Customs/Manners

Chopsticks (Hashi) How to Worship Onsen Toilet

Mobile phone manners Priority Seats Women-only Cars Smoking

Chopsticks (Hashi)

To eat Japanese food, chopsticks are mainly used. It is the most common practice in table manners in Japan to use chopsticks correctly. When you are not using chopsticks or when you are finished with you meals, you place your chopsticks between yourself and the dishes. You also have to be careful never to stick your chopsticks into the rice like a spear or to grasp one food with two sets of chopsticks. This is only done at funeral ritual.

How to Worship

at Shinto Shrines

Tidy up yourself before you go through a torii gate and enter the sanctuary of the shrine. Walk on either side of the pathway since its center should be saved for a deity. At the temizusha, or roofed water basin, worshippers are expected to rinse their hands and mouth to purify themselves before they proceed to the front of the enshrined deity. To worship, first slightly bow, ring the bells, and place an offering in the offering box. Follow the standard manner, "bow twice, clap hands twice, and bow once." Slightly bow again before you leave the deity.

at Buddhist Temples

After entering a sanmon gate, bow towards the honden (main hall) of the temple where the deity is enshrined. Rinse your hands and month to purify yourself at the temizusha, or roofed water basin, if it is available. You may ring the bell if it is permitted. At the front of the honden, place an offering in the offering box and quietly put your hands together to pray. Unlike worshipping at Shinto shrines, clapping is inappropriate at Buddhist temples. Slightly bow before you leave the offering box. Bow towards the honden before you exit the sanmon gate.

Onsen

In Japan, we have a culture of taking bath in a bathhouse together. You must not wear swimsuits to enjoy soaking in a public bath. Also, some public baths do not allow people with tattoos to enter the bathhouse. Furthermore, please note that drinking a lot of alcohol before taking bath may lead to physical sickness. Let’s learn correct etiquette before you enjoy soaking in a public bath.

• How to Enjoy an Onsen

Toilet

In Japan, there are two types of toilets, Japanese style and western style. To use a Japanese style toilet, you squat over