Camping utensils

Location: Tokyo, Japan

A week before flying to Asia, it occurred to me that I didn't know how to use chopsticks. I had always thought of the fork as a superior utensil, and felt no embarrassment when asking for a fork at an Asian restaurant in the US.

I was pretty sure they had forks in Asia, but didn't want to chance it. I got a pair of chopsticks, poured some peanuts into a bowl, and practiced by moving the peanuts one-by-one into a different bowl.

As a backup plan, I also bought a little camping widget that looked like a Swiss Army Knife, but instead of flip-out blades and screwdriver heads, it had a flip-out fork, knife, and spoon. I was very proud of this idea.

When I got to airport security, they X-rayed my bag, located the camping widget instantly, and threw it away.

My first meal in Japan was at a noodle restaurant. The restaurant was interesting: it had a vending machine right inside the front door, with a bunch of tiny buttons. Each button was labeled with a picture of a meal. I pressed the button for the meal I wanted, inserted my money, and the machine printed a ticket that I handed to the cook behind the counter.

Such a setup is not uncommon in Japan. I'm told the Japanese like it because they think money is dirty and don't want to handle it. I liked it because I could order by picture and didn't have to speak Japanese.

The cook placed my noodles in front of me with a set of chopsticks. Despite having practiced with peanuts, I was still reluctant to use chopsticks, and asked for a fork. The employees didn't speak enough English to understand what I was asking for. I grabbed a pen and a napkin, drew a fork, and showed it to them. They asked each other if there was a fork in the restaurant and finally shrugged apologetically.

So the first food I ever ate with chopsticks was a bowl of noodles in Japan, out of necessity.