Ayana gives advice on customs in Japan

Before you come Japan, I think you should know about our very strict culture. First of all, I am going to introduce manners at mealtime. You have to say ’itadakimasu.’ before you begin to eat. This shows respect for a person who made a meal. Because, if someone who cooks didn’t make a meal for us, we have to make it ourselves or we can’t eat a meal. We have to show gratitude to someone who cooks. It’s also a kind of greeting which is like ‘hello’, ‘thank you’, ‘sorry’ and so on. We also have greetings which we have to say when we finish our meals. When you finish eating, you have to say ‘Gochisouamadeshita’. This is our custom and good meal manners.

Second, Can you take your shoes in your house in your country? In Japan, We can’t wear shoes inside. It is one of our habits.

We have to take off our shoes at the entrance and tidy our shoes or put them into a shoebox. So we have a shoebox at the entrance. When you come to Japan and visit the friend’s house, you should do that. I suggest you ‘Don’t forget to tidy your shoes.’

Finally, I suggest you that you should learn how to use chopsticks, before you visit Japan. Because, we normally use chopsticks when we have a meal. Of case, we use them when we eat a bowl of rice. One of my Saudi classmate was surprised it when I said him this information. But we use them!!!