Going on holiday to Japan: these are the 11 things you really shouldn’t do
Japan is a dream destination, especially if you love good food and drinks. Tokyo is even the gastronomic capital of the world, with the most Michelin-starred restaurants. And thanks to the favorable yen, Japan is booming. So it makes sense that so many people are going to Japan right now. Unfortunately, many tourists often get things quite wrong. Read and learn, so you don’t end up behaving like just another boorish tourist.
It was global news: Japanese football fans neatly leaving their spots in the stadium behind. In fact, after their surprise victory against Germany, the Japanese national team even left the changing room spotless! This is just one of the many Japanese standards of good manners we can learn so much from… Alongside respect for your surroundings, nothing is more important in Japan than maintaining harmony. Japanese people are fairly reserved and sometimes a little shy. They avoid confrontations and therefore won’t call tourists out on their behavior. As a result, many people think they can get away with anything.
Tourist in Japan? Don’t do this
If anyone knows about this, it’s Dustin Heerkens. He has lived in Japan for almost twenty years and, as a guide, leads hundreds of tourists through this beautiful country. We asked him what you absolutely shouldn’t do in the land of the rising sun.
1. Eating on the street and on public transport
2. Using the escalator as you would in the Netherlands
Here’s another thing: Japanese people know how to behave on an escalator. There are strict unwritten rules, which everyone simply follows. Much more pleasant and orderly. How? Everyone stands on the left, one behind the other. Not next to each other or on the right. Except when you’re in Osaka, where you stand on the right, one behind the other, so people can pass you on the left.
3. Placing your chopsticks
Interest in Japanese food culture is greater than ever. The Netherlands now has nearly 1,200 Japanese restaurants, but where better to eat Japanese food than in Japan itself? Exactly, and that’s probably why you’re going there. If you want to be reasonably prepared, know that you should never place your chopsticks upright in a ball of rice. Always lay them flat next to each other on the table or on your bowl—and not crossed. Don’t point at someone at the table or at a dish with your chopsticks. Don’t move objects with your chopsticks either. And don’t be so picky; don’t just pick out the ‘tasty’ things from your dish—eat everything. Don’t leave rice behind in your bowl.
4. Marching inside with your shoes on
Take off your shoes when visiting someone or entering your hotel room. This is also customary in many temples and restaurants, and it will usually be clearly indicated. Place your shoes neatly next to each other at the entrance in the designated spots.
5. Tipping
Omotenashi is Japanese hospitality from the heart. Among other things, this means that tipping is not done in Japan. Well, that’s a nice bonus for us Dutch people!
6. Going into the onsen with your tattoo
There’s nothing better than relaxing in an onsen. You’ll find these natural hot springs throughout Japan, thanks to its many volcanoes. If you have a tattoo, cover it with a plaster. This also applies to hotel swimming pools, by the way. Showing tattoos is not allowed. Men and women have separate onsens, and you enter them naked. And, um… no cannonballs!
7. Sneezing in public
Got a cold? In Japan, it’s customary to wear a face mask so you don’t infect the people around you. Coughing and sneezing without a mask is not customary. Well, except if you visit Japan in March and everyone is sneezing because of the hay fever epidemic. And if you’re in Japan during Sakura, that beautiful blossom season: don’t pick anything, and don’t shake trees like an idiot for your video or photo either.
8. Slurping spaghetti
Slurping noodles (ramen) is customary, as it automatically cools down your hot noodles. But slurping or making noise with other food is not the done thing—no, not even with spaghetti just because it resembles noodles..
9. Putting food back on your plate
Don’t put food back on your plate after taking a bite. If you can’t eat it in one go, bite off a piece and hold the rest by your mouth between your chopsticks. Also good to know: before you start eating, say ‘Itadakimasu’. Finished eating? End with ‘Gochisosama deshita’. That means ‘thank you for receiving it, and it was a pleasure.’ Japanese manners… what’s not to like?
10. Going out for dinner wearing a cloud of perfume
Wear no perfume, or very little, when going to a somewhat more upscale Japanese restaurant. The scent interferes with the food, and disturbing others is exactly what Japanese people do not do.
11. Ordering a cheese board
Everyone who has been to Japan—even the tourist who doesn’t quite know how things are done in the land of the rising sun—can confirm it: the food is a-ma-zing. From Michelin-starred restaurants to izakayas and the crazy vending machines (with whale meat, for example) that you see everywhere. But ordering a cheese board? That’s definitely not a good idea, as colleague Sabina discovered in Japan.
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