Habits and manners are so important to Japanese culture that many travel sites contain sections devoted to the subject.
Japan is currently closed to international travelers, but the country is exploring ways to reopen safely ahead of the Tokyo Summer Olympics, which are scheduled for late July. Tourists are not expected to understand all the complicated social rules of Japan, but they can avoid the most dedicated faux pas.
Here’s a guide to what you should do – and what you should avoid – based on the advice of the Japanese tourism organizations affiliated with the government.
Do not touch the geisha
What many travelers call ‘geisha’ is called ‘maiko’ or ‘geiko’ in Kyoto, which is considered one of the best places in Japan to see the decorated female entertainers.
If one is spotted, the Kyoto City Tourism Association (KCTA) travel website advises travelers to stop or ask maiko to pose for photos.
“Do not bother them or grab their kimono sleeves,” reads the website.
A Maiko, or geisha of the fans, walks in the snow in the Gion district of Kyoto, Japan.
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This is one of Kyoto’s Manners Akimahen, a list of 18 tips, recommendations and warnings for those traveling in Japan’s cultural capital.
The list of ‘akimahen’ (which in the local dialect means ‘do not’) ranges from tips on automatic taxi doors (‘make sure you stand far enough away so that the door can open without bumping into you’) to littering. could result in a fine of 30,000 Japanese yen ($ 280).
Emoticon ratings indicate the severity of each violation. Tipping, who is rejected throughout Japan, gets a sad face rather than saying thank you in the local dialect (“okini”). Cycling drunk deserves three angry faces – the worst attack – not to mention a possible prison sentence of up to five years.
Expect to push, but there is no talking on trains
Travelers can expect to push and push overcrowded trains, says Go Tokyo, the travel guide website of the Tokyo Conference and Visitors Bureau.
“But keep in mind that this is not aggressive behavior, but only the product of daily life in a metropolis,” the website reads.
Japanese rarely speak or eat in trains, especially not when they are busy.
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Videos of train guards with white gloves bumping people into Japanese trains have fascinated travelers for years. It also makes it easy to understand one of the most important rules of Japanese public transportation: not talking on cell phones. Already, travelers are advised not to even let them ring.
“If you have a phone, keep it in silent mode,” says Go Tokyo’s website.
“Etiquette in public places is a serious matter in Japan,” reads the travel website of the Japanese National Tourism Organization (JNTO) affiliated with the government. “Public respect for these rules is probably the main reason why a megalopolis like Tokyo can function so smoothly.”
Eat sushi with your hands
Travelers who are not proficient in chopsticks may ask for cutlery, JNTO’s travel website recommends, although they ‘may not be available, especially in more traditional places’.
Instead of struggling with chopsticks, the tourism organization recommends that travelers follow a different local custom.
It is customary to eat sushi with your hands in Japan, especially nigiri sushi, which is translated with ‘two fingers’.
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“If you came to Japan for sushi, remember, you can eat it with your hands,” reads the website.
Shrines and temples
A tourist attraction for one person is a sacred place of worship for another. According to the KCTA’s website, travelers should be ‘quiet and respectful in shrines and temples’.
The Kyoto Tourism Association is also asking visitors to remove hats and sunglasses in houses of worship.
Dai Miyamoto, founder of the tour company Tokyo Localized, said he regularly sees tourists “sitting inside … shrines and temples,” even in places where it is not a bench or a resting place. ‘He also sees tourists taking pictures of Buddha statues and in places where pictures are forbidden.
Go Tokyo recommends that travelers embrace the ‘full cultural experience’ at Shinto shrines by walking along the sides of the path leading to the shrine because the center is ‘technically reserved for the established deity’.
At the entrance to the compound, travelers can rinse their hands and mouth with ‘purifying water’ before approaching the main hall. There they can ‘bend light, ring the bells, place a small money offering in the box, bend twice, clap twice and bend again to complete the ritual’, according to the website.
The rules of the ryokan
Staying in a traditional inn or ryokan is a popular way to experience Japanese hospitality, but it involves more social rules than a hotel stay.
Ryokane is usually not cheap or extraordinarily luxurious, which may surprise travelers who associate higher prices with expansive suites and luxury bedding. Ryokane are typical one-room accommodations that are spartanly decorated and lined with straw tatami mats.
Ryokan prices are often quoted per person, not per night.
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KCTA has a list of guidelines for ryokan guests, including changing into (supplied) slippers before entering. Luggage wheels may not touch the inside of the floor. And bags should never be stored on the wall molding or tokonoma, where flowers and scrolls are displayed.
Meals are regularly served in the rooms and visitors are transformed into comfortable kimonos, called yukata, to eat. After dinner, plates are cleaned and futon-style mattresses are arranged on the floor to sleep on.
Onsen label
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s “How to Enjoy Tokyo: Manners & Custom Handbook” advises travelers to take off all clothing to use onsens, which are bathing areas associated with Japan’s natural hot springs.
As a volcanically active country, Japan has thousands of nonsense, many of which are part of a hotel or ryokan and are separated by gender.
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According to the government handbook, bathers should rinse before entering and do not swim, jump or dive into the water. Hair and towels must not touch the water.
People with tattoos may be denied access to more traditional beginners because tattoos are associated with Japan’s “yakuza” or organized crime groups, Miyamoto said. It is declining, he said, due to the popularity of tattooing among younger generations and foreign travelers.
Viewing and shopping
Cutting lines are prohibited in most countries, but in Japan, keeping a space for friends or family members is also considered improper, according to Tokyo’s manual.
It advises travelers not to let themselves walk up or down escalators; those in a hurry should use the stairs.
When shopping, bargaining for better prices is not common. And clothing sizes differ from those in Western countries. An extra large men’s shirt in Japan is similar to an American medium for men.
Miyamoto, who is 5 centimeters tall and weighs 185 kilograms, wears a Japanese size XL because ‘big is too small’. He said, however, that Americans who need larger dimensions have no luck.
“Uniqlo, which is the most well-known informal brand in Japan, sells more than XXL size … in online stores,” he said.