We were at a stand-up sushi bar in Tokyo when the sushi chef there started making some funny hand symbols at us. We eventually figured out that he was telling us not to use our chopsticks, but to use our fingers instead – or at least that’s what we thought he was trying to tell us, because that was a bit odd. I mean it’s not like we were foreigners, and having sushi for the first time; we always used our chopsticks and was never laughed at before.
Now I know that we were wrong, having to read an article in The Star of all places to understand this sushi etiquette.
You are meant to pick the nigiri up with your fingers, turn it upside down, gently pass the fish through the sauce and place it on your tongue fish-side down. Assuming it’s not jumbo-sized, eat it all in one bite.
Oops, I also messed up the dipping part, but the chef probably thought we were lost causes and never tipped us over on that.
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