Trifter

Japanese food is an acquired taste.  To first-time eaters of this cuisine, it can be intimidating and challenging. 

Why?  First, if you have been raised in the Western style of eating, complete with spoons and forks and knives, the chopsticks are very hard to use as a food implement.  You have probably seen many American movies where the actors struggle with using chopsticks to eat Japanese food or Chinese cuisine.  It is hard to imagine how the chopsticks could be used to bring food chunks to the mouth, much less slippery noodles or grains of rice, the way the Japanese and Chinese do it.

Second, Japanese food can be considered unusual to palates used to hamburgers, mashed potatoes and fries.  Rice-based, rice vinegar-soaked sushi wrapped in nori or dried seaweed, with raw (yes, raw) seafood rolled within, is not everyday fare for the less adventurous.  Ginger and lemon grass sauces with wasabi dips are alien concoctions.  Ketchup-lovers will have a hard time with these sauces and dips because ketchup does not really go well with any Japanese food.

Third, Japanese food are best downed with Japanese tea or beverages like sake.  And these drinks are also alien to the Western tongue so used to soda and milk shake.

Japanese food is an acquired taste, but once you have acquired the taste, it could be a delightful experience that would change your dining style forever.  Once you become nimble with the chopsticks, you will love the flood of wonderful flavors that teases the palate with every bite of sushi, tonkatsu, tempura, or teriyaki.  The green wasabi paste is even a delight in itself, exploding in the mouth and making the taste of raw shrimp or fish incredibly fresh and exciting in the palate.

Eating Japanese food is actually a healthy habit, what with raw seafood, vegetables, and tea as constant part of the menu.  And about those chopsticks?  When you are agilely using it after sometime, you will discover that it is actually better than a spoon.  Chopsticks allow for economical, smooth, and graceful movements.  You only open your mouth to as large as the food you put in.  With a spoon, you slurp and shovel quantities of food.  It maybe convenient, but less graceful than chopsticks.

For the unconvinced, it is recommended to try it yourself.  Eat Japanese food, use chopsticks, and enjoy a culinary experience like no other!