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How to Behave at a Sushi Restaurant: Tips from Japanese Etiquette Guides

How to Behave at a Sushi Restaurant: Tips from Japanese Etiquette Guides

If you’ve ever found yourself at the counter of a sushi restaurant, nervously watching and copying other customers around you, don’t worry; you’re not alone! It turns out that even Japanese people aren’t too sure of themselves when it comes to dining with sushi.

Thankfully, Japan has etiquette guides for everything – from how to wear a suit to how to eat a hamburger – so proper tips aren’t hard to find. We’ve sourced a compilation of sushi manners that outlines some of the finer points, while also giving us an insight into the type of things that confuse Japanese sushi customers.

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Bill Gates’ Casual Handshake Offends South Korean Netizens

Bill Gates’ Casual Handshake Offends South Korean Netizens

On the afternoon of 22 April, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates met with President Park Geun-hye of South Korea. However, his seemingly innocuous greeting that sent many Korean netizens into a fury.

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Eight Ways You Really, Really Shouldn’t Use a Japanese Toilet

Eight Ways You Really, Really Shouldn’t Use a Japanese Toilet

If there’s one household commodity that Japan can truly be proud of, it’s their high-tech toilets, particularly the model known as a Washlet. These things are world-famous for their advanced butt-cleansing technologies and heated seats. Why, the simple press of a button has water spraying up out of the bowl like a fountain! To any long-standing member of Japanese society, the warm water jet is obviously intended to help rinse away the residue of a good dump, but what’s a foreign traveler to do when faced with one of these mythical thrones for the first time?

In hopes of preempting any future toilet travesties, we at RocketNews24 would like to introduce you to our demonstrative list of things one shouldn’t do with a Washlet. No, really. While some of these items may seem like clever ways to freshen up after taking care of business, the Washlet is not a one-stop body shop, and we urge you never to try these things at home… or anywhere else for that matter. Read More

Tipping in Japan: Yes, It Exists and It’s Confusing

Tipping in Japan: Yes, It Exists and It’s Confusing

Flipping through any travel guide about Japan you will learn that Japan is a country where tipping is non-existent. Leaving your change on the table at a restaurant may result in the waiter chasing you down to give it back.

But in Japan there actually is a system of tipping that exists but is tangled in a mysterious system of formality that no one really seems sure of. In an interview with Yahoo! Japan, Nobuko Akashi of the Japan Manners & Protocol Association attempts to unravel this system so we can all know when and where it’s appropriate to tip in Japan.

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A Few Simple Rules for Shooting Cosplayers

A Few Simple Rules for Shooting Cosplayers

Comikets and ComiCons continue to escalate the chance of you bumping into someone dressed like a slime from Dragon Quest gets bigger and bigger.  And hey, if you see someone dressed in shiny armor with a huge-ass sword or a half-naked goddess with her pet camel, you might just want to take a photo.

But hold your horses, Leibovitz: before you start snapping away at a bunch of guys dressed like dragon balls, there’s a code of conduct that you should adhere to. You wouldn’t want to tick her off at all by being all rude with your photography now would you?

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