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What to do and not to do in Japan? 2015/4/24 04:40
Hi. I'm planing a trip to Tokyo and I'm wondering how are the manners in there. ^_^ and I'm here to make friends, if you have any question I'll be happy to answer it.
by Ingrib  

Re: What to do and not to do in Japan? 2015/4/24 10:32
This website has a page about etiquette in Japan for various situations. Find it, it's not too difficult.
by Firas rate this post as useful

Re: What to do and not to do in Japan? 2015/4/25 04:26
A few tips are;

1. Be polite.
2. Don't tip restaurant waiters, it's an insult to them.
3. If you eat ramen/noodles, slurp and be loud. it shows you enjoy the taste.
4. When you say 4 in Japanese, its either yon or shi. Don't say shi cause it also means death.
5. Don't open doors for others.
6.Japanese people are generally nice and will help you. Don't be shy if you ask for help.
7. If they bow, then you should also bow.
8. If the word gaijin offends you, remember it's not always offensive to the Japanese people who say it cause it basically means foreigner. It's literal translation is outsider which you are.
9. If you order food in a restaurant, then don't ask for changes in the food. Like ordering a chicken mayonnaise sandwich without the mayonnaise. They'll think like, why did you order something which you don't like.
10. Cause your a foreigner, you will make some mistakes, just say Gomen'nasai if you mess up. It means sorry. It shows you care for the Japanese culture.
11. Sneezing in public is looked down upon. It's also looked down upon in other countries too so Japan isn't the only one.
12. If you enter a convenience store, the workers might bow to you, you don't have to bow back.
13. Japanese people are really nice. If you leave something like an umbrella somewhere, no one will take it.

PS most foreign phones don't work in Japan. Get a new phone if you ever visit Japan.

Here is a link to more Do and Don't in Japan: http://www.japanguidebook.com/102-must-know-dos-and-donts-of-japanese-...
by amzshow rate this post as useful

Re: What to do and not to do in Japan? 2015/4/25 05:23
by amzshow rate this post as useful

Re: What to do and not to do in Japan? 2015/4/26 20:55
If you order food in a restaurant, then don't ask for changes in the food. Like ordering a chicken mayonnaise sandwich without the mayonnaise. They'll think like, why did you order something which you don't like.

Oh no! I do this sometimes because I'm a vegetarian! For example if I order okonomiyaki I tell them that I don't need the fish flakes, or if I order a pizza I make sure it doesn't have bacon. Is this really considered rude? Sometimes restaurants don't have any vegetarian dishes so I'm forced to ask them to make small changes to the menu items they do have, I really hope they don't think I'm rude!

To the Original Poster, here are some things to remember:

1. Don't tip. If you want to thank a worker for their services, give them a small gift from your country to say thank you.
2. Many hotels, restaurants, even clothing store change rooms require you to take off your shoes. You should bring shoes that are easy to slip on and off.
3. Don't talk on mobile phones on the trains.
4. Eating in public (eg: on the street, on public transport) can be considered rude, so if you must eat, try to do it discreetly and/or outside a convenience store.

Some foreigners who visit Japan are jerks. They get really drunk and loud on public transport, throw their cigarette butts everywhere, treat onsens and temples as a joke, photograph geishas without their permission, etc. As you're asking questions about etiquette ahead of time you're obviously a considerate and respectful person who has the common sense not to do these things so you will be fine!
by jennjett (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: What to do and not to do in Japan? 2015/4/26 21:20
jennjett, it's not rude. People are not stupid here, and realize that people have allergies and food preferences. Don't worry about it.
by scarreddragon rate this post as useful

Re: What to do and not to do in Japan? 2015/4/27 18:12
| If you order food in a restaurant, then don't ask for changes in the food. Like ordering a chicken mayonnaise sandwich without the mayonnaise. They'll think like, why did you order something which you don't like.

I've seen comments like this a few times recently and it's really worth clarifying that it depends entirely on what sort of restaurant you're at.

If it's a large chain type place, in addition to the menu, there is also going to be a comprehensive staff manual and ANY request from a customer that is not covered by the menu or manual is going to leave the staff member in the situation that they have to make a decision about something they're simply not able to do and 99% of the time, their response to that will be to say no.

If you're at a small, privately owned restaurant and don't want something that's apparently included in a set/menu option, just say so; it will be fine! You're in a ramen place and don't want beansprouts in your ramen? Just say "moyashi nuki kudasai". No one is going to think you're being rude or a culturally insensitive gaijin!
by Saru Bob (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: What to do and not to do in Japan? 2015/4/27 22:17
(PS most foreign phones don't work in Japan. Get a new phone if you ever visit Japan.)

As long as your phone is quad band , you won't need to purchase a new phone for your trip. My unlocked iphone 4s and 5s have worked fine.

You can simply get a visitor sim card to use in your phone if it's unlocked from either
https://www.sakuramobile.jp/short-term-sim-card-plans/ or http://www.bmobile.ne.jp/english/

Both have a certain amount of data or unlimited at reduced speeds. But comes in handy for being able to use your phone for google maps, browsing, sending messages in skype, LINE etc
by Richard 2014 rate this post as useful

Re: What to do and not to do in Japan? 2015/4/27 23:18
If it's a large chain type place, in addition to the menu, there is also going to be a comprehensive staff manual and ANY request from a customer that is not covered by the menu or manual is going to leave the staff member in the situation that they have to make a decision about something they're simply not able to do and 99% of the time, their response to that will be to say no.

