In many ways, our trip to Japan did not feel like just another trip abroad. In every destination I have traveled to around the world I have learned interesting customs that differ from the ones we have in Israel, but Japan was especially different.
When I arrived in Japan for the first time, I felt as if I had literally moved to another planet.
Japanese culture has a behavioral code system of its own. It contains many manners and accepted codes of conduct that are unfamiliar to us Westerners, and sometimes even the complete opposite of those practiced in the Western world.
The Japanese are usually patient and forgiving toward tourists, because they are aware of the significant differences between the cultures. And still, following the Japanese code of conduct will always be received with appreciation and a kind eye 🙂 So why not try?
In this post you will find the unwritten rules worth knowing if you are planning a trip to Japan.
P.S. Some of the norms I chose to present here I knew before the trip thanks to digging around online, but some I learned the hard way, and even though no one ever said anything to me, I understood I had done something unacceptable when people looked at me a little strangely 🙂 . There is no doubt that at first most of these Japanese norms felt very strange to us, and at times even puzzling. But when we returned home after 21 days in this wonderful country, we suddenly felt that we, the Westerners, were the strange ones, not them.
General
☓ Shoes: Shoes must be removed when entering an apartment, hotel room or fitting room in a store. Keep that in mind when you choose which socks and shoes to pack 😉
☓ Trash: Trash cans are a rare sight on the streets of Japan. It is customary to keep a bag in your purse for storing the garbage that accumulates during the day until you find the longed-for bin that matches the type of trash, or until you get back to the hotel or apartment.
☓ Smoking: Smoking in public places {including outside, on the street} is allowed only in designated areas. If you choose to stay in an Airbnb apartment, keep in mind that there are entire buildings where smoking is completely forbidden.
☓ Escalators: When using escalators, keep to the left and do not block the right lane. It is meant for people in a hurry who want to walk up.
☓ Pointing: Pointing with your finger is very much frowned upon in Japan. If you want to show or indicate something, it is customary to gesture with your entire palm.
☓ Blowing your nose in public: Considered very impolite in Japanese culture.
Money
☓ Tips: Tipping is not customary in Japan. At all. They may even see it as an insult. This rule applies not only in restaurants, but also to other service providers such as taxis and hotels.
☓ Paying: Payment at the register, both in stores and in restaurants, is made by placing the money with both hands on the small tray designated for it next to the register.
☓ Cash: Paying by credit card is not common in Japan. Large hotels and big department stores will usually accept credit cards, but most shops, restaurants and even small guesthouses accept payment in cash only. So it is important to make sure you have cash in your wallet at any given moment.
Food
☓ Eating in public places: In Japan it is not customary to eat and drink while walking.
☓ Wasabi: Avoid mixing wasabi into your bowl of soy sauce.
☓ Eating nigiri: Unlike the custom in the Western world, dipping a piece of nigiri in soy sauce should be done with the fish side meeting the soy sauce, not the rice side. And even then, it is important not to drown the fish in soy so as not to insult the chef.
☓ Special requests: It is very unusual to ask to change the composition of dishes {adding or removing ingredients} in restaurants or hotels.
☓ Chopsticks #1: At the end of the meal, chopsticks should be placed next to the rice bowl on the designated rest or on the edge of the bowl, and never vertically inside the bowl. For Buddhists, sticking chopsticks vertically into a bowl of rice is associated with death.
☓ Chopsticks #2: Passing food between two people using chopsticks is also associated with death in Japanese tradition. Therefore, it is customary to place the food on a plate and let the other person pick it up from there themselves.
☓ Chopsticks #3: Any kind of playing with chopsticks is frowned upon and is best avoided.
Public Transportation
☓ Using your mobile phone: Make sure your phone is on silent mode, and do not talk on the phone. It is considered a huge NO NO in Japan. If you are on a long train ride and must take a call, it is best to do so at the end of the car near the restrooms.
☓ Talking: If you are traveling with someone else, make sure to speak quietly and keep talking to a minimum.
☓ Bags: If you are traveling with a backpack, it is customary to hold it on one shoulder close to your body during the ride so as not to accidentally bump into the other passengers in the car.
☓ Keeping order: Do not cut in line and do not push. Boarding a train is done in an orderly queue to keep things organized during rush hours. On train station platforms there are markings indicating where the train doors will open, with lines drawn on the platform beside them to mark the direction of the queues.
☓ Food: Eating on urban train rides or buses is very much frowned upon. However, on intercity train rides there is no problem with it {and you can usually even buy food products from attendants passing between the cars}.
Bathing in Onsens
☓ Nudity: You can leave your swimsuit at home. In most onsens {traditional Japanese bathhouses} bathing is done in the nude only, and there is a separation between men and women. Mixed onsens are relatively rare and exist in the less touristy areas of Japan.
☓ Cleanliness: Before entering the onsen you must shower. You will usually find a shower and small stools next to the entrance to the onsen.
☓ Tattoos: Entry to some onsens {traditional bathhouses} and even to spa complexes and pools of certain hotels is forbidden for people with tattoos. In Japan, tattoos are looked at askance, because they tend to associate tattoos with crime, and especially with members of the Japanese mafia {yakuza}. So if you have a tattoo and you want to take a dip somewhere, it is highly recommended to check the place's policy before arriving to avoid unnecessary disappointment.
On the other hand, there are several social norms that are very acceptable in Japan even though they are considered rude or unacceptable in the West, such as:
✓ Drinking alcohol on the street: In the evening hours we often saw people passed out from alcohol near train stations and parks.
✓ Eating loudly: When eating dishes that contain noodles {like ramen and soba}, it is customary to make slurping sounds.
✓ Lifting the soup bowl: When eating ramen, it is customary to lift the soup bowl with both hands and drink the broth from it, instead of using a spoon.
✓ Smoking in restaurants: In most restaurants smoking is freely allowed or there is an area designated for smokers. I recently read an article saying they are trying to gradually reduce smoking in restaurants ahead of the Olympics, so I assume that in a few years this custom will disappear completely from Japan as well.
✓ Wearing surgical face masks: When you arrive in Japan, one of the most burning questions you will have is why on earth so many people wear surgical masks just like that while walking around the street. There are several reasons for this slightly strange sight:
1. When the Japanese do not feel well, they wear a mask in order to stop the spread of germs and avoid infecting those around them.
2. When they want to avoid exposure to air pollution or allergies.
3. To hide a face without makeup.
4. As a fashion statement.
