Minding your P’s and Q’s

So there’s a fairly cheap ramen shop right down the street from me. I can walk in, sit down and they bring out a nice 500¥ bowl of pork ramen (600¥ for a large!) with out having to say anything. I always say “Itadakimasu” before I start (a Japanese word like saying grace before meals) and “Gochisoosamadeshita” when I’m done (a “thank you for making me full”) These ramen shop owners love this and today they handed me a handful of hard candies and his chocolate covered biscuit thing as I was leaving. I love Japan.