Omotenashi: The Japanese Hospitality

Andreas Lo experiences Omotenashi on the Music tour to Japan

I’ve always admired the Japanese hospitality, but it wasn’t until I had two school exchanges and a homestay with Japanese families during the First Orchestra Tour last July, that I truly appreciated the definition of ‘Omotenashi’, and deeply experienced their culture and courteous hospitality.

‘Omotenashi’ is hospitality culture at its finest. ‘Omote’ means public face and ‘nashi’ translates as nothing. Japanese people believe that everyone has to treat guests from the bottom of their hearts, without pretending or hiding, and that the customer is god.

Despite meeting them for the first time, I felt the warmth and kindness from the musicians during our exchange. Above all, they thought about us before themselves, trying to make us feel comfortable and welcome. Moreover, the Japanese try to lead a simple life on a day to day basis, but when guests are around, they welcome them with elaborate feasts. To my surprise, sushi and sashimi aren’t actually the usual types of food enjoyed in a Japanese family meal. Despite this, during the first night of my homestay, the mother bought some sashimi especially so that we could make some handmade sushi together. I have also learnt that there were rituals before and after a meal. Just as the French would say ‘Bon appétit’, the Japanese say ‘itadakimasu’, which means ‘I will humbly receive’. After finishing your meal, it is customary to say ‘gochisousama deshita’, which literally translates as ‘it was quite a feast’. The Japanese are extremely polite to each other as well as to guests. They rarely become involved in arguments and the limited number of swear words in their language are a testament to this. Sad

ly, if you want to swear in a foreign language, Japanese is not an option.

The Japanese always provide the best service: from the moment you enter a restaurant or shop until you’ve disappeared from their sight. Bowing is a typical culture in Japan and an integral part of ‘omotenashi’. I was always greeted by an ‘eshaku’, a 15° bow, during my shopping and dining experiences in Japan. Tips are never expected, instead, you are merely thanked for your stay and interest. A lot of restaurants also follow a similar ethos of the famous tea master Sen no Rikyū, who summed up the impeccable service with a poem: ‘Though you wipe your hands and brush off the dust and dirt from the vessels, what is the use of all this fuss if the heart is still impure?’ While the taste of a dish is important, the service and the presentation of the dish are equally significant.

I learnt a lot about Japanese hospitality during my trip, and ‘omotenashi’ is truly the one to admire and learn from. I would thoroughly recommend you go to Japan to really immerse yourself in this majestic city and the amiable hospitality that awaits you.