what not to do in Japan?

[anni]

i've just about 2 weeks left to prepare to spend 4 months in Japan.

my first trip (several years ago) passed without my cheeks ever recovering from perpetual blushing. short of walking into my friend's house with my shoes on and sticking my chopsticks into my rice bowl, i'm sure to have committed every faux pas imaginable.

those i was visiting were too kind to tell me about most of it...

so here i am, fishing for suggestions. i feel it's probably easier to ask what NOT to do than the reverse...

but i will also gladly take suggestions about what to do! i'll be spending lots of time in shiga-ken studying, as well as a week or so traipsing around kyuushuu. i plan a stop in hiroshima in between.

EDiT 09/07/2008:
i'm in Japan now, but still learning and open to suggestions. ^_^
the original post is out-of-date, but i think it will be good to keep the discussion open as i'm sure many members have good info to share!

[Rhys]

Hi there, I hope your trip goes well!
A few things I can think of are, DO NOT enter an onsen/sento with soap, shampoo, or things of the such on your body. Do not pass food with your chopsticks to someone else's chopsticks. With some shrines you have to "purify" yourself before you enter any further, (there is a fountain-like thingy at the entrance or just pass the entrance I believe.) Also there is a specific manner in which to "purify" yourself, so you should ask someone there. Also with the shrines I think there is a small wooden step below the entrance, and you should not step on it.

I'm sorry if you knew most/all of these already, but I hope it helped somewhat.

[anni]

thanks! i really only knew about washing at a shrine... i sort of learned by watching on my last trip.

i did not know about the small wooden step; now that i've heard this, it makes me wonder about before...

i'm also curious about onsen, as my friend will be taking me to one right away (and i think he will be too polite to tell me much about it >_<). what CAN i take into an onsen? just a cloth to cover myself? 2--one to set on my head? can i bring a real towel? a watch so i don't become parboiled? a water bottle?

thanks again for the advice. (^_^) v

[Ed]

I had an experience, just before I left Japan, at an onsen. I had been in, and was coming out and putting my shoes on. Unfortunately I forgot that the wooden bits are not to be stepped on, and I was doing up my shoelaces with my foot leaning on the edge of the raised floor. Suddenly an old Japanese guy slaps me on the shoulder (quite hard) with his sandal and starts yelling at me. I was very apologetic, but thought he was a bit of a @#$%^. Fair enough, I did break the rules, but I didn't deserve to be smacked for it! Sorry this is kind of off topic... What was I saying? Oh yeah, keep off the raised wooden bits at onsens! Also wearing hats in shrines, kendo halls etc, blowing your nose in public, blowing your nose at the dinner table (a big no no), talking on your cellphone on the bus/train, apparently eating while walking down the street is frowned upon by the older generation, but accepted by younger people. You probably know all this, but might help.

[anni]

thanks for the advice! ... i knew i bit of it, but some of it's still news to me, and frankly i wouldn't be asking if i wasn't terrified to accidentally misbehave. (^_^) /

[xJoyful5oulx]

When you go to restuarents please do not tip the people there cuz they will get so offended cause tipping to them means you sucked and you have to try harder next time or somthing like that

[adiah]

Fine by me but i wonder why.

[Matt]

On one of my first trips to Japan I went to an onsen. I was by myself (since I was traveling with my Japanese wife who was in the women's bathing area) and I did a funny thing since I was a newbie. I knew that you had to wash yourself before entering the water but I wasn't sure where so I was sort of washing in the locker room sink area and not in the showering area with the buckets near the bathtubs. Fortunately, some folks helped me out so I wasn't too embarassed.

[John P.]

My first suggestion applies to all international travel and that is to RELAX. Unlike most Americans, most foreign cultures and people are forgiving to outsiders as long as they are trying to be respectful and not too uptight. So, how do you show respect? Relax, smile, watch what everyone else is doing and try to emulate. If you do screw up don't sweat it- they won't be surprised. A sincere apology normally patches things up nicely. I've been to Japan twice and found the people all extremely friendly and forgiving. I did quite well and I speak no Japanese (hopefully that will change thanks to Japancast). I was as respectful as can be and everyone just bent over backwards to help me out. This applies both to my trip to Tokyo but also to the outlying suburb of Tokorozawa where there was a lot less western influence. Just be respectful and do your best. Also, try to eat as many different kinds of things as you can. I found that some of the least tastiest looking things were the best tasting and some of the 'safest' looking things tasted the worst to me.

[anni]

i've learned one important thing not to do in Japan:

DON'T pay when you get on the bus...
バスに乗る時、 払わないで、

instead, pay when you get OFF!
降りる時、払って下さい！