I have never, ever, had any problems at chain restaurants or otherwise asking for changes. I have occasionally gotten the "DOES NOT COMPUTE" look, when I gently remind them they have a manager and to ask them. But 90% of the time it's a non-issue. At the most they might have to ask in the kitchen if they don't know how the food is made, but I've never had anyone tell me "no".

I'm also not asking for soba noodles without the soba or something impossible like that, so keep that in mind. I'm sure that if your requests are within reason they will be no problem, especially if you make it known it is because of an allergy or religious reasons or something.

I have heard of (for some reason especially) ramen chefs getting annoying when a customer asks to change their special ramen dish... but I think that is because at those kinds of places you generally go in for ONE specific dish or a very limited menu, and if you're making changes to it the idea is "well, why don't you just go somewhere else?" which is totally valid.
by scarreddragon rate this post as useful

Re: What to do and not to do in Japan? 2015/4/28 15:32
Look besides all the do's and don'ts you will hear from foreigners like me and even from locals, you shouldn't worry about it too much. You are a foreigner, you are bound to make mistakes, a few Japanese people might even expect you to make a mistake, although I doubt any will, but they will forgive you if you mess up since they know they foreigners not know the norms there. When you go there, look around you, observe, be kind and you'll fit right in. Just be nice, sometimes stressing too much about something will only make problems. :-)
by amzshow rate this post as useful

Re: What to do and not to do in Japan? 2015/5/18 23:06
I don't feel particularly qualified to answer this sort of thing, but there are so many things wrong with the first post that I had to weigh in.

First, just don't worry. I worried way too much when I moved here and ended up acting like a Martian constantly trying to judge whether what I was doing was correct, which is way weirder than holding a door.

Second, you don't have to slurp ramen. No one is listening for the sound of you slurping. It's just okay to slurp it if you want. It does taste good that way.

And if you hold doors for people, they will think "wow, that's so considerate." No, Japanese people don't do it, but they're not going to be offended.

You can tip, but you shouldn't cause the food is expensive and you don't need to. Some more western-style restaurants and bars do have tip jars, though.

I regurarly see people sneeze like angry moose in public (in tony Tokyo neighborhoods no less). Anyway, how could you prevent that?

There is no crime in Japan (there is a 10 yen coin that someone dropped taped to the fridge in my office with a note), but umbrellas are the one thing that people will take if you leave them outside a shop (but everyone buys 500 yen umbrellas so it's not a big deal).

The one thing you could be conscious of is not yelling on the train or in restuarants. Seriously, if there is one pair of foreigners on a train, they are invariably all you can hear (unless it's late and there's drunk people, who also yell).

Don't be afraid of being an open, friendly westerner. What's the worst that could happen? No one will shun you and most people will think it's awesome how aggressively friendly you are.
by Trashbar (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: What to do and not to do in Japan? 2015/5/19 03:23
Learn some basic Japanese phrases. Rather than inconveniencing someone to speak broken English to you, do your research.

If you go to onsen, do research the onsen etiquette.

Don't be a loud and obnoxious foreigner.

Do your research.
by Faiyez rate this post as useful

Re: What to do and not to do in Japan? 2015/5/19 18:36
Everyone sneezes in Japan, blowing your nose is considered rude.

@ jennjet

Hope you know that many include fishbroth in Okonomiyaki. Or I hope it doesn't bother you
by Asahana (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: What to do and not to do in Japan? 2015/5/24 21:19
I'm sorry I don't understand this one :

11. Sneezing in public is looked down upon. It's also looked down upon in other countries too so Japan isn't the only one.

When I was there, a LOT of people were sneezing and didn't really care to cover their mouth when sneezing or coughing.

I am curious if this is normal etiquette? It did bug me, but not so much for sanitary reasons but because I was under the impression it is a worldwide common courtesy to cover your mouth. Don't mean to be rude I am genuinely curious on what it the norm in Japan for sneezing and coughing.

I did see many people wearing facemasks. Not sure whether for pollution or because they were sick.
by Thomas Chang rate this post as useful

Re: What to do and not to do in Japan? 2015/5/25 11:25
I was under the impression it is a worldwide common courtesy to cover your mouth.

I don't think there's really such a thing as worldwide common courtesy. However there is the universal truth that you will find rude people anywhere regardless what the etiquette rules are.

I did see many people wearing facemasks. Not sure whether for pollution or because they were sick.

It's usually because they are sick or have allergies. Rarely it's for pollution, but there have been some instances where really fine dust from China has caused temporary booms in mask wearing.
by yllwsmrf rate this post as useful

Re: What to do and not to do in Japan? 2015/5/27 04:44
Don't wear the green toilet slippers outside of the toilet.
by daai maou (guest) rate this post as useful

Go with the flow 2015/5/27 05:00
I was in Japan years ago and on the Bullet train to Mt Fuji. An elderly man came up to me and offered me an apple. At first I said no thank you, but I could tell he was upset I didn't want it, so I took it. A little bit later I offered him a pack of US cigarettes. He was so happy. The experience made my day. I enjoyed Japan so much I stayed three days longer than scheduled. I was AWOL. I was was lucky And I got away with it. You must be careful in the tourist parts of Tokyo. You will be ripped off with highly inflated prices. Other than that, the Japanese people were extremely friendly. The people all dress in uniforms. Cab drivers dress a certain way as do school children and so on. The children with their jet black hair in school uniforms are very beautiful. Just be polite , speak in a low voice and be yourself. Enjoy Japan.
by Stephen Mandel (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: What to do and not to do in Japan? 2015/5/27 15:51
"The children with their jet black hair in school uniforms are very beautiful."

Err.....
by DDD (guest) rate this post as useful

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