Japan Travel Dos and Don’ts

Japan is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world. When in Japan you come across a number of customs and rituals which are quite mystifying. Just as the Japanese are a warm and receptive people they are also an inscrutable lot. It is not in their custom to be rude to you if you do something directly contrary to what you are supposed to. They will simply smile and recede without any comment leaving you to figure out where you went wrong. To avoid offending such a hospitable race it’s best that you be aware of the unique traditional way of life that they follow. If you are traveling to Japan you must be aware of the customs and traditions of Japan. Following are some of them that we would like you to know – :

• Bowing: shake hands only if the other person proffers it first else a slight bow in return is the custom. The degree of the incline of the head, the duration and the number of bows is an act that only a local would know and as a visitor it is forgivable if you go wrong somewhere.
• Shoes: when paying a visit to someone’s abode you should make it a point to take off your shoes at the entrance. Most homes, at the entrance, have a niche reserved (called Genkan) for shoes to be kept and where slippers are placed for you to put on for in house movement. However, these too have to be removed if you enter a tatami mat room or a toilet. For the tatami you need to be walking around only with your socks on but for the toilet you need to do another pair of slippers specifically kept there for usage in the toilet only.

The Japanese are very sensitive on this issue and it’s considered very rude if you trip on this particular custom.

• Gifts: on the visit you make to someone’s house carrying a small gift is an accepted norm. If the gift is from your own country it’s always better and is greatly appreciated.

Avoid loud and gaudy gifts that would attract a lot of attention.

• Chopsticks: learn to eat with chopsticks and that is one way to impress the locals here and get closer to them.

1. When taking a meal, the utensil or bowl containing your food should be first picked up and then the chopsticks. If another bowl has to be taken then the chopsticks should be placed down first and picked up only after the second bowl has been taken;Never lick your chopsticks-it’s considered very rude;
2. Don’t stick your chopsticks in your bowl and leave them there when you have finished;
3. Do not pass food from one pair of chopsticks to another or stick your chopsticks vertically into a bowl of rice-this is associated with death.
4. Also, if you are undecided as to what to eat first from the bowls placed in front of you, don’t start waving your chopsticks in the air absent-mindedly or don’t place them across on a bowl. They should be positioned on the chopstick rest or in a wrapper they had been brought to you in;

• Drinking: the basic rule is that you don’t pour your own drink. In a group always let the other pour the drink for you. If your glass is full then its best to quickly gulp a bit of your drink as it is polite to allow the other to top up your tumbler.It is also considered respectful if the drink is served with both the hands.

• Eating while walking: is not considered good because the Japanese believe in having a proper meal with a seat to sit. Besides, garbage bins are not easily visible or available at every nook or corner. You will find them mostly in parks or in some areas where public movement is not so prominent.People generally carry their own trash to their homes where they are later disposed off;

• Tips: it is a custom not to give tips whether it’s with cabs, restaurants or personal care. The service provided, they feel , covers all and there is no need for any extras;
• Speaking loudly: cell phone is considered rude and inconsiderate to others in public places. You can find that even in a train there is complete silence and all are either involved in texting or reading or just simply immersed within themselves.
• Masks: masks are a common sight in Japan. The people here wear them not to protect themselves from any contamination but rather to prevent any scattering of their own infection. This is the reason that they don’t expect you to be blowing your noses in public and they absolutely frown upon such an act.Wear a surgical mask if you feel a cold is coming.

• Toilets: Toilets in Japan are mostly not the westernized kind. They are the typical Asian hole-in-the-ground squat toilets for you to use and they rarely have toilet paper or tissues stacked in there. It’s advisable to have some in your pocket before you visit them.
• Onsens: are traditional Japanese bathhouses spread all over Japan from small rural towns to business oriented destinations and to holiday rendezvous’. You need to shower thoroughly with soap and be absolutely clean and naked to step into the bathhouse. Mostly the bathhouses are segregated for the different sexes but in the country side it is still prevalent for both males and females to soak themselves in these pools. People with big tattoos are prohibited from bathing in these bathhouses.