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chopsticks (Page 2)

Brilliantly designed chopsticks are going to change the way you set the table

One of the things Japan is known for is good design. You’ll see it in electronics, cars, home appliances, and home furnishings. There is a simple elegance to Japanese products that makes you break out into a little smile when you use them.

Looking at a pair of chopsticks, it doesn’t seem like there are any changes that need to made. They might be a little tricky to get the hang of, but they are mostly just two finger-held poles. That’s where this brilliant innovation comes in, though.

When you want to put your chopsticks down, you need to put them down on a rest so that you don’t get anything dirty. But what if they designed a chopstick that doesn’t need a rest?

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Sailor Moon girls Pluto and Chibiusa save your lips and your hips with lip balm and chopsticks

Sailor Moon’s 20th Anniversary year has been an absolute boon for fans of the series. We’ve seen everything from sanitary equipment  to lingerie to tiny little miniature versions of the everyday items they use.

What we really can’t get enough of is the bevy of adorable merchandise from Premium Bandai. And now that they’ve added new Sailor Pluto and Chibiusa items to their Miracle Romance line and DX My Chopsticks Collection, we’re heading straight to the online register!

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Do you see what I see? A short tale of unfortunately-shaped chopstick rests

Chopstick rests, called hashi-oki in Japanese, serve the simple task of keeping the tips of your chopsticks off the table and stopping them from rolling away. They’re not always used in Japanese homes, but you’ll often see them in nicer restaurants, and they also make unique, inexpensive souvenirs as you can find ones made from a number of different materials, and in an endless number of shapes and colors.

Some shapes might be a little TOO unique, however, as demonstrated by a Japanese Twitter user who innocently posted a photo of the cute, pink chopstick rests she found in Okinawa. She was quickly made aware of their unfortunate shape by a number of commentors, though. Or, maybe, she was made aware of how many people really have their minds in the gutter…

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Seven facts about Japanese chopsticks to help you win friends and influence people

We’ve been seeing a lot of articles recently about how to use Japanese chopsticks correctly. For those of us who grew up using forks and knives, it may seem a bit silly to obsess over holding two sticks at the correct angles. If you plan on visiting, living in, or especially working in Japan at some point, though, it may be a good idea to get out a protractor and practice those angles to save yourself a lot of embarrassing moments with friends and coworkers later.

To help you out, we here at RocketNews24 have compiled seven facts about chopsticks to help you along in your quest for perfect Japanese table manners. Even if you’re a seasoned chopstick expert, you may learn a thing or two from our advanced-level tips.

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China’s Baidu announces high-tech chopsticks that will keep you safe, skinny and healthy

Ever sit down to eat a meal and wish you knew how many calories or salt were in your food? Ever cooked a piece of meat or fish only to later wonder whether it might have gone bad? Last week, Chinese Internet giant Baidu announced that it has been working on a pair of wi-fi-enabled high-tech chopsticks that will be able to detect the nutritional makeup of the food it touches as well as warning consumers of any safety issues such as contaminants or expired food.

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You can rest your chopsticks on a lot of different things in Japan

Sitting down to a traditional Japanese meal is made even more special by those little sticks you’ll have to manipulate to get the food to your mouth. However, for fork-loving westerners, using chopsticks, or hashi as they’re called in Japanese, can be downright frustrating when all you want to do is sample the local cuisine, not wear it on your shirt. But while you’re skewering your tempura and twirling your udon (PS – don’t do that), be sure to take a few seconds to appreciate that little tool propping up your hashi. From simple to completely bizarre, there’s a chopstick rest to suit any style in Japan.

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Japanese restaurant chain turns boring old chopstick sleeves into fun origami

Family restaurants like Saizeriya are a staple of Japan’s cheap culinary world. From fake Italian food to fake Mexican-Indian hybrids that taste far better than they really should, family restaurants are a great place to hangout for high school students, to grab a quick meal between meetings for harried salarymen, or to take hungry kids for frazzled parents. Though convenient, the chains aren’t exactly known for their high class presentation.

However, Aiya, a family restaurant focused on Japanese-style cooking, has come up with a way to offer their customers a bit more pizazz!

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  • Nov 12, 2013

Feel the charm of Moon Prism Power — while putting food in your mouth!

