back of a spoon to serve rice, as this will make a woman a stepmother in the future, etc. It can also be seen from these taboos that the older generation of Japanese regard spoons as sacred, powerful and supernatural things.

Japanese Tea Ceremony

Japanese Tea Ceremony has the cultural cultivation spirit of "tea banquet" and "tea fighting", forming a national culture with strong Yamato national characteristics and style, and at the same time, it is also vividly It clearly shows the great influence of tea culture on the deep connotation of Japanese traditional virtues. According to the tea ceremony tradition, when guests are invited to the teahouse, the host kneels and sits in front of the door to express welcome. There are prescribed etiquette from pushing the door, kneeling, bowing, and even greetings.

The guests participating in the tea ceremony sit in different positions according to their status. The guest must sit above the host (i.e. on the left side). At this time, the host goes to the "water house" to get the stove, tea cauldron, water bottle, white charcoal and other utensils, while the guests can appreciate the furnishings, calligraphy, paintings, flowers and other decorations in the tea room. After the host takes the utensils and returns to the tea room, he kneels on the tatami and makes a fire to boil water, and takes a little incense from the incense box to light it. While the water is boiling on the stove, the host has to go to the water house again to be busy. At this time, the guests are free to stroll in the garden in front of the tea room. When the host has prepared all the tea ceremony utensils and the water is about to boil, the guests re-enter the tea room and the tea ceremony officially begins.

When making tea, the host should first wipe the various tea utensils with a tea towel (there are also special regulations on the folding method of tea towels), then use a tea spoon to take two or three spoons of tea powder from the tea can and place it in a tea bowl. Then pour boiling water and stir the tea in the bowl with a tea whisk until the tea soup becomes foamy.

When drinking tea, guests should make a "tsk tsk" sound in their mouths to express praise for the host's "good tea". After the main guest drinks tea, the remaining guests can pass the tea one by one. After drinking, the tea bowl will be handed back to the host. Guests' tea drinking can also be divided into "drinking in rounds" or "drinking alone". That is, guests take turns tasting a bowl of tea, or drink a bowl of tea alone.

Tea ceremony etiquette is not only about drinking tea, but also about appreciating the tea ceremony utensils mainly tea bowls, the decoration of the tea room, the tea garden environment in front of the tea room and the spiritual communication between the host and the guest.

During the entire tea party, the host and guest have specific etiquette for walking, standing, sitting, seeing off, receiving tea bowls, drinking tea, looking at tea sets, as well as wiping bowls, placing objects and speaking. A tea ceremony usually lasts about two hours. After the ceremony, the host must once again kneel down outside the teahouse lattice door to see off the guests, and at the same time accept the guests' farewell compliments.

Japanese tea ceremony emphasizes cultivating sentiments and improving personality through tea tasting, emphasizing a noble spirit, elegant ceremony and harmonious relationship between the guest and host. There are three types of etiquette in Japanese tea ceremony: charcoal ceremony, strong tea ceremony and light tea ceremony.

Charcoal Ceremony: The Charcoal Ceremony is the process of preparing charcoal for the earth furnace or tea stove for making tea. Both the first seat and the second seat have the first charcoal etiquette and the last charcoal etiquette respectively. It includes preparing charcoal-burning tools, cleaning the furnace, adjusting the heat, removing charcoal ash, adding charcoal, and apportioning incense, etc.

Strong tea etiquette and light tea etiquette: Strong tea etiquette and light tea etiquette are a complete set of procedures for the host to prepare tea and the guests to taste tea. Under normal circumstances, the host first puts a little powdered tea into a porcelain bowl, then adds some water, uses a special bamboo whisk to stir the tea into a paste, and then adds water to three-quarters of the bowl. When drinking, pick up the tea bowl with your right hand, place it on the left hand, then turn the tea bowl from the opposite side to the front of you, taste it carefully and sip slowly, and then return it to the owner.

Every time a tea ceremony is held, the host must first kneel down outside the movable lattice door of the tea room to greet the guests. The first person to enter the tea room must be one of the chief guests (called the main guest). Other guests came into the room later.

After entering the guest room, both the guest and the host must bow. There are two types of standing and kneeling styles, and according to the degree of bending, it can be divided into three types: true, walking and grass. "Zhenli" is used between host and guest, "Xingli" is used between guests, and "Caoli" is used before and after speaking.

Japanese pasta

Soba (Osoba) is one of the popular pastas loved by Japanese people.

The main raw material of soba noodles is buckwheat. The main producing area of ??Japanese buckwheat is in the Shinshu area of ??Nagano Prefecture. The three famous buckwheat noodles in Japan are Shinshu Togakushi (Nagano Prefecture) buckwheat noodles and Izumo (Island) buckwheat noodles. Ne Prefecture) soba, Wanko (Wanko, Iwate Prefecture) soba.

Buckwheat noodles are more difficult and time-consuming to make. First, the noodles must be well mixed and the moisture must be appropriate. The mixed noodles need to rest for a long time. Really good buckwheat cannot be made by machine. It can only be made by hand.

