My friend and I (early 20s, white American males) were eating in a fast food joint in Tokyo when an older man (not an employee) came up to me and handed me a spoon for my rice without me asking. He stuck around until he saw me use the spoon to eat the rice.
I am able to use chopsticks and was eating my rice without issue. We were eating respectfully and quietly and are unsure why a stranger would hand me a spoon out of the blue.
Were we unknowingly breaking a rule and/or using improper manners? If so we would like to know in order to avoid a similar mishap in the future!
4 comments
You used a utensil given to you by a random stranger?! I’m hoping it was a disposable spoon in a package.
No, that’s not a normal occurrence no matter how you were eating your food.
Fried rice and Japanese style curry and rice are eaten with a spoon. Omurice is too. Were you eating something like that?
It’s a lingering stereotype that ‘foreigners’ can’t use or are uncomfortable with chopsticks. He probably thought he was doing you a kindness. It’s not uncommon for Japanese people to assume foreigners, especially tourists, can’t do or don’t understand basic things.
For context, you should probably just name the chain you were at.
lmfao i’m sorry for laughing because you clearly didn’t do anything to earn it but you got gaijin-checked harder than anyone in history by this dude that’s incredible