How to eat sushi, the proper sushi etiquette:

As an avid sushi eater myself, I found the following tips below from this site insightful. Sushi to me is the perfect food -- it isn’t ‘heavy’ in your stomach and just enough to be filling. And it also tastes great when complimented with a Japanese beer (always a plus when beer is involved with a meal).

Arriving and being seated
• It is polite in any restaurant to greet the host or hostess, who may greet you with the traditional “irasshaimase” which means “please come in.” You just need to acknowledge their greeting and are not required to say anything back.

Ordering
• If you are seated at the sushi bar, only ask the itamae for sushi. Drinks, soup, and other non-sushi (or sashimi) items are handled only by the waiter/waitress.
• Ask the itamae what he would recommend, never ‘is that fresh?” as it is insulting to imply that something may not be. If you think it may not be fresh, you shouldn’t be eating there.
• Keep your palate in mind and order accordingly. It is impolite to leave food on your plate after your meal or act as though a particular item is ‘gross’ if you don’t like it.

Dining
• Do not rub your chopsticks together. When not in use they should be placed parallel to yourself on the holder (if there is one) or on the shoyu dish. They should also be placed there when finished with your meal.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for an item not on the menu as the sushi-ya may have special or seasonal items that are not listed. It is perfectly acceptable to ask, and often the itamae will appreciate your interest. • Don’t put wasabi directly in the shoyu dish. Nigiri-zushi (fingers of rice topped with fish or another topping) comes with wasabi placed under the neta (fish) by the itamae, and reflects what he feels is the proper balance of wasabi to fish. Some of us like a little more, and you can always sneak some separately on the fish or with it.
• It is OK to eat nigiri-zushi (sushi) with your hands. Sashimi is only to be eaten with your chopsticks.
• Do not pick up a piece of food from another person’s plate with the part of the chopsticks you put in your mouth. When moving food like this use the end you hold, which is considered the polite way.
• Eat nigiri sushi in one bite. This is not always easy (or possible) in North America where some sushi-ya make huge pieces, but traditional itamae in Japanese sushi-ya will make the pieces the proper size for this. In North America, try your best and don’t worry if they won’t let you.
• Gari (ginger) is considered a palate cleanser and eaten between bites or different types of sushi. It is not meant to be eaten in the same bite as a piece of sushi.
• Never pass food to another person using chopsticks as this is too close symbolically to the passing of a deceased relative’s bones at a Japanese funeral. Pass a plate instead allowing an individual to take food themselves.
• Also, never stick your chopsticks in your rice and leave them sticking up. This resembles incense sticks and again brings to mind the symbolism of the Japanese funeral and prayers to ancestors.
• Technically one doesn’t drink sake with sushi (or rice in general) only with sashimi or before or after the meal. It is felt that since they are both rice based, they do not compliment each other and therefore should not be consumed together.

After the meal
• If you sit at the bar, tip the itamae for the food (in western countries there is often a tip jar as the itamae will never touch money since he touches food) and the wait staff for the drinks etc.
• It is polite to thank the itamae if you were seated at the sushi bar. If you want to try Japanese, ‘domo arigato’ is a polite Japanese expression for ‘thank you’ and if you want to be more sophisticated (for a westerner), you might try “gochisosama deshita,” which loosely translated means “thank you for the meal.”