Question 1

Can I go to an onsen with tattoos?

Accepted Answer

Often not. Many public baths in Japan still turn away guests with visible tattoos, because of a long association with organised crime. Rules are loosening, and cover-up patches, private family baths and tattoo-friendly ryokan all exist — but check before you undress, not after.

Question 2

Do you have to be naked in a Japanese onsen?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Public baths are bathed in fully nude, with no swimsuits, and men and women bathe separately. The small towel you carry is for washing and for modesty while walking, not for wearing in the water.

Question 3

What do you do with the small towel in an onsen?

Accepted Answer

Keep it out of the water. Most bathers fold it and rest it on their head or on the edge of the tub. Never dip it in the bath, and never wring it out over the water.

Question 4

Do you wash before entering an onsen?

Accepted Answer

Always. The tub is for soaking, not for cleaning. Sit at one of the shower stations and wash your body and hair completely, rinsing off every trace of soap, before you step in.

Question 5

What do you do with long hair in an onsen?

Accepted Answer

Tie it up so it never touches the water. Bring a hair tie or clip, or use the ones many bathhouses leave in the changing room, and put your hair up before you get in. Hair in the bath is the one thing regulars notice fastest.

Question 6

What do you need to bring to a Japanese public bath?

Accepted Answer

A small towel for washing and modesty, a larger one to dry with, and your own shampoo and soap if the bath is a plain sento. Ryokan and most onsen provide soap and towels; cheap neighbourhood baths often sell or rent them at the counter. Dry yourself before stepping back into the changing room.

Question 7

Do you tip in Japan?

Accepted Answer

No. Tipping is not expected anywhere in Japan — not in restaurants, not in taxis, not in hotels — and leaving money behind can cause confusion or be politely refused. Good service is included in the price.

Question 8

Why can't you stick chopsticks upright in rice?

Accepted Answer

Because it mirrors a funeral rite. Rice with chopsticks standing in it is offered to the dead, so doing it at the table reads as a bad omen. Rest your chopsticks on the holder or across the bowl instead.

Question 9

Is it rude to slurp noodles in Japan?

Accepted Answer

No — it is normal, and for ramen and soba it is expected. Slurping cools the noodles and is taken as a sign you are enjoying the food. The same noise over rice or soup, however, is not.

Question 10

Is it rude to not finish your food in Japan?

Accepted Answer

Generally yes. Leaving food is read as waste rather than as a compliment, and at a set meal or a ryokan dinner it is noticed. Order less rather than leave more, and say so in advance if you cannot eat something.

Question 11

How do you pay at a restaurant in Japan?

Accepted Answer

At the register, not at the table. Take the slip left on your table to the counter by the door and pay there. Waving for the bill or leaving cash on the table is not how it is done.

Question 12

What do you say before and after eating in Japan?

Accepted Answer

"Itadakimasu" before you start and "gochisousama deshita" when you finish. Neither is religious: the first thanks everyone and everything that brought the meal to the table, the second thanks whoever made it. A quiet version with a small nod is enough, even alone at a counter.

Question 13

What is the wet towel for in a Japanese restaurant?

Accepted Answer

Your hands, before the meal. The oshibori is handed over hot in winter and chilled in summer, and it is not a face towel or a napkin — wiping your face with it, or the table, is what marks someone out. Use it, fold it, and leave it beside your place.

Question 14

Do you pour your own drink in Japan?

Accepted Answer

Not at a table with others. You fill your companions' glasses and they fill yours, which is why an empty glass in front of someone reads as inattention rather than thirst. Hold the bottle with both hands for someone older or senior, and lift your glass slightly when they pour for you.

Question 15

Is it hard to eat vegetarian in Japan?

Accepted Answer

Harder than it looks, because the problem is the stock rather than the menu. Dashi made from bonito flakes is in miso soup, noodle broth and many simmered vegetable dishes that otherwise contain no meat. Ask specifically about the stock, not only about meat and fish, and say it in Japanese rather than in English — the kitchen, not the waiter, has to answer it.

Question 16

How do you tell a Japanese restaurant about a food allergy?

