Customs and manners are so important to Japanese culture that many travel sites have sections devoted to the topic.
Japan is currently closed to international travelers, but the country is exploring ways to reopen safely ahead of the start of the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, scheduled for the end of July. Tourists are not expected to understand all of Japan’s complex social rules, but they can avoid the most common faux pas.
Here’s a guide to what to do – and what to avoid – based on advice from the Japanese government-affiliated tourism organizations.
Don’t touch the geisha
What many travelers refer to as “geisha” is referred to as “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 against stopping or asking maiko to pose for photos.
“Don’t bother them or grab them by their kimono sleeves,” the website states.
A maiko, or appentice geisha, 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 travelers traveling through Japan’s cultural capital.
The list of ‘akimahen’ (which means ‘don’t’ in the local dialect) ranges from tips on automatic taxi doors (‘make sure you stand far enough away so that the door can open without bumping into you’) junk, which could result in a fine of JPY 30,000 ($ 280).
Emoticon ratings indicate the seriousness of each violation. Tipping, which is disapproved all over Japan, instead of saying thank you in the local dialect (“okini”), takes on a sad face. Drinking and biking produces three angry faces – the worst rating – not to mention a potential jail term of up to five years.
Expect to push, but not talk on trains
Travelers should expect pushing and shoving in overcrowded trains, says Go Tokyo, the travel guide website for the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau.
“But keep in mind that this is not aggressive behavior, but the product of everyday life in a metropolis,” the website states.
Japanese rarely talk or eat on trains, especially when it is busy.
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Videos of train crews wearing white gloves stuffing people into Japanese trains have fascinated travelers for years. They also make it easy to understand one of the most important rules of Japanese public transportation: don’t talk on cell phones. In fact, travelers are advised not to even let them call.
“If you have a phone with you, put it in silent mode,” says the Go Tokyo website.
“Etiquette in public places is serious business in Japan,” said the travel website of the government-affiliated Japanese National Tourism Organization (JNTO). “A general respect for these rules is probably the main reason why a megalopolis like Tokyo can function so smoothly.”
Eat sushi with your hands
Travelers not adept at chopsticks can ask for cutlery, JNTO’s travel website advises, although they “may not be available, especially in more traditional places.”
Rather than grappling with chopsticks, the tourism organization recommends travelers follow a different local custom.
In Japan, it is common to eat sushi with your hands, especially nigiri sushi, which translates to ‘two fingers’.
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“If you’ve come to Japan for sushi, remember that you can eat it with your hands,” the website said.
Shrines and Temples
A tourist attraction for one person is a sacred place of worship for another. Travelers should “be quiet and respectful in shrines and temples,” according to the KCTA website.
The Kyoto Tourism Organization also asks visitors to take off hats and sunglasses in places of worship.
Dai Miyamoto, founder of the Tokyo Localized tour company, said he regularly sees tourists “everywhere within … shrines and temples,” even in places “where there isn’t a bench or a place to rest.” He also sees tourists taking pictures of Buddha statues and at locations where photography is prohibited.
Go Tokyo recommends travelers embrace the “full cultural experience” at Shinto shrines by walking the sides of the path leading to the shrine, as the center is “technically reserved for the entrenched 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, put a small money offering in the box, bend twice, clap twice and bend again to complete the ritual,” the website said.
The rules of the ryokan
Staying in a traditional inn, or ryokan, is a popular way to experience Japanese hospitality, but there are more social rules than a hotel stay.
Ryokans tend to be neither cheap nor exceptionally luxurious, which may surprise travelers who associate higher prices with expansive suites and deluxe bedding. Ryokans are typically one-room accommodations that are Spartan 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 slippers (provided) before entering. Luggage wheels must not touch the interior floor. And bags should never be stored on the wall edge or tokonoma, where flowers and scrolls are displayed.
Meals are often served in rooms, and visitors change to casual kimonos, called yukata, for eating. After dinner, plates are cleared and futon mattresses are placed on the floor for sleeping.
Onsen etiquette
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s “How to Enjoy Tokyo: Manners & Custom Handbook” advises travelers to remove all clothing when using onsens, which are bathing areas connected to Japan’s natural hot springs.
As a volcanically active country, Japan has thousands of onsens, many of which are part of a hotel or ryokan and separated by gender.
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According to the government manual, swimmers should rinse off before entering and not swim, jump, or dive in the water. Hair and towels should not touch the water.
People with tattoos may be denied access to more traditional onsens because tattoos are associated with the Japanese “yakuza,” or organized crime groups, Miyamoto said. This is declining, he said, due to the popularity of tattoos among younger generations and foreign travelers.
Sightseeing and shopping
Cutting lines are verboten in most countries, but in Japan, holding a space for friends or relatives is also considered inappropriate, according to the Tokyo Handbook of Manners.
It also advises travelers not to climb or descend escalators; those in a hurry must use the stairs.
When shopping, it is not common to negotiate better prices. And clothing sizes differ from those in western countries. An oversized men’s shirt in Japan is comparable to an American men’s size medium.
Miyamoto, who is 1.5 meters tall and weighs 185 kilos, wears a Japanese size XL because “big is too small”. He said Americans who need larger sizes aren’t out of luck, though.
“Uniqlo, the best-known casual brand in Japan, sells over XXL sizes… in online stores,” he said.