When eating at a Japanese restaurant, it is important to be mindful of a few key etiquette points. First, it is considered rude to leave food on your plate, so be sure to finish everything on your dish. Second, avoid making noise while you eat, such as slurping your soup or clicking your chopsticks together.
Blowing your nose at the table, burping and audible munching are considered bad manners in Japan. On the other hand, it is considered good style to empty your dishes to the last grain of rice.
Sitting. Typically the Japanese eat at low dining tables and sit on a cushion placed on tatami floor (a reed-like mat). In formal situations both men and women kneel (“seiza”), while in casual situations the men sit cross-legged and women sit with both legs to one side.
Not finishing one's meal is not considered impolite in Japan, but rather is taken as a signal to the host that one wishes to be served another helping. Conversely, finishing one's meal completely, especially the rice, indicates that one is satisfied and therefore does not wish to be served any more.
Always finish your meal!
The Japanese consider it rude to leave food on your plate, and even more so to order more food when you haven't finished everything you've already got. This is related to one of the fundamental concepts in Japanese culture, mottainai, which is a feeling of regret at having wasted something.
Don't leave food behind. It's considered bad manners to leave even grains of rice behind, so be sure to clean your plate! If there are some foods you cannot eat, ask to have them left out of the dish.
Society and culture
For example, a burping guest can be a sign to the host that the meal satisfied them and they are full. In Japan, burping during a meal is considered bad manners. Burping during a meal is also considered unacceptable in Western cultures, such as North America and Europe.
It's considered rude to leave food on your plate after you're done, especially when having asked for a second serving, so it's best to request the exact amount you would like to eat.
Some good news, while slurping can be a sign of bad manners in other countries, in Japan it's completely acceptable and encouraged. In Japanese culture slurping your noodles shows how MUCH you are enjoying your meal.
Japanese tend not to eat while walking along or standing around on the street. However, it is acceptable to drink while standing aside a vending machine. Eating and drinking on local trains, but not long distance express trains, is also frowned upon.
Blowing your nose, spitting and other bodily expressions of the mucus-producing kind are not appreciated in Japanese culture. If you must clear your schnoz, consider tucking yourself away from any other observers, or into a bathroom stall.
China. In China, burping is treated as any other bodily process, and after a meal, it can indeed serve as a compliment to the chef. It's probably China that originated the pervasive myth about complimentary burping abroad. Sometimes, this rule is conflated with a Japanese one that has to do with slurping.
Burping is seen (and heard) as rude and crude. But burping (or belching) serves an essential purpose and shouldn't be silenced. Belching is a protective mechanism that prevents the stomach from overinflating.
After finishing the meal
Place the chopsticks horizontally on the table or tray on your side, with the tip to the left. In Japan, it is considered taboo to place chopsticks vertically, as it is impolite to leave the tip facing the other person.
Knives and forks are used only for Western food. Spoons may be used with certain Japanese dishes such as donburi or Japanese-style curry rice. A Chinese-style ceramic spoon is sometimes used to eat soups. Click here for more information about Japanese table manners.
Instead, it is polite to say "gochisosama deshita" ("thank you for the meal") when leaving.
It's perfectly good manners in Japan to pick up the bowl you're eating from in one hand while you eat, and totally acceptable to drink soup straight from the bowl.
Generations after generations, The Japanese are taught to clap their hands together and say “Itadakimasu!” before savouring the delicious-looking food in front of their eyes. “Itadakimasu” can be translated into “I humbly receive”.