Accepted Answer

In writing, in Japanese, before you order. English is not reliably understood in small restaurants, and a serious allergy is the wrong place to guess. Name the ingredient, ask whether the dish contains it, and be aware that a kitchen that cannot guarantee it will say so — which is worth more than a reassuring yes.

Question 17

Do restaurants in Japan have English menus?

Accepted Answer

Tourist areas and chains usually do; a ten-seat place in a back street usually does not. Asking for one in Japanese is normal and gets a straight answer, and if there is none, photo menus and plastic food displays carry you the rest of the way. Pointing at the dish you want is not rude.

Question 18

Which side of the escalator do you stand on in Japan?

Accepted Answer

Left in Tokyo and most of the country, right in Osaka and much of Kansai. The other side is left clear for people walking. When in doubt, copy whoever is in front of you.

Question 19

Can you eat on the train in Japan?

Accepted Answer

On local and commuter trains, no. On long-distance shinkansen and reserved-seat express trains, yes — that is what the station bento is for. The dividing line is the type of train, not the time of day.

Question 20

Can you talk on the phone on a Japanese train?

Accepted Answer

No. Trains are treated as quiet spaces: phones go to silent mode and calls are taken after you get off. Keep conversation low, and keep headphone volume down.

Question 21

Do Japanese taxi doors open automatically?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The driver opens and closes the rear left door with a lever, so stand clear and let it swing. Do not pull it shut yourself, and do not tip when you pay.

Question 22

Do you need a Suica or IC card in Japan?

Accepted Answer

You do not need one, but almost everyone uses one. The card is tapped at the gate instead of buying a ticket for each ride, works on trains, buses and most convenience stores, and can be topped up at any machine. Have it in your hand before you reach the gate — the queue behind you moves at the speed of the slowest tap.

Question 23

Where do you put a suitcase on a Japanese train?

Accepted Answer

On the shinkansen, the overhead shelf takes a cabin bag and the space behind the last row takes a large case — on some lines that space must be reserved. On a local train at rush hour there is nowhere to put it, so use a coin locker or send the case ahead instead of blocking a door with it.

Question 24

What happens if you miss the last train in Japan?

Accepted Answer

Nothing runs until morning — city trains stop around midnight to 1am and there is no night service. The options are a taxi, which is expensive over any distance, a capsule hotel, a net café, or waiting for the first train around 5am. Check the last train time before the second drink, not after it.

Question 25

Can you sit in the priority seats on a Japanese train?

Accepted Answer

Yes, when the carriage is empty — they are not reserved, they are first to give up. Stand the moment someone elderly, pregnant, injured or with a small child appears, without waiting to be asked. Many people also keep their phone out of sight near these seats, a habit left over from older signs asking for it.

Question 26

Why are there no trash cans in Japan?

Accepted Answer

Most public bins were removed after the 1995 subway attack and never came back. People carry their rubbish home instead. Keep a small bag with you, and use the bins beside vending machines and inside convenience stores when you find them.

Question 27

Can you eat while walking in Japan?

Accepted Answer

It is avoided almost everywhere. Food bought at a stall is usually eaten standing beside it, then the wrapper is handed back. Street-food lanes are the exception, and even there people tend to stop and finish first.

Question 28

Where can you smoke in Japan?

Accepted Answer

Only in marked smoking areas. Many city centres ban smoking on the street entirely and fine offenders, while indoor smoking rooms remain common. The rule is the reverse of much of the world: outside is restricted, inside is not always.

Question 29

Is it rude to blow your nose in public in Japan?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Blowing your nose at the table or on a train is treated the way loud throat-clearing is elsewhere. Sniffing is tolerated; step away to a restroom if you need to blow.

Question 30

What do you do with a wet umbrella in Japan?

Accepted Answer

Leave it at the door. Shops and museums put out umbrella stands or a machine that sleeves it in plastic, and carrying a dripping umbrella through a shop is what people notice. Outside, hold it upright at your side rather than swinging it, and shake it off before you step in.

Question 31

Can you cross the road on a red light in Japan?

