{"id":2679,"date":"2020-03-23T22:32:35","date_gmt":"2020-03-23T13:32:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vhbloglive.wpengine.com\/?p=2679"},"modified":"2020-04-06T17:19:01","modified_gmt":"2020-04-06T08:19:01","slug":"10-manners-you-need-to-learn-in-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/japanese-apartment-life\/10-manners-you-need-to-learn-in-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Manners you Need to Learn in Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Going to a new country can lead to a\nlot of misunderstandings. Different things can get different reactions when\ndone in Japan. There are quite a few things that can lead to unpleasant\nsituations. It is good to look at what is socially acceptable in the new\ncountry you will be going to. It takes a little bit of time, but it will\nimpress the locals when you show you have knowledge of their culture. You don’t\nhave to be perfect, you just must try.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1. No Shoes in the House<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In Japan, there is a very strict rule\nof no shoes from the outside are allowed past the genkan. You take your shoes\noff at the front door and usually store them away in a closet or on a shoe\ntree. This is to keep the inside of the house clean and cut down on the wear\nand tear of the floor. There will be indoor shoes called wabaki that you can\nuse in places like schools. This a rule that you should not break and will be\ninstantly reminded of if you don’t follow it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2. Don’t Eat From the Main Plate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When you eat out with others the food\nwill usually be served on a main dish and everyone will pull from it. The thing\nto do is to grab some food with your chopsticks and put on your plate before\neating. Don’t go from the main dish to your mouth. It is bad manners and will\nget you a lot of sour looks and could make a bad first impression. Just do as\nthe other people are doing at the table and you should be fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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3. Bow Down<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It is tradition to bow when meeting\nnew people or being introduced by other people. Bowing is a cultural norm in\nJapan and is used to show respect to the people you are meeting with. The\nlonger the bow the more respect you are showing. This doesn’t mean to have\nminute long bowing sessions, it means to do a slightly deeper bow. If the\nperson wants to shake hands, then try to only do that. Bowing and shaking at\nthe same time is awkward and can have a weird impact on the introduction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Bathroom Slippers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In a typical Japanese home, the toilet\nand the bath area are separated from each other. The reason being that the\ntoilet area is seen as dirty as they are always hard to keep clean. In most\nbusinesses, there are bathroom slippers at the toilets. If you wear them as you\nshould, make sure to take them off before leaving. It is a big problem if you\nwalk out with them still on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Sort Your Trash<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sorting and putting away your trash\nproperly is a big thing. It is extremely important to learn how to sort and put\naway your trash in the right way. First is sorting, and make sure to sort them\nby burnable, non-burnable, and plastics. Next is to make sure that you put the\ntrash in the proper pick-up areas. Sometimes it will be attached to the\napartment complex, or in an area on the street that is usually indicated by a\ngreen net. Put the correct trash out on the correct days. If you don’t follow\nthe right steps, you can anger your neighbors or others who use it correctly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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6. Don’t Walk and Eat<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Even though this isn’t a harshly\nenforced rule it is seen as bad manners. Most of the older generations will\ngive funny looks, and some may even say something to you. The younger Japanese\ntend to be less concerned with it, and you will see them walking and eating\nfrequently. It is usually best to stop and eat somewhere, like the front of a\nconvenience store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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7. Pointing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Pointing with your finger at people is\ngenerally frowned upon. You will not be corrected or receive any kind of overt\nstare, but it off-putting for some Japanese people when meeting them for the\nfirst time. You will see many Japanese people do this, but it will be with\nclose friends and acquaintances. Just try to be mindful of your situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. Taking a Bath<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In many western countries, the bath is\nseen as the main way to clean your body. The thing in Japan is that the bath is\nseen as a way to relax and relieve stress. You need to shower before getting\ninto the bathtub. Don’t forget this rule as it is strictly followed, and you\nwill be corrected if you don’t follow it correctly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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9. Respect the Business Card<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In Japanese business, a business card\nis seen as an extension of the person that is giving it to you, If you take the\ncard and quickly put it away, it is seen as being disrespectful. You should\ntreat the card with care and try to be as gentle as possible. If you give each\nother your business cards make sure to give and receive cards with both hands\nand bow after both actions. This is very important and shows you have an\nunderstanding of the situation. As for the card, you can put it away when the\nother person isn’t looking. Make sure to put it in a jacket pocket or somewhere\nyou can easily access it. Don’t instantly put it in your wallet where the other\nparty can see you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. Keep Quiet on Trains<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It is seen as bad manners to have a\nloud conversation on trains and buses. Almost everyone has to use public\ntransportation and they want to make the trip as smooth and free of annoyance\nas possible. You will get lots of mean looks from other passengers, and some\npeople may even say something if you are being too loud. Try to keep\nconversations at a low volume. As for cell phones, you need to stay off of your\nphones. You can play games, surf the web, and watch movies if you have\nearphones to listen to them. Having a conversation on the phone is strongly\ndiscouraged. There are signs on every train that says not to have conversations\non your phone while riding. If you must take a call, go to the coupling spot in\nbetween cars, or have a quick quiet chat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you can’t follow every cultural\nrule, you will still be ok. They know that you are not from the country and may\nnot know what you should or shouldn’t do. Try to learn as much as you can\nbefore going to Japan and you can impress the locals. Just try to be sensitive\nto the new area.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Going to a new country can lead to a lot of misunderstandings. Different things can get different reactions when done in Japan. There are quite a few things that can lead to unpleasant situations. It is good to look at what is socially acceptable in the new country you will be going to. It takes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2677,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-japanese-apartment-life"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2679\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}