Etiquette in Japan, the Short Version

In short

• Keep your voice down on trains, in temples and in restaurants; no phone calls on board.
• Queue everywhere, and take your rubbish with you: bins are rare.
• Shoes off where there’s a step up, shelves or slippers at the door.
• No tipping. Eat at the stall, not while walking down a crowded street.

Quiet in public

Trains, temples, waiting rooms and restaurants are quiet places. Talk softly, put your phone on silent and take calls outside.

How locals do it: On a train people read, sleep or look at their phones in silence. A conversation at normal volume carries the whole length of the car.

Queues and escalators

People queue for everything: the train door, the till, a popular restaurant. Join the end and wait; nobody cuts in.

• On platforms, queue at the marks for your door.
• On escalators, stand still. Where people stand in one line, it’s on the left in Tokyo and on the right in Osaka.

When to take your shoes off

If there’s a step up at the door, shelves for shoes, or slippers set out, your shoes come off. That covers ryokan, many temple halls, some restaurants and fitting rooms.

Tip: Wear shoes that slip on and off, and socks you don’t mind being seen.

Tipping: don’t

¥0 — Tips aren’t expected in restaurants, taxis, hotels or bars

Leaving money on the table usually just confuses people, and someone may run after you to give it back. Good service is part of the price.

Carry your rubbish

There are very few bins on the street. People carry their rubbish until they find one at a convenience store or a station.

• Bins are sorted: burnable, plastic, cans and bottles.
• A small bag in your pocket makes it easy.

Eating while walking

In crowded places, eat at the stall where you bought it, or on a bench, rather than walking along with it. Finish a vending-machine drink beside the machine.

Common mistake: Eating an ice cream as you walk down Kamakura’s Komachi-dori or through Nishiki market. The city of Kamakura asks people not to; Kyoto does too.

Cash

Cards work in most cities, but temples, small restaurants, rural buses and country taxis often take only cash. Keep some notes and coins.

Tip: Put money and cards in the small tray by the till rather than in the cashier’s hand.

Taxis

The driver opens and closes the rear door from the front seat, so leave it alone. Show the address on a map; no tip.

Toilets

Toilet paper goes in the bowl. The flush is a lever or the 流 button; the other buttons are the bidet. In homes and ryokan the toilet has slippers of its own.

The guides

• Temples and shrines: the torii, the water basin, two bows and two claps.
• Staying in a ryokan: slippers, yukata and dinner.
• Onsen: washing first, the towel, tattoos.
• Eating out: chopsticks, paying, and Tabelog.
• Trains: quiet, eating and big suitcases.
• Hiking and bears; Nara’s deer; and phrases for the trip.