On the 28^th of March, the first workshop from the “Japanese From Scratch” series for beginners in Japanese language studies was held by the Japan Foundation London. Titled “Let’s Eat Japanese food”, the workshop concentrated on Japanese cuisine, table manners and the expressions associated with food and restaurants in Japan.

The workshop was led by Chief Japanese Language Advisor, Seiji Fukushima, who introduced various kinds of Japanese food to the participants and demonstrated how to identify them by their correct Japanese name. The participants were then taught some simple greetings in Japanese and the use of these phrases with correct table manners and Japanese etiquette. Chopsticks have an important role in Japanese cuisine and the participants were also shown the correct way to hold and use them. After getting the hang of it, chopsticks skills were put to use by attempting to pick up wasabi peanuts from a bowl.

After working up an appetite for delicious Japanese food, it was time for the participants to go to a Japanese restaurant to not only try the food they were learning about, but also put their newly found Japanese skills to practice in a real restaurant scenario. Every participant got a chance to try different types of Japanese cuisine while mingling with the other participants and staff members.

The workshop had a high attendance and was a great success with all feedback being very positive.  There was a great interest shown in beginner Japanese language from all ages and a demand for more workshops in the near future.