Japan etiquette for visitors: tipping, shoes, trains, trash

You do not need to learn a rulebook to be a polite visitor in Japan. Most of what you will meet is custom, not law: you do not tip, you take your shoes off where there is a step up at the entrance, you keep your phone silent on trains, and you carry your trash with you. A few local rules are written into prefectural or city ordinances, such as standing still on escalators in Saitama and smoking only in designated areas. You also do not need to bow perfectly.^[1]

Key facts

• Tipping: not needed. JNTO says hotels follow international practice except for tipping.^[1]
• Shoes: off at the entrance of homes, ryokan and tatami rooms; slippers off on the tatami.^[1]
• Trains: phone on silent, no calls, and line up on the platform.^[2],[1]
• Trash: public bins are scarce, so bring a bag and take your trash with you.^[7]
• Smoking: only in designated areas; smoking while walking is prohibited and may be fined.^[1]

Before you go out

• A small bag for your own trash
• Phone set to silent mode
• Shoes that are easy to slip off and on, and socks you do not mind showing
• An IC card or some coins, so paying on trains and at small shops is quick

What do I do, step by step, through a typical day?

The steps below follow the order in which you usually meet each situation on a day out.

1. At a hotel, restaurant or taxi: do not tip

   JNTO says there is no need to tip in Japanese hotels, which otherwise follow the practices you know from elsewhere.^[1] Pay the amount on the bill. Traditional inns follow their own code of conduct; the ryokan guide covers what to expect there.

2. At an entrance with a step up: shoes off

   JNTO describes the routine: take your shoes off in the entrance area inside the door, put on the slippers provided, and place your shoes neatly to the side or in the shoe box. Take the slippers off before you step onto tatami mats, and use the separate restroom slippers if there are some.^[1]

3. On the platform and the train: line up, stay quiet

   JR West asks you to form a line while waiting and to board in order, and JNTO adds that you stand to the side of the door so people can get off first.^[2],[1] On board, set your phone to silent mode and do not make or take calls.^[2],[1]

4. On escalators: stand still

   Saitama Prefecture has made standing still on escalators a legal duty for users, and escalator managers there must remind users of it.^[3]

5. Street food: eat where you bought it

   Kamakura City lists eating while walking in narrow or crowded places as a nuisance, because food can soil other people’s clothes. The city says this is not a ban.^[4] Eat at the stall or step aside to a bench.

6. Trash: carry it with you

   Visitors find few public trash bins. In the Japan Tourism Agency’s FY2025 visitor survey, too few trash bins was still the most reported difficulty, at 17.2%.^[5] That is down from 30.1% in the FY2023 survey.^[6] Kyoto City asks you to carry your own trash bag and to buy take-out where the shop has its own bins.^[7]

7. Smoking: designated areas only

   JNTO states that smoking while walking or dropping cigarette butts is prohibited and may incur a fine.^[1] In Kyoto, smoking is banned outside designated areas on all city streets, and smoking in a designated non-smoking area is fined ¥1,000.^[7]

8. At a shrine: purify, then bow twice, clap twice, bow once

   Jinja Honcho, the Association of Shinto Shrines, gives the standard form. At the purification font, use the ladle to rinse your left hand, your right hand and your mouth; do not touch the ladle to your mouth. At the front of the hall, put coins in the offering box if you wish, ring the bell, bow deeply twice, clap twice and bow deeply once.^[8]

9. In Gion and at temples: follow the photo signs

   Kyoto City’s travel guide lists where you cannot take photos: much of Gion, some sections of shrines and temples, and some restaurants.^[7] Do not stop, touch, follow or photograph geiko and maiko without permission.^[7]

Which of these are laws, and which are customs?

Road rules are a different matter: they are law, and driving in Japan covers them.

If you want to watch geiko perform on a booked stage instead, the Kanazawa geiko performance guide compares the scheduled shows and how to book them.

For bathing, see onsen etiquette and tattoos.

Frequently asked questions

Should I leave a tip at a restaurant or for a tour guide?

JNTO’s guidance is that there is no need to tip in hotels.^[1]

Do I need to bow?

Not formally. JNTO says a courteous nod or bow when greeting someone or entering and leaving a shop is enough.^[1]

Can I talk on the phone on the train?

No. JR West asks passengers not to make or take calls on board and to keep phones on silent.^[2],[1]