Remember when you had a favorite TV/comic/game/storybook character you couldn’t live without, and you just had to have some toy or other connected with it close to you at all times? Well, if you’re a fan of Sailor Moon, you’ll be delighted to hear that toy manufacturer Bandai has just announced a line of products that may just let you relive some of that giddy excitement. And while these products may have the sparkly appearance of a toy, they also have a very practical use too, as you’ve probably been able to guess from the picture. Yes, folks, get ready to enjoy some Moon Prism magic — at your dining table! Read More

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“Would you like a fork or chopsticks with your drink?”

Convenience stores have gotten a bit of a bad name recently thanks to impetuous freezer divers the world over. But this might be the final…straw.

The above picture (sans pixelization) is blowing up on Twitter, having been retweeted over 4,000 times. But what’s wrong with a little chocolate milk tea??

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The Definitive Video Guide to Using Chopsticks, Guaranteed Everyone Will Learn Something From It

http://youtu.be/wEQlR2NxJWw

Throughout my time in Japan I’m often reminded of how “awesome” I am at using chopsticks at every possible moment by the locals (a phenomenon compounded by my being left-handed).

Yet despite this excessive praise for eating like a human, I still feel I have a lot to learn about manipulating said utensils with more poise and grace. That’s why I’m excited to have found this instructional video that has answered all my questions and more.

Please, join us in learning how to use chopsticks like an expert through this video. And for all our Asian friends who think they have chopsticks mastered, I’m sure there is something for you to learn too!

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In Japanese eating culture, holding chopsticks improperly might be frowned upon (see: Proper Way to Hold Chopsticks), but how does it compare to that other notorious dinner table offense, chomping down on your food with your mouth open?

According to denizens of Japanese message board site 2channel, who recently discussed the matter in depth, noisily eating your food is a far graver crime than poor chopstick handling.  Let’s take a close look at their discussion below. Read More

 

Chopstick culture is something unique to Asia. Japanese chopsticks, or hashi, are especially beautiful. Any foreign tourist can vouch for the allure of the hashi shop, a great place to linger and enjoy the attractive displays of hashi and their cases.

You would think that anyone living in Japan would get used to eating with chopsticks simply by using them over and over. Well, they do, but it may not necessarily be the correct way. There is in fact a proper way to eat with chopsticks, and even some Japanese adults—two in three people in their 30’s, to be exact—continue to use them incorrectly

Using chopsticks incorrectly can make it more difficult to bring food to your mouth, and it just looks bad too. Fearing the Japanese national image may be at stake, 33-year old reporter with Nikkei.com decided to see if long years of mistaken hashi holding could be fixed.

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Earlier this week, website Netallica posted an interesting little article entitled “The Things That Foreigners in Japan Hate to Hear” for its predominantly Japanese readership. Naturally, classics like “wow, you’re so good at Japanese”, and “you’re very good with chopsticks” were flagged as the main offenders, which I’m sure many gaijin (a term I use intentionally and will come back to later) will no doubt empathise with and would be happy to hear a little less frequently, but overall there were few phrases that could not be reasonably perceived as stemming from either the speaker’s genuine desire to compliment the listener or simple naivety.

It’s difficult to broach this topic- especially as a cynical Brit who loves a good grumble- without it quickly turning into a cliché-ridden compendium of gripes about life in Japan as a foreigner or an ill-advised rant about how comments of this nature are, in fact, some kind of backhanded attempt to draw a line between foreigners and Japanese; and goodness knows there are plenty of those out there.

There are, nevertheless, a number of phrases that foreigners living in Japan have heard a thousand times and would definitely prefer Japanese people knew aren’t always received in the way that they are probably intended…

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Eat like a Champ, Eat with a Woman’s Legs, Just Remember to Remove the Stockings First

So by now all us alpha-males have purchased our bathing beauty iPhone cases, but are left wondering: How do I hypnotize the ladies with my machismo during meals?  It would be rude to pull out one’s mobile phone while eating after all.

Well, picture this: Just before having dinner with that lucky lady you slowly and gently peel down the stockings along those smooth and silky legs – of your sexy lady chop sticks!

Trust me boys, the deal will be sealed after that.

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Challenge Yourself, Make Friends or Make Enemies with these Space-Age Chopsticks

Actually, there are many possible motives to get these chopsticks, which will defy your sense of what is right in the world, presented by ES Corp. of Hiroshima. On the lighter end: they come in black and white boxes, which lined up side-by-side, form a picture of a torii (the gateway to Shinto shrines), and thereby make for a nice his-and-hers wedding gift. On (off?) the deeper end: they bring into question the reason for existence of chopsticks. Read More

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