Etiquette cards

Greeting

✓Do: A small bow; a handshake if the other person offers

✕Don’t: Hugs, back slaps, loud greetings

Names

✓Do: Family name plus -san

✕Don’t: First names unless invited; adding -san to your own name

Gifts

✓Do: Offer and receive with both hands; bring a small omiyage for hosts

✕Don’t: Sets of four; cash outside an envelope

Sensitive topics

✓Do: Let your hosts lead

✕Don’t: The war, territorial disputes, the imperial family, unprompted politics

Trains

✓Do: Queue at the floor marks, phone on silent, ask before reclining on the Shinkansen

✕Don’t: Phone calls, eating on crowded commuter trains, blocking doors with bags

Say 'itadakimasu' before eating and 'gochisōsama' when you leave.

Never stand chopsticks upright in rice or pass food chopstick to chopstick — both are funeral rites.

Lift small bowls to your mouth; slurping noodles is normal. Soy sauce goes on fish, not on rice.

Eating while walking· Kyoto

Signed as not allowed on many temple approaches and in Nishiki: eat at the stall.

Shrines

✓Do: Rinse hands at the basin; bow twice, clap twice, bow once

✕Don’t: Walking down the centre of the approach, which is for the deity

Temples and shrines· Kyoto

Bow at the gate, keep to the side of the path, rinse your hands at the basin before the hall; hats off inside.

Paying

✓Do: Put money in the tray at the register

✕Don’t: Tipping, or leaving loose cash for staff

Tipping is not expected.

Staff wait until called: say 'sumimasen'. Pay at the register on the way out, using the cash tray; no tip.

Tipping· Kyoto

None. Money left on the table will be brought back to you.

Shoes

✓Do: Off at the step-up entrance; toilet slippers only inside the toilet

✕Don’t: Stepping on tatami in shoes or slippers

Queue in marked lines on platforms; let passengers off first.

Shoes off where there is a step up or a shoe rack.

Shoes· Kyoto

Off wherever there is a step-up, a shoe rack or slippers; never on tatami in slippers. Carry clean socks.

Queueing· Kyoto

Line up at the painted marks on platforms and bus stops; board and pay as the bus signs say.

Noise· Kyoto

Phones silent on trains and buses, no calls; keep voices low in residential lanes at night.

Photos

✓Do: Ask before photographing people; follow no-photo signs

✕Don’t: Chasing geiko in Gion; photographing strangers on trains

Drones

Drones of 100 g or more must be registered; flying over crowds, cities (DID areas), near airports or above 150 m needs a permit; many parks ban them.

Risk: Fines and arrest; confiscation.

Gion· Kyoto

Do not follow, block or photograph maiko and geiko; signed private lanes carry fines.

Escalators

✓Do: Stand on the side locals use — left in Tokyo, right in Osaka; stations now ask people to stand still on both

✕Don’t: Stopping at the top or bottom

Rubbish

✓Do: Carry it until you find sorted bins (konbini, stations)

✕Don’t: Leaving it next to a full bin or vending machine

Saying no

✓Do: Read hesitation or 'that is a little difficult' as no

✕Don’t: Pushing for a direct answer

Carrying your passport

Foreign visitors must carry the passport itself, not a copy.

Risk: Police checks happen; failing to show it can mean a fine and a trip to the station.

Medicines and stimulants

Pseudoephedrine (Sudafed-type) and some inhalers are banned; codeine and ADHD medicines are restricted.

Risk: Confiscation, detention and deportation even for pharmacy products from home.

Cannabis and CBD

Cannabis is illegal; CBD products must be THC-free under limits tightened in Dec 2024.

Risk: Arrest; prison sentences for possession.

Knives

Blades over 6 cm need a legitimate reason to be carried; a pocket knife 'for camping' in a city bag is not one.

Risk: Arrest and confiscation.

Smoking and vaping

No smoking while walking in most city centres; use marked smoking areas. Nicotine liquid is not sold and personal import is limited.

Risk: Spot fines (typically ¥1,000–2,000); liquid seized at customs above the limit.

Quiet on trains; no phone calls.

Escalators· Osaka

Stand on the right and leave the left clear for walkers; it flips back to the left in Kyoto and Tokyo.