Like my last 10 differences post for England, I wanted to share a similar post influenced by my trip to Japan back in November 2019. This post was actually in draft mode for the past almost three years now, and the reason I’ve decided to go ahead and finish and publish it is because Scott and I actually just booked another trip to Japan. We had to jump on the opportunity since they have now opened up their borders to allow travelers without having to book a tour, complete a quarantine and other conditions.

As my experiences below are from awhile ago, I’m sure there may be new customs and practices in place due to living in a COVID-19 world - although mask wearing was already very common in Japan prior to the pandemic. Now, I spent a majority of time in Tokyo and 24 hours split between Kyoto and Osaka, so I can’t say that I’ve experienced all of the country’s cultures and local customs; but I’m sharing the differences that were very apparent during my time there. Let me know from your experiences what cultural experience you know of or have experienced yourself.

1. No Eating or Drinking in Public (WHILE WALKING, ON PUBLIC TRANSIT) and no waste bins/trash cans

In comparison to at least all of the places I’ve been to in the U.S. and other countries I’ve visited - you won’t see someone walking or taking the public transit eating food or holding a coffee cup and drinking. After I made the mistake the first day of carrying around a coffee cup while on our way to Asakusa (and had to stuff the cup inside my coat pocket because there are also no waste bins or trash cans anywhere). I quickly ditched walking around with food/drink. I noticed that if someone came in to get a snack or beverage at say a 7-11, they would enjoy it outside the convenience store before continuing to their destination. I appreciate this because you just don’t get distracted people trying to eat/drink while on their way, and litter in public spaces - I practically cringed when I saw someone eating a melting ice cream cone in the subway car - and they were trying to eat fast, but keep the cone from melting all over themselves or the subway car seat, there is a reason why Japan and their public transit is so impeccably clean and spotless.

2. No FOREIGNERS ESTABLISHMENTS

We were quick to notice if we were welcome at a restaurant/bar or not. Most places will have a sign that states “No Foreigners”=, and we would pass up any restaurants that had purely Japanese menus. That’s not to say that any restaurant that has Japanese only menus does not welcome non-Japanese or foreigners into their establishment, but you’re more likely to be welcomed if you can see that there’s an english version of a menu. There were also bars and businesses that had signs stating “Foreigners Welcome”, so we would go to those places instead of having to keep searching around to see if we could get into this bar versus that bar - we were not going to be picky. When we went to the touristy Robot Restaurant, there were Japanese guests or people who knew the performers that were yelling “Japanese Only”, so it’s very much made apparent that you are not welcome to join, etc.

3. Pay with Cash & Coins by Placing it in the Plastic Tray

I quickly realized what these plastic trays on countertops at businesses were for - to place your change and money on top of when making payment, and vice versa when receiving change. I actually don’t know the exact reason for this, and tried to search coming up with explanations like keeping money exchange “handless”, but also so that it’s easier to place coin change in the tray than on the countertop. This makes sense since the currency consists of a lot of coins, so it’s very common that most of your change will be given in coins.

4. Some Businesses Have You Wear Slippers

I’m used to taking my shoes off when in mine, my family or other people’s homes, so I really appreciated this because I wouldn’t want a ton of people tracking in dirt and germs into my business either. Almost all of the businesses (such as the animal cafes, the kimono rental shop, we went into aside from retail shops and convenience stores, had cubbies or designated areas to place your shoes, then wear slippers or slides that the business provided to you.

5. PUBLIC AREA ETIQUETTE - Waiting in Orderly Line for the Metro/Subway (& Using Inside Voices)

Similar to when I visited Seoul, Korea and use their metro system, there were markers on the floor to where the subway car doors would open up, indicating where to stand. Everyone who is waiting to get on patiently waits for everyone to get off. Whereas when I’ve gone to New York (as well as Shanghai) everybody is rushing on and off at the same time. The subway stations also have fun jingles that signal that the train in arriving. Also when we were waiting to board the shinkansen (bullet train), the cleaning staff work so quickly and efficiently to turn the train around before riders board. Trains always seem to be on time! ALSO, I had been scolded for laughing, joking around too loud - and this was walking in the underground between train stations at an off hour. In general you keep noise in public spaces to a very very minimum (practically silent). For example, you don’t play music loud or speak on the phone while in public spaces like on the subway.

6. Mask Wearing

While riding public transit and walking around Tokyo is when I noticed that many people wore masks (this was in 2019). So I was curious and searched why people wore masks and main reasons included to keep from spreading germs to others as well as block pollen, pollution and such due to allergies. I started to wear a mask whilst still in Japan, and almost felt like I was being rude if I didn’t especially when on crowded subway trains. They’re sold everywhere so it was easy to pick up from a convenient store.

7. Post Work Drinking & Eating - NOMMUNICATION

Scott and I caught on that there must be a post work drink/eating (seen at yakitori restaurants or at izakayas/bars) culture when we would eat out and drink at different yakitori restaurants, because we noticed many of the patrons would look like business men and women, dressed in suits and profressional wear. The post work drinking culture is called “nomikai and nominication, nommunication means drinking alcohol to help spark conversation between colleagues. The word is derived from the Japanese verb nomu (飲む), which means ‘to drink’ and communication. Hence, Nommunication” (Link Japan Careers). Not partaking can actually be seen as offensive to coworkers or management, and some will not pass up the opportunity if they want to advance in their career. This is seen as the time to get to know your coworkers, but also let loose where they will feel more inclined to address work concerns or issues which can potentially help organizations grow (if addressed correctly in a work setting).

8. Single-use Plastic

There is an insane amount of single-use plastic use, it just seems like everything in the stores is wrapped in plastic, and there’s a bag for everything. So I would decline any plastic shopper bags, and try not to buy food wrapped in plastic (but most of the grab and go items are going to be wrapped in plastic, so I think that’s unavoidable). But I tried to just have that awareness, and would start to bring reusable tote bags with me when I went out shopping. “country produces around 10 million tons of plastic a year (the third highest amount in the world), 78 percent of which is discarded as waste within a year. On top of the litter and unaccounted-for loose garbage, and despite a national reputation for efficiency, most properly-disposed plastic waste is treated carelessly. Since 2017, Japan has been shipping part of its plastic waste stores to Southeast Asia, from which much maritime plastic flows. Ultimately, only 18 percent of the aggregate is recycled domestically" (Tokyo Weekender). The BBC reports more on this here.

9. Toilets!

If you’re like my husband and have never used a bidet, you will be so pleasantly surprised at the functionalities of the bidet toilets in Japan. Even the toilets in the metro stations come equipped with ambient sound buttons so you can mask any sounds you may be making from using the toilet. Our tushes did get accustomed to the heated seats, which was so nice after being out and about in the cold. I also noticed how many toilet stalls would come equipped with a fold down or fixed seat that children could be placed into.

10. Smoking areas in restaurants

I was surprised to see that a handful of restaurants had smoking and non smoking sections. Some only allowed for electronic cigarettes, which is not as bad if you have to be seated in a smoking area (usually if we were stopping into a restaurant with no reservation or during a busy time, we opted for the smoking room if it was e-cig only as we could manage that, and not have to deal with a lengthy wait). There’s also a smoking etiquette/rules while on outdoors and on the streets - smokers could face penalties if not abiding to it. News broke in 2020 that Japan pass a smoking ban law, read more about it here.

10 Differences Between Japan and the U.S.