Japanese etiquette can seem so backwards from Western customs that it can make even the most seasoned traveler fret. But don’t worry – I got you. Hopefully, this list of the 10 most common mistakes made by travelers will make it so you never embarrass yourself in Japan!
1. Mistreating gifts
Always accept (and give) gifts with two hands. Also it is customary in Japan (just as in China) to try to refuse the gift three times before finally accepting it. This may be confusing to foreigners, but it is about not looking greedy.
2. Blowing your nose in public
The Japanese simply find it revolting. Usually, the Japanese will wait until they are in private to blow their noses.
3. Tipping
Although tipping is almost mandatory in America, and a nice extra in European countries, tipping in Japan is actually considered degrading. If you do leave a tip, often the server will chase you down to give you back the money.
4. Eating and walking
For some reason, the Japanese consider this to be sloppy. So just don’t eat outside of a restaurant (especially not on a train). However, there are notable exceptions to this rule, ice cream being one of them.
5. Pouring your own glass
Again, this might seem crazy to Westerners, but it is customary to pour everyone else’s drinks and hopefully someone else will see that yours is empty and fill it for you. Pouring your own glass, on the other hand, is considered rude.
6. Sticking your chopsticks vertically in a bowl of rice
This one may seem oddly specific, but since you eat rice rather often in Japan it is well worth noting that you should not stick your chopsticks into rice vertically. In Buddhist tradition, this means you are offering your rice to the dead, and since you are probably trying to eat the rice yourself, you shouldn’t do it. While we’re at it, might as well also mention that you shouldn’t lay your chopsticks across the bowl of rice either, because that signifies that you’re done.
7. Littering
Hopefully you weren’t planning on doing this anyway, but the Japanese pride themselves in their cleanliness, and in some areas you can be fined heavily for even dropping the slightest bit of trash. Do mother earth and your wallet a favor and wait until you find a trash can.
8. Not slurping your noodles
Slurping your noodles is a sign that you enjoy them in Japan, so slurp away!
9. Keeping your shoes on
When you are invited inside one’s house, always take your shoes off before going in, and put on a pair of slippers provided to you by the host. Also be sure to not step on the ground outside of the house in your bare feet, because you’ll track dirt into the house if you do.
10. Sit with the soles of your feet pointed towards other people
The sole of your foot is the lowest point in your body, so the Japanese associate it as the rudest. Sit, kneeling, instead of criss cross.
