Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Always Know Where your Towel Is: 8 Travel Tips for Japan

japanese hand towel
There are many things that you can learn about Japanese culture just by absorbing it from movies.  You will learn alot more by having Japanese friends.

If you want to know even more, you can pick up a travel book, or even look online.

However, there are some things that you can only learn by going to Japan.


1. Bring your own hand towel with you.
There are usually no paper towels in the bathroom. There is a chance that there is not a hand dryer either.  The ones that do have hair dryers though, tend to have this incredible high tech Dyson Air Blade dryer, so it makes up for the lack of towels, if you forgot your own towel.  Again. You will probably forget your towel at least 42 times before you remember.

Get a small towel or hankerchief and keep it in your back pocket.  If you're a girl, your purse will do nicely.
If you're cheap, take an old dish towel and tear it into a small, pocket sized piece.

2. Stand on the Left when riding the Escalator
In the US, it's common to bunch up with your friends and ride the escalator.  If you do this in Japan, you may get a tapping on the shoulder, or just bumped out of the way.

The proper way to use the escalator in most of Japan is to stand on the left.  This leaves the right side of the escalator open for people to walk up the moving stairs.  Or more typically, run as they try to reach their soon departing train.

Notice I said most of Japan.  In some parts of the country, the opposite is true.  I've heard Osaka is such a place, where you should stand to the Right side.  Just use the wonderful power of observation, and do what everyone else is doing.  When in Rome, and all...

If you notice you are the only one standing on a certain side, then you are certainly Doing it Wrong.

What if Nobody else is on the Escalator?  What should I do? Should I take the Stairs?
Yes.  That is your ONLY option. Actually, Don't Panic!

If you really don't know what side is proper for the area that you are in, and there is nobody else to observe, then just pick a side and ride the moving staircase.  More than likely, if you are on the "wrong" side of the escalator, then somebody will simply go around you.

3. Drink your Miso first.
I learned this purely by observation.  Plus, my wife later told me to do it at home.

The proper way to begin your meal is to take a sip from your miso soup first, if it is available.  After that, chow down in the order you wish.

4. Eat from every plate.
In my home when growing up, it was always drilled into me to finish my main course before moving on to the other items on my plate.

Or, to quote Pink Floyd: "If you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding!"

Doing this in Japan, people would comment, "Oh, do you not like the (insert food here)?" To which I would reply, "No, I do like it, I'm just finishing this one first!"

I've since learned the proper way to eat Japanese cuisine is to eat a little from each plate all at once.  Finishing one plate and then moving on to the next is considered bad form.

5. Slurping Ramen and other noodles is expected.
Since we are on the topic of eating, let's go to other American habits.  Basically, making any noise while eating is considered to be implolite.  In Japan, eating noodles and especially Ramen silently is even more impolite.  If you sit there quietly, you are signaling that you are not enjoying the food!

So, especially when eating Ramen, be sure to make some slurping noises every once in a while.

This is one time when your mom is wrong.  Every one else is doing it, you want to be cool like them right?

6. Don't Tip.  Ever.
Yes, you may already know not to tip the wait staff, but what about the person that brought your bags up to the hotel room?  The Taxi driver that did so much more than you asked, because you were hopelessly lost? The doorman? The room service?  The Maid!?

Remember this one rule, and you'll be OK:
Don't Tip.

Tipping is considered to be rude in Japan.  It's almost like you are bragging, showing that you have so much more money than the person that is serving you.  So much more, that you can just give it away.

In Japan, people in service jobs are paid enough money to do their jobs, and part of the job is providing great service.  It's not like the US, where you are paid barely anything, and then the tips are how you actually make a living.

If you do attempt to tip, your money will more than likely be refused.  If you leave money on the pillow in your hotel room, it will still be there when you return, or brought down to you if you haven't checked out yet.

There is a way to show your appreciations to somebody and that is through little gifts of small items.  There are shops everywhere for you to pick up something to show your appreciation for others.  Keep in mind that you shouldn't be handing these things out to everyone you meet, like a tip!

7. Don't Bother with Credit Cards
Cash is King in Japan.  Sure, you can pay for your drinks at a vending machine with your cellphone, but if you go to a store or out for a meal, expect to pay cash.

It's just easier, hardly anyone uses credit cards like we do in the US.  We use it to pay for just a cheap drink!

Everyone in Japan uses cash.  Always.  It's not uncommon to walk around with a thousand bucks in your pocket to pay for a night of drinks, karaoke, and other expenses.  Everybody's doing it.

When I mentioned this to a friend, his remark was "Japan would be a mugger's dream".

With this in mind, you'll also learn to pay for small things with coins.  The smallest denomination in paper money currently issued is about $10.  $5  (or rather, 500 yen) is out there, but very rare.  For 500 yen and lower, you will be given coins.

You'll end up with a lot of these if you don't spend them soon, and you can't exchange them later.  Time to buy some omiyage!

With all the coins everybody is getting, you'd actually be surprised to know that you will not find coins on the ground in Japan.

In the US, you can find pennies and sometimes other coins everywhere.  Hardly anyone bothers to pick them up. In Japan, people don't go around dropping coins willy nilly!  You'll be extremely surprised when you do find a coin on the ground.

8. Enjoy the Free Tissues
This was the possibly the biggest shock to me when I first went to Japan.  People stand on the street just handing out tissue packets!

So, just like how in the US there are people handing out flyers for some particular cause or product, the same is happening in Japan.  Except in Japan, I willing take what they have to offer, just for the free tissues!

With these tissues come little slips of paper, advertising a particular business or service that you should use.

If people did this in the US, I'd take their flyers too.  I still may not care for their cause, but at least they got me to look at it as I blow my nose.

Like in the US, people ignore these folks, and refuse their offer of tissue advertising.  Not me though, I head straight for them, and collect as many as I can.  You can never have too many tissues!

So, that's it for travel tips that you can't get from the travel books.  If you can think of anything I missed, post it below.

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