Kids Web Japan

c) Straight from the bowl, which you hold in your left hand.

When eating Japanese food, each person's place setting is arranged like this: Rice sits just to the left, soup to the right, main dishes straight ahead behind the rice and soup, and chopsticks directly in front. Examples of main dishes include sashimi, pickled vegetables and fish, and simmered, broiled, and fried items. Most bowls and plates are ceramic, but wooden bowls that are not too hot to the touch are used for miso and other hot soups.

If the bowl of soup is covered with a lid, grasp the circular knob on the top of the lid with your right hand while holding the bowl with your left and lift the lid off, placing it upside down next to the bowl. Then, lift the bowl with both hands and, while holding it in the palm of your left hand, drink the soup directly from the bowl. Using the chopsticks in your right hand to eat the solid ingredients, such as tofu or leek.