Kids Web Japan

a) Put them back on the chopstick rest, as they were when you started the meal.

During a meal, it doesn't look good if you hold your chopsticks when drinking something or talking with somebody. In Japan, chopsticks are placed right in front of a person so that their tips, which are considered unclean because they have touched food, cannot be seen by other people at the table when they're eating.

Strictly speaking, it is bad manners to put chopsticks down on a plate or other tableware. When a chopstick rest is provided, the chopsticks should be placed so the tips are on the rest. When no rest is provided, the paper holder in which the chopsticks came can be folded into a rest. When eating a meal served on a tray, the tips of the chopsticks can be propped up on the far left side or, when this is not possible, on a small dish.