There are usually two ways to eat soba noodles, one is hot noodles and the other is cold noodles. Japanese hot soup soba noodles are usually served with noodles such as tempura, fried shrimp or fried tofu, and are eaten in hot soup. Cold soba noodles are generally made by immersing the cooked buckwheat noodles in cold water, then placing them on a bamboo tray, sprinkled with some seaweed, and then dipped in a special soy sauce seasoning with chopped green onion to eat, which is refreshing and appetizing. First of all, delicious soba noodles are shiny, not easy to break, and have a chewy texture.

It is said that buckwheat noodles are rich in nutrients, and regular consumption is beneficial to the treatment of hypertension. Therefore, buckwheat noodles are also a healthy food and are very popular among Japanese people. They are also one of the noodles that Japanese people often eat.

A la carte

Soba noodle shops can be seen everywhere on the streets of Japan, and there are usually many shops operating together with Japanese "udong noodles".

Soba noodle shops usually have a sample display at the entrance of the store. Customers can look at the samples and order. Generally, there are more dishes typed in characters, and they can also order by pointing at the dishes. The general price of soba noodles is around 600 yen, the more expensive ones are around 800 yen, and the cheaper ones are around 400 yen, which is similar to ramen. The price varies depending on the soup and noodle size.

Some famous soba restaurants in Tokyo are expensive. A portion of cold soba noodles costs 2,000 yen. A full meal for one person requires roughly two portions, which costs at least 4,000 yen. But as long as you eat it once, I'm afraid it's hard to forget its taste. No matter how expensive the price is, there are still gourmets who often visit it.

Meal

Soba noodles can be eaten hot or cold. It goes without saying that hot noodles should be eaten while they are hot and cold noodles should be eaten while they are cold.

When eating hot noodles, restaurants usually prepare chili noodles, which are called "Shichimi" in Japan. They are made of seven kinds of seasonings such as chili powder. You can sprinkle some on it to make it more appetizing.

Cold soba noodles are usually placed on a bamboo tray with nori, a small plate of chopped green onions and a bowl of special soy sauce. When eating, put the chopped green onions into the seasoning, and then dip the noodles into the seasoning. Yes, there is also a pot of hot soba soup at the end, which is "the original soup transformed into the original food", which shows the influence of Chinese tradition in Japan.

AA system

The AA system is called "cutkan" in Japanese. Generally, when friends go to restaurants or bars together, if they have not agreed in advance who will treat them, they all use the AA system to pay. The method of payment, "cutting" means apportionment based on the number of people, and everyone shares their own expenses. The AA system originated from Europe and the United States. Its advantage is that everyone pays for his or her own use, and has peace of mind, so as not to owe other people a debt of favor for a meal. , this is true not only when going to restaurants, but also when taking buses and buses. Each pays his own fare and is clear to each other.

Japanese also has AA loanwords (エーエーせい) ), that is, "automatic approval system", which means "automatic approval system" and is an economic and trade term.

Bathing in hot springs

There are many ways to bathe in hot springs in Japan. Among them, you should pay attention to the following points:

○Don’t drink alcohol before bathing, because you should drink a lot of alcohol before bathing. May cause physical discomfort.

○Don’t make loud noises after entering the bathroom, but keep quiet.

○Please take off your shoes at the bathroom door (there are usually steps at the bathroom door) and enter the room barefoot.

○When bathing, be sure to take a shower outside the bathtub first, and then enter the bathtub to soak.

○Do not bring towels into the bath, and do not use soap or other liquids in the bath.

Deportment and Etiquette

Japanese people are always smiling. However, they not only smile when they are happy, but also laugh when they are embarrassed and angry to hide their true emotions. Women always sit on curled legs when seated on the floor. Different gestures have different meanings: the thumb and index finger form a circle, and the other three fingers are stretched upward to represent money; extending the little finger represents a woman, etc.

Meeting Etiquette

Japanese names generally consist of four characters. The first two characters are the family's name, and the last two characters are his own name. Generally speaking, Japanese people don't like to introduce themselves. As an introducer, you usually need to state the relationship between the person being introduced and yourself, as well as his title and the name of his unit. A few more laps to go!

Echoing back

It is said that the Japanese have a habit of frequently echoing and nodding in agreement when talking. "Yes", "Well, really?" including such words, as well as nodding and leaning over, etc. According to survey observations, they occur every few seconds in daily conversations. But it is worth noting that all of this does not necessarily mean the affirmative meaning of "that's right" or "understood". Some of them are just "ah, is it?" "Is that so?" etc., just as a It’s just a reaction after hearing what the other person said. When you come into contact with a Japanese who has this habit, if you think that "he really expressed his affirmation at that time", then it is unexpected for the Japanese.

On the other hand, Japanese people who are accustomed to echoing what they say feel uneasy about foreigners who do not express any reaction during the conversation. They will have such a feeling: "Is this person listening to me?"