Going into a sushi bar to have sushi for the first time might be scary. But you should aslo think that it is about having fun and that it is an experience you will treasure. This is how I go about it, and even being so much into it like I am, I feel like I am learning something new about it all the time!

I was asked to put up a post on how you actually behaved in a sushi bar. I am not an expert, so I needed some help in this. I found some websites that I found good, in addition to looking up some of my Japanese books on the subject.

Here are some pointers for how to eat sushi

• As soon as you lift the noren (short “curtain hanging above the door, a sign that the restaurant is open) and walk in, the sushi chef welcomes you with a loud cry of “Irasshai-mase” (welcome)
• You should try your best to get to eat at the sushi bar
• Greet the other people at the bar and start conversation with them; sushi is about community.
• If you cannot eat at the bar, walk to it and check the quality of the fish before ordering.
• Greet the itamae (sushi chef) even if you don’t eat at the bar. He’ll recommend special stuff if he recognizes you as a regular and/or someone who truly knows how to eat sushi.
• Remember that itamae are not just “cooks”. They have traditions dating back to the time of the samurai. These same guys fed the meanest leanest macho hombre warriors of Japan. Be respectful and you shall enjoy the best sushi.
• You are given damp towels, hot in winter, cool in summer. The waiter asks what you would like to drink.
• Order all sushi items from the itamae, everything else from the food servers. The “menu”, a list of available sushi-dane hung on the wall behind the sushiya, although outside of Japan, there is often a menu for westerners.
• Order sashimi (selection of fresh fish slices) first; ask the sushi chef for his choice of fish. He knows what’s fresh today better than you. “Please prepare what you think is freshest,” is the best way to order. Let him be creative.
• Order one kind of sushi at a time, maximum three if the bar is busy. That could be nigiri, maki or temaki. Big plates are for the table only.
• If you are a regular, let the itamae decide what you’re having and at what pace it is served.
• The chopsticks are placed on the counter in front of you, horizontally, on a hashioki (chopstick stand), the tips pointing to the left. There is also a small plate for the shoyu. The sushi chef places in front of you a small board of plain, varnished or lacquered wood and some pickled ginger. He may also serve you directly on the plain wood counter. Do not overfill your shoyu dish. Just pour a small puddle.
• Take a nigiri in your fingers or with the chopstickls. Trun it upside down and dip the fish gently in the shoyu. Do not bit into a sushi. Except for some maki, sushi is bite-size.
• If you wish, you can ask for one nigiri (”ikkan”), or two (”nikan”). Or ask for less rice (”shari sukuname”) or no wasabi (”sabi nuki”) Somtimes the wasabi is too strong. This happens in the best sushiya. It is perfectly acceptable to shed a few tears
• In Japan, green tea, ginger, wasabi and shoyu are free and unlimited.
• Eat what you want as much as you like. Don’t be shy - ask if you don’t know. Rare items are often hidden away, but regulars know about them. Observe the other customers.
• Don’t rush through your meal. Appreciate the effort that has been put into making the food.
• If you’re at the bar and in a bit of a hurry (i.e. have a half hour to eat or so), order a chirashi, a small lacquered box with a bed of sushi rice, a bit of sugar, some pickled veggies and a chef’s selection of fish and mollusks. This way you’ll get all your sushi at once in a single serving and then leave. Eat it with chopsticks.
• Pickled vegetables, sprouts, and some things like ankimo (monkfish liver) are OK to order from the sushi chef if you see them advertised at the bar.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for things not listed in the menu. Chances are the chef has them under the counter for those people (like you) who truly know what they’re doing. Kazunoko, inago, hebo and idtakko fall in this category.
• If the bar is busy and you feel like you can’t wait, order some edamame (boiled soy beans), suimono(clear broth) or misoshiru (fermented soy bean soup) to keep you busy until the sushi chef can serve
• Drink green tea, beer, or sake with your sushi. Soft drinks spoil the taste and white wine or champagne are for snobs.
• If the sushi is excellent and you’re having a good time, offer to buy a drink for the itamae and his assistants. Don’t offer to buy drinks during lunch; this is an evening tradition.
• If using all this knowledge, appreciating it and respect the art on how to order - the sushi chef might pour you a glass of the special reserve sake he keeps under the bar. Raise your glass, thank him and toast by saying “kampai!”.
• Ask for the bill - “oaiso” (the amiability”) or “Okanjo” (the account). If you wish to make a linguistic effort, add gochiso-sama (it was a feast).

But most importantly - have fun. Eating sushi is just a wonderfully sensory experience. Enjoy!

Useful links
Sushi eating How-to