Accepted Answer

Legally no, and in practice almost nobody does — people wait at an empty crossing at two in the morning. It is not only about the law: crossing early in front of a queue of people, and in front of children, reads as making yourself an exception. Wait for the green, even when the road is clearly empty.

Question 32

Can you take photos of people in Japan?

Accepted Answer

Ask first. Photographing strangers without permission is treated as an intrusion rather than street photography, and in Kyoto's Gion some private lanes carry fines for it. Shops, temple halls and station staff areas may ban cameras outright; the sign is usually a crossed-out camera, and it means exactly that.

Question 33

When do you take your shoes off in Japan?

Accepted Answer

At any entrance where the floor steps up — homes, ryokan, many restaurants, temples and some clinics. The raised lip is the signal. Leave shoes pointing back towards the door and change into the slippers provided.

Question 34

Why are there separate slippers for the toilet in Japan?

Accepted Answer

Because the bathroom floor is treated as a separate, unclean zone. There are usually three levels of footwear: outdoor shoes, indoor slippers and toilet slippers. Walking out of the toilet still wearing the toilet slippers is the classic visitor mistake.

Question 35

How do you wear a yukata?

Accepted Answer

Left side over right, always. Right over left is how the dead are dressed. Tie the sash at the waist, and at a ryokan you can wear it to dinner and around the building.

Question 36

Who lays out the futon at a ryokan?

Accepted Answer

The staff, while you are at dinner or in the bath. The room is a living room by day and a bedroom by night, and the changeover is part of what you are paying for — moving the furniture or putting the futon away yourself gets in the way rather than helping. If you need it earlier or later, say so at check-in.

Question 37

Can you walk on tatami with slippers on?

Accepted Answer

No. Slippers come off at the edge of the tatami and go back on when you leave it — tatami is walked on in socks or bare feet. The same line applies in a temple hall and a traditional restaurant's private room. Socks are worth packing for this alone, especially in winter.

Question 38

Can you leave your luggage at the hotel before check-in?

Accepted Answer

Yes — almost every hotel and ryokan holds bags before check-in and after check-out, at no charge, and it is a normal thing to ask. Check-in and check-out times themselves are firm, so plan the day around them rather than around the bag. Coin lockers at major stations are the fallback when the hotel is across the city.

Question 39

Can you send your suitcase to your next hotel in Japan?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and it is the single best travel habit here. Takkyubin services pick a case up from a hotel front desk or convenience store and deliver it to the next hotel, usually next day, for around ¥2,000. You travel with a small bag, the train is easier for everyone, and the case is waiting when you arrive. Hand it in by the afternoon and name the arrival date.

Question 40

How do you pray at a Japanese shrine?

Accepted Answer

Two bows, two claps, one bow. Toss a coin into the box, ring the bell if there is one, then bow twice deeply, clap twice, hold your hands together to make your wish, and bow once more.

Question 41

What is the difference between a shrine and a temple in Japan?

Accepted Answer

A shrine is Shinto and a temple is Buddhist. Shrines have a torii gate at the entrance and you clap when you pray; temples have an incense burner and a main hall, and you do not clap — you press your hands together in silence.

Question 42

Can you take photos in Japanese temples and shrines?

Accepted Answer

Outside, usually yes. Inside a main hall, often not — statues and altars are frequently off-limits, and the sign will say so. Never photograph a ceremony, and never point a lens at someone praying.

Question 43

What is a goshuin and how do you get one?

Accepted Answer

A goshuin is a seal and calligraphy written for you by hand at a shrine or temple, usually ¥300 to ¥500, in a book kept for them. Visit and pray first, then go to the office and hand over the book open at a blank page. It is a record of a visit, not a souvenir stamp, so it is never collected on loose paper you then throw away.

Question 44

What should you wear to a shrine or temple in Japan?

Accepted Answer

Ordinary clothes are fine; there is no dress code at most sites. Cover your shoulders, keep skirts and shorts on the longer side, and wear shoes you can slip off, because halls you enter are entered barefoot or in socks. Hats come off inside, and at a funeral or a formal ceremony the bar is much higher.

Question 45

How do you wash your hands at a shrine?

Accepted Answer

One ladleful does all of it. Fill the ladle, rinse your left hand, then your right, pour a little into your left hand to rinse your mouth — never touching the ladle to your lips — and finally stand it upright so the last of the water runs down the handle. Do not drink from the ladle and do not spit into the basin; the water goes onto the stones beside it.

Question 46

Why do shops in Japan have a small tray at the register?

Accepted Answer

Money is placed in the tray rather than handed over, and your change comes back the same way. It is not a rejection of contact — it simply lets both people count without touching. Cards are widely taken, but cash is still king at small shops and shrines.

Question 47

How does tax-free shopping work in Japan?

Accepted Answer

Show your passport at the till in a tax-free registered shop, over the minimum spend. The consumption tax is taken off on the spot, the purchase is recorded against your entry, and sealed consumables must leave the country unopened.

Question 48

Do you have to pay for bags in Japan?

Accepted Answer

Yes, since 2020 plastic bags carry a small charge everywhere. Most people carry a folding bag. If you say nothing at the till you will usually be asked, so a small headshake is enough to decline.

Question 49

Do you still need cash in Japan?

Accepted Answer

Less than you used to, but yes. Cards and IC cards work in cities, chains and most restaurants; small shops, shrines, older ramen counters, some buses and every festival stall are cash only. Carry a few ten-thousand-yen notes, and when you pay, put the money in the tray on the counter rather than into the cashier's hand.

Question 50

What can you do at a Japanese convenience store?

Accepted Answer

More than buy food. A konbini will heat your meal, lend you chopsticks and a spoon, sell stamps and concert tickets, take a parcel for delivery, print documents, hold a cash machine that accepts foreign cards, and let you use a clean toilet. Bags are no longer free, so say you do not need one if you are eating it outside.

Question 51

Where can you withdraw cash with a foreign card in Japan?

Accepted Answer

At a convenience store or a post office. Bank machines on the street often refuse foreign cards, while the machines inside 7-Eleven, Lawson, FamilyMart and Japan Post accept them, run in English and are open when the banks are not. Take out enough for the cash-only days rather than queueing again for every festival stall.

Question 52

Can you haggle over prices in Japan?

Accepted Answer

No. The price on the label is the price, and asking for a discount puts the assistant in an awkward position rather than starting a negotiation. The exceptions are flea markets, some electronics districts and a large purchase where a shop may offer a discount itself — offered, not asked for.

Question 53

What does sumimasen mean and when do you use it?

Accepted Answer

It covers excuse me, sorry and thank you all at once. Use it to get a server's attention, to squeeze past someone, and to acknowledge a small kindness. If you learn one word before arriving, learn this one.

Question 54

Do you have to bow in Japan?

Accepted Answer

You are not expected to get it exactly right, but a small nod of the head is always welcome and never wrong. Depth signals formality: a slight nod for shop staff, a deeper bow for a host or an apology. Do not bow and shake hands at the same time.

Question 55

What do you do in Japan if you don't speak Japanese?

Accepted Answer

Show, don't explain. Staff will help anyone who makes the request clear, and the fastest way to be clear is one written Japanese sentence on your screen — a menu question, an allergy, an address for a taxi. Start with "sumimasen", show the sentence, and expect a gesture or a written reply back. Pointing at what you mean is normal here, not rude.

Question 56

Is it rude to point at someone in Japan?

Accepted Answer

At a person, yes. At an object on a menu or a shelf, no — pointing at what you mean is how a conversation works without a shared language. For a person or a direction, use an open hand with the palm up, and point at yourself by touching your own nose rather than your chest, which is what people here will do to mean "me".

Question 57

How do you say thank you in Japanese?

Accepted Answer

"Arigatou gozaimasu" is the safe one — polite, usable with anyone, and worth the extra syllables over the casual "arigatou". Add a small bow and it carries further than the words do. When someone has gone out of their way for you, "tasukarimashita" — "that really helped me" — says something the English thank you does not.

Questions travellers ask