Eating Culture

EAP2
Airi Murasaki
04/17/2008

Food
I am so interested in eating culture between Japan and America. Basically, we eat different food every day, and people in Japan use chopsticks but people in America use fork and knife. Thus, there are some curious differences that I know. First, in America, it is bad manner eating with sounds of the mouth. In Japan, we can eat only noodle with sounds. The sounds make us hungry. It is not a matter of manners. Second, when we have meals at a restaurant, we don’t pay tip at all in Japan. On the other hand, in America, people should pay a tip for the clerk at most restaurant. If the clerk works really well for customers, people will pay more on the tip for the clerk. I think it is a very good system. For example, if clerks serve kindly and efficiently, the customer feels good and wants to come to the restaurant again. And then, the clerk can get a lot of tips and the restaurant gets good evaluation of customers. I suppose that we should follow this culture of America, because if the clerks service well, they can get a lot of tips and the restaurant’s reputation will be good. Third, American service is more friendly. Japanese service is more polite. These cause cultural differences. We should learn both cultures and compare them. I want to know more about eating culture.