Tipping in Japan

...in the West were generous, we like to make people feel appreciated and nothing says " Than-you, Good Job!" like a BIG tip. We tip 20% in the western world when we go out to dinner etc.

When you say "the west" you should remember that there are many people who come from OTHER countries which are not the same as yours.

I'm from "the west" and people in my parts tip 10% regardless of good service, bad service or any suggestion of the person being tipped actually receiving an adequate salary. But we don't always leave a tip.

Personally, I don't agree with
tipping; a person should be paid a fair salary. People in service industries should be happy to deal with customers who appreciate their hard work.

If people are going to tip, they should do it because the employee went out of their way to be especially nice, but if a customer was not too demanding it shouldn't be an expectation.

In Japan, I don't think tipping would become a trend because some ignorant tourist thought it was the proper way to say thank you. Why don't you learn the Japanese words for "thank you" I am sure they would appreciate it more when you come here ?

and it turned out to be a little embaressing.

we were at a small onsen inn, that sreved in room breakfast. I asked for only one to be served because i don't care for eggs. when the girl came to the room she had brought a bowl of rice, fish, hash browns & a small ham sandwich, along with the normal egg breakfast. now, they did not have to do it, but they wanted to make an effort in making us happy. plus the overall service was great. when she returned i gave her 2000 yen & an okii arigato!

later when we checked out all the staff (all 6 of them) were there to thank us along with gifts. a bottle of wine, some cookies and a small box of chocolates.

Don Mancini, if you read my post more carefully you will see that I AM from a "western" country, even if it is in the South Pacific- New Zealand. As I said, we do not customarily tip. Neither do Australians, as far as I know.

You can only speak for your own country, not the entire western world.

It is not appropriate to force your culture on anyone, even with good intentions. There is no culture of tipping in Japan, and many times to try to do so will create an embarrassing and awkward situation. Why would you want to do this? Just say "Arigatou"- that's all that's needed.

I do't think its really fair refer to me as "ignorant" just because I mused I might tip ( but have now been convinced by John and others not to tip )

We westerners tip. ( not NZ and Aussieland - People hailing from those fine countries are Oceania. Did I say Oceania? No. Just because you speak English and have white skin doesnt mean you are from the west. The west is Europe and the Americas. Here we tip. We tip in Rio and we tip in Athens , we tip in Vancouver and we tip in Helsinki. )

In some parts of the west you are considered not ignorant, but rude, cheap, and vile for not tipping.

I would never label Easterners who dont tip "ignorant".

Being generous isn't ignorant.

Lets all be more tolerant.

Actually, I think New Zealand and Australia are considered "Western " countries. This is because culturally they most identify with 'the west'.

"There is a consensus that the West includes at least Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, and Western Europe...These are generally countries that share similar history, religions, languages, values and traditions."-Wikipedia

Thank you for all of the replies. I guess the best thing would be if I just don't tip, and instead say thank you.

At one point at my stay, I stayed at a very high-end hotel with 24-hour butler service and such. Here, I didn't tip because by that point in my stay, I felt that tipping might not be a good idea. And, as it seems, tipping wasn't even expected, even though the service was excellent. A hotel like this in North America, you would end up having to tip quite a lot for the same services.

Thank you Kyle. This shows that geography does not dictate culture. Why do the US and Canada have a culture that resembles in some ways that of Europe? Because much of the culture was imported from European countries, along with the settlers.

The majority of New Zealanders and Australians are descended from the British and Irish settlers of the 19th century, therefore our culture is largely western, regardless of geography. It's not an Oceanian culture- that would describe the culture of the Polynesian peoples.

There are variations in western cultures, and one happens to be that tipping has not developed into a custom for us. This is probably because in the UK and Ireland it is actually not that strong a part of the culture either, when compared to the US or parts of Europe.

Coincidentally, in Japan people don't customarily tip either, as we have established.

Diversity is a wonderful thing.

A 10 percent tip is not customary in most of Europe! Don, I am afraid, you confuse "the West" with America.

In any case: you will hurt nobody by not paying tips in Japan. On the other hand, paying tips can result in confusion, inconvenience or even insult (e.g. it can be interpreted as arrogant).

I recommend to pay tips only if you know how and in what situations to do it properly. As mentioned in this thread, there are only very few occasions where tips are paid in Japan.

no tipping is not allowed in japan. its considered rude. however its differnt in a hotel, you may leave them a tip in an envelope, but do not personally hand them your tip.

After many years living in North America it still bothers me that waitstaff expect a 15/20% tip just to bring a plate!
I studied in Finland one summer and one of the first things I was told by the locals was to never tip. I have relatives in France and restaurants include the taxes (20%!) plus the tip (15%) in the posted price, so tip is not necessary.In fact credit cards receipts don't have a line for tips. I did noticed that Some people leave some small change, like a 2 euros coin(yen 300) for 2- 3 guests. In Europe we get the menu translated, how the dishes are made--in English-- and often even the history of the neighbourhood etc. In Japan they fuss over us, find a way to explain what the food is etc. I think that not having to worry about a tip free the staff and allow them to be genuinely friendly and attentive.

I never tip at hotels or restaurants, but tipping a moving company that has done a good job seems appropriate. You may get good better follow-up service if needed.

Don Mancini ''we tip in Helsinki''. No we don't. Tipping in Finland, as in some other European cultures is entirely voluntary, not expected and certainly not the norm. I have never tipped anyone in Finland and this has nothing to do with generosity. There are no jobs in Finland where a low pay is supposed to be compensated with tips. Restaurant staff are paid decent wages from the begin with.

This is one reason I like Japan so much. I always find the idea of tipping a little bit confusing. Who do I tip? How much? In Japan I don't have to think about it because nobody expects to be tipped.

Tipping seems so ironic. In the USA, I have often had bad service and felt I still had to tip, so I did. In Japan, I almost always receive excellent and a tip is not expected.

One thing no one think about is that since a 15% service charge has been included in the price of food, drinks etc. in many European countries- France for one- it is added to the wages. Yes the staff have to pay taxes on the tip but, because government pensions are based on the total income earned during one's working life, they eventually get a higher pension than in the days when tips where undeclared, shared unequally between staff, and frittered away. Tipping is unfair anyway as many service people who aren't well paid don't get a tip. Why do we tip a waiter for bringing a coffee to the table but not a store clerk who help you choose clothes?

Maybe there are other ways Japanese express their appreciation for good service. Referring friends, buying drinks for the guests (or sushi man), returning to the business with friends, and there must be others.