JAPANESE MANNERS AND ETIQUETTE

Here's a word about good manners while living in Japan. Up to now, unless you've been living in a cave, you must have heard about taking off your shoes before entering a residence and not getting into a bath while still soapy, since others have already talked these issues to death. But there are a lot more items you may not know. Japanese are very conscious about hygiene (except for the park and train station toilets, which are LETHAL), and Japanese are a very sensitive people -- more fastidious about etiquette and proper form. Many Japanese already have a negative image of westerners after observing how some have acted in Japan--hence the reputation of some landlords and real-estate agents not to rent their apartments. Whether you help dispel their preconceptions, or just reinforce them by acting like you belong in a zoo is entirely up to you.

Whether you are in Japan for tourism, travel, or living, your actions have a profound impact on how others perceive you, particularly important if you're looking for work. As anywhere, many social customs are done away with when in the company of family and close friends, but for coworkers and more formal situtations, it can help a lot to remember these.



Here then are a few do's and don'ts you should know --

