Not sure what's expected in an onsen, ryokan, shrine, bullet train, or izakaya? Pick a situation below for an instant cheat-sheet covering tipping, shoes & slippers, dress code, escalator side (Tokyo vs. Osaka), and common first-timer mistakes—plus our complete static reference guide below. Pair this with our full Japan Etiquette & Manners Guide.
Restaurants & Izakaya Etiquette Cheat-Sheet
✅ Do this
- Use the wet hand towel (oshibori) to wipe your hands before eating (not your face or neck).
- Slurp ramen, soba, and udon noodles—it cools the noodles and shows enjoyment.
- Pay at the register near the exit when leaving (bring the small plastic bill cylinder or slip from your table).
❌ Avoid this
- Never stick chopsticks upright into a bowl of rice (resembles a Buddhist funeral ritual).
- Never pass food directly from your chopsticks to someone else's chopsticks.
- Don't pour soy sauce directly over plain white rice; dip the fish side of nigiri sushi lightly into soy sauce.
Three Golden Rules of Etiquette in Japan
- No tipping anywhere: restaurants, izakaya, taxis, hotels, bars, hairdressers, and baristas do not practice tipping. Leaving cash on a table usually causes a server to chase you down the street to return your "forgotten" change.
- Watch where shoes come off: a raised entryway step (genkan) or woven tatami straw matting means street shoes come off immediately. Dedicated bathroom slippers stay strictly inside the restroom—never wear them back onto tatami!
- Quiet shared spaces: commuter trains, subways, buses, elevators, and museum galleries are quiet zones. Keep phones on silent (manner mode, マナーモード) and hold voice calls until you step off the train.
Quick Situation-by-Situation Japan Manners Reference Table
| Setting / Situation | Footwear Rule | Tipping / Cover Charge | Top Do | Biggest Taboo to Avoid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurants & Izakaya | Shoes on (off at raised genkan or sunken horigotatsu tables) | ¥0 tip; izakaya charge ¥300–¥500 otōshi appetizer cover | Say Itadakimasu before eating & pay at the front register | Sticking chopsticks upright in rice (tsukitate-bashi) or passing food chopstick-to-chopstick |
| Onsen & Sento Baths | Shoes in entrance locker; bare feet in changing room & bath | ¥0 tip; rent towel for ¥200–¥300 if needed | Scrub & rinse your entire body seated at the shower station before soaking | Entering the water with soap suds, a swimsuit, or letting your towel touch the bathwater |
| Shinto Shrines & Buddhist Temples | Shoes on outdoor gravel paths; shoes off inside wooden worship halls | ¥5 (go-en) or ¥50/¥100 coin in the saisen-bako offering box | Shrine: 2 bows, 2 claps, 1 bow; Temple: silent bow with palms together (no clapping) | Drinking straight from the wooden purification ladle or photographing inside inner sanctuaries |
| Trains, Subways & Shinkansen | Shoes on; never rest shoed feet on opposite seats | ¥0 tip (taxis are strictly metered to the exact yen) | Queue in painted platform lanes; enjoy ekiben bento boxes on Shinkansen tray tables | Talking on phone calls inside train cars or blocking doors with large backpacks |
| Escalators (Tokyo vs. Osaka) | Stand steady; hold handrail | N/A | Stand on the LEFT in Tokyo, Kyoto & Nagoya; stand on the RIGHT in Osaka & Kobe | Blocking the full width with wheeled suitcases on busy station escalators |
| Ryokan & Tatami Rooms | Hallway slippers on wood floors; socks or bare feet only on tatami; toilet slippers in WC | Included in 10–15% service fee (optional ¥2,000–¥3,000 kokorozuke envelope at luxury inns) | Check in before 5:00 PM for kaiseki dinner & wrap yukata left-over-right | Rolling suitcase wheels across tatami or wearing toilet slippers back onto tatami |
Complete Japan Etiquette & Cultural Customs Guide by Setting
1. Restaurants, Ramen Counters & Izakaya Dining
Upon entering a Japanese restaurant, hold up your fingers (1, 2, 3) to show the host your party size. You will be given an oshibori (wet hand towel) to clean your hands before eating. At casual evening pubs (izakaya), you will almost always be served a small starter dish called otōshi (お通し in Kanto) or tsukidashi (突き出し in Kansai) for ¥300–¥500 per person; this acts as the table cover charge and should not be sent back. When eating noodles (ramen, udon, and soba), slurping is polite and practical—it aerates the broth and cools hot noodles. When finished, place your chopsticks neatly across the ceramic rest (hashioki) rather than across the top of your bowl, bring your plastic bill cylinder or paper slip to the register by the exit, and place cash or your IC/credit card onto the small money tray (karuton).
2. Onsen Hot Springs & Sento Public Bathhouses
Traditional onsen hot springs and neighborhood sento bathhouses are gender-segregated and enjoyed completely naked—swimsuits are not permitted because fabric fibers and chlorine residue cloud natural mineral spring water. Before setting a single toe into the communal hot bath, sit on the low plastic stool at the washing stations and thoroughly wash and rinse your body and hair with soap. Keep the small modesty towel (tenugui) out of the bathwater by folding it on top of your head or setting it beside the tub. If you have tattoos, check ahead: many traditional bathhouses still restrict visible ink, though you can cover small tattoos with waterproof flesh-toned stickers, visit tattoo-friendly baths (such as all seven public baths in Kinosaki Onsen), or reserve a private family bath (kashikiri-buro).
