Culture · Manners in Japan
Japanese etiquette
Japan is forgiving of visitors who make mistakes, and glad when you try. These guides explain the habits behind everyday manners, from shoes and chopsticks to onsen and gifts, so you know what to do and why.
If you remember six things
These cover most of the situations where visitors go wrong.
- Take your shoes off wherever there is a step up, a shoe rack or a row of slippers. Shoes, slippers and visiting a home →
- Keep your voice down and your phone on silent on trains and in public. Trains, streets and public places →
- Wash and rinse before you get into an onsen, and keep the small towel out of the water. Onsen and bathing etiquette →
- Do not tip. Say itadakimasu before eating and gochisōsama deshita afterwards. Dining, chopsticks and drinking →
- Never stand chopsticks upright in rice or pass food from chopsticks to chopsticks. Dining, chopsticks and drinking →
- Hold things out with both hands, whether it is a gift, a business card or your change. Gift-giving and omiyage →
The guides
Everyday life
Greetings, homes, getting around and eating, the manners you will use every day.
- Greetings and bowing When to bow, how deep, handshakes, names and the words that smooth everyday life.
- Shoes, slippers and visiting a home The genkan, slippers, tatami and toilet slippers, and the manners for visiting someone's home.
- Trains, streets and public places Quiet trains, queues, escalators, eating while walking, rubbish and photography.
- Dining, chopsticks and drinking Itadakimasu, chopstick taboos, slurping noodles, paying at the register and no tipping.
Places
How to behave at an onsen and at shrines and temples.
Occasions
Gifts, weddings and funerals, and doing business.
- Gift-giving and omiyage Souvenirs for coworkers, gifts for hosts, wrapping, seasonal gifts and return gifts.
- Weddings and funerals Money gifts, envelopes, dress and the words to avoid at weddings and funerals.
- Business etiquette Business cards, meetings, seating, building consensus and after-work drinks.
Learn Japanese
Learn Japanese through its culture
Readers, books and study bundles from The Japan Shop.
-
Japanese Culture Bundle
Digital books on Japanese culture, with the vocabulary to go with it.
See at The Japan Shop →
-
Learn Japanese with History & Essays
Japanese readers on history, with full furigana and audio.
See at The Japan Shop →
-
Learn Japanese with Haiku
Seventy-five Japanese haiku across three digital books, with audio.
See at The Japan Shop →
Sponsored links. We may earn a commission if you buy, at no extra cost to you.
Phrases that help
- すみません sumimasen
- Excuse me, sorry, or thank you for the trouble. The most useful word.
- いただきます itadakimasu
- Said before eating, to give thanks for the food.
- ごちそうさまでした gochisōsama deshita
- Said after eating, to thank the cook.
- お邪魔します ojama shimasu
- Said when entering someone's home.
- 失礼します shitsurei shimasu
- Excuse me, used when entering or leaving a room or an office.
- お疲れ様です otsukaresama desu
- A greeting between colleagues, roughly "thanks for your hard work".
- よろしくお願いします yoroshiku onegai shimasu
- Said when meeting someone or asking a favour: "please look after me".
Related on e2japan
Common questions
Do you tip in Japan?
No. Tipping is not expected in restaurants, taxis or hotels, and a tip left on a table may be returned to you. A small gift in an envelope for ryokan staff (kokorozuke) is an old custom, but it is not expected from visitors.
Do I have to take my shoes off?
Whenever there is a step up from the entrance, a shoe rack, or slippers waiting. That includes homes, many ryokan, temple halls, schools, clinics and restaurants with raised tatami seating.
Can I go to an onsen with tattoos?
It depends on the bath. Many have restricted tattoos, but some allow them with a cover sticker, and private baths and tattoo-friendly baths exist. Check before you go and respect the answer.
Is it rude to eat while walking?
It is generally discouraged. Street food stalls usually have a spot to stand and eat, and some tourist streets ask people not to eat while walking. Eating on long-distance trains, such as the shinkansen, is fine.
Can I talk on the phone on a train?
No. Put your phone on silent (manner mode) and take calls on the platform or in the station. Quiet messaging is fine.
Customs vary by region, place and family, and they change over time. When in doubt, follow the signs, watch what others do, or ask politely. Being polite and trying matters more than getting every detail right.