With the abundance of Chinese, Japanese, and other Asian restaurants located in the US, as well as around the globe, chances are that you’ve probably been presented with the opportunity, at some point, to try using chopsticks. Perhaps you waved them away with a terrified look on your face, eyes darting around the room for the nearest fork. Perhaps you took the chopsticks eagerly, always excited to learn something new, and now you have used them so often that you are a pro.

Or so you think.

Most likely, even the most confident American still has a lot to learn about chopsticks etiquette if he ever plans to take a trip to Japan. Below is a list of things you should do, and should never do, when using chopsticks in Japan:

*Do not point or gesture with your chopsticks.
*Do not wave your chopsticks above food dishes.
*Do not move dishes around with chopsticks.
*Don’t lick the ends of your chopsticks.
*Do not use your chopsticks to poke around or dig through your food, searching for certain pieces.
*Never pierce or skewer food with your chopsticks.
*Never pick up a cup or bowl with the hand that is holding your chopsticks.
*Never stick your chopsticks in a bowl of rice (or other food), so that they stand up vertically, because that is something that is only done at funerals.
*Never pass food from chopsticks to chopsticks, as that is also a part of funeral rites. Bones of cremated bodies are passed from person to person in that way.
*Never eat directly out of a shared dish.
*If food is being shared, reverse your chopsticks and pick up the food with the clean, blunt end. Use this end to pick up as much food as you want, and put it on your own plate. Then, turn your chopsticks back around to resume picking up and eating food from your own plate with the pointed ends.
*If using disposable chopsticks, place them back in the bag once you are finished using them. Then, fold the end of the bag in half, back over the chopsticks. This indicates that the chopsticks are used.