3. Shinto Shrines vs. Buddhist Temples
Visitors often mix up shrine and temple rituals, which sit side-by-side in cities like Kyoto, Nara, and Kamakura. At the purification fountain (temizuya or chōzuya) near the entrance, hold the ladle in your right hand to rinse your left hand, switch hands to rinse your right hand, pour water into your cupped left palm to rinse your mouth (spitting discreetly into the drain trough below, never back into the basin), and tilt the ladle vertically so the remaining water rinses the handle. At a Shinto shrine (marked by a torii gate), gently toss a ¥5 coin into the slatted offering box, bow deeply twice, clap your hands twice, pray silently, and bow once more (ni-rei ni-hakushu ichi-rei). At a Buddhist temple (marked by a roofed sanmon gate and incense burner), do not clap—bow silently with your palms pressed together in gasshō.
4. Trains, Subways, Shinkansen & Escalators (Tokyo Left vs. Osaka Right)
Japanese transit runs on quiet coordination. On platforms, line up inside the painted two-file floor markings beside the door indicators and wait for all disembarking passengers to step off before boarding. On crowded urban subways in Tokyo and Osaka, swing your backpack to your chest (or place it on the overhead rack) so it doesn't bump fellow riders. Eating full meals is frowned upon on local commuter trains, but eating an ekiben railway bento box and drinking beer or green tea is a beloved tradition on long-distance Shinkansen bullet trains and Limited Express services equipped with fold-down tray tables. On escalators, follow the regional convention: in Tokyo, Yokohama, Kyoto, Nagoya, and Sapporo, stand on the LEFT (leaving the right lane clear); in Osaka, Kobe, and Nara Prefecture, stand on the RIGHT (though major stations increasingly encourage standing in two lanes without walking for safety).
5. Shoes, Genkan Entryways, Tatami Mats & Toilet Slippers
The physical step up from a tiled or concrete entryway (genkan) onto a raised wooden floor marks the boundary between outside and inside. Step out of your street shoes in the lower genkan so your socks never touch the lower floor, and step directly up onto the wooden threshold. Turn your shoes around so the toes point toward the door. Step into hallway slippers for wooden corridors, but remove all slippers before stepping onto woven tatami straw mats—walk on tatami only in clean socks or bare feet. Inside the restroom, you will see a dedicated pair of "Toilet" slippers waiting just inside the door: step out of your hallway slippers and into the toilet slippers while using the restroom, and remember to swap back when exiting.
6. Trash Cans, Street Food (Aruki-tabi) & Photography in Kyoto's Gion
Public trash bins were removed from most Japanese streets and train platforms in the 1990s for public safety, yet streets remain spotless because residents carry their own wrappers home. Keep a small zip-top or plastic bag in your daypack for wrappers, and dispose of PET bottles and cans strictly in the recycling slots immediately beside beverage vending machines or inside convenience stores (konbini). When buying street food at markets like Tsukiji, Nishiki Market, or Dotonbori, stand right beside the vendor's stall to finish your skewer or snack and return the wrapper to the vendor's bin rather than walking through crowds while eating (aruki-tabi). In Kyoto's historic Gion and Pontocho geisha districts, photography is strictly prohibited on private side alleys (carrying a ¥10,000 municipal fine), and visitors must never touch, block, or chase geiko or maiko walking to appointments.
7. Are There Any Exceptions to Japan's No-Tipping Rule?
For 99% of travel in Japan—restaurants, bars, cafes, hotel bellhops, uber/taxis, and hair salons—the answer is an absolute no. The only two cultural exceptions where a gratuity (kokorozuke, 心付け) can be accepted are: (1) hiring a private, multi-day English-speaking tour guide or charter driver, and (2) staying at an ultra-traditional luxury ryokan where a dedicated room attendant (nakai-san) serves multi-course meals inside your room. Even in those two cases, tipping is completely optional and never expected from international guests; if you wish to give one, crisp yen notes (typically ¥2,000–¥5,000) must be placed inside a decorative paper envelope (pochibukuro, sold at any convenience store or stationery shop) and handed over with both hands at the start of service—never hand over loose cash.
Frequently asked questions
Do you tip in Japan at restaurants, bars, taxis, or hotels?
No—tipping is not practiced in restaurants, bars, cafes, taxis, hair salons, or standard hotels in Japan, and leaving cash on a table will usually cause a server to chase you down the street to return your 'forgotten' money. The only rare exception is an optional Kokorozuke envelope (¥3,000–¥5,000 in crisp bills inside a smallポチ袋 envelope) given to a private room attendant at a luxury kaiseki ryokan or to a private English tour guide.
Which side of the escalator do you stand on in Tokyo vs. Osaka?
In Tokyo, Yokohama, Sendai, Sapporo, and eastern Japan, stand on the LEFT side of the escalator (passing on the right). In Osaka, Kobe, and much of Kansai, locals traditionally stand on the RIGHT side (passing on the left), while Kyoto Station features mixed flow—Note that major rail stations increasingly encourage standing on both sides without walking on escalators for safety.
Can I enter a Japanese onsen hot spring if I have tattoos?
Many traditional public bathhouses and hotel onsen still restrict visible tattoos, but you have three reliable options: cover small-to-medium tattoos with waterproof skin-tone foundation tape (sold at Don Quijote and pharmacies), visit officially tattoo-friendly public onsen towns like Kinosaki Onsen (all 7 bathhouses allow tattoos) and Beppu, or reserve a private family bath (kashikiri-buro) or a ryokan room with its own private open-air bath (rotenburo).
When do you take off your shoes in Japan, and what is the toilet slipper rule?
Remove your shoes at any stepped entranceway (genkan) before stepping onto raised wooden flooring or woven straw tatami mats—and never wear even indoor slippers onto tatami (socks or bare feet only). When entering a bathroom inside a ryokan, traditional restaurant, or home, step out of your hallway slippers and into the dedicated 'Toilet Only' slippers waiting inside the restroom door, then swap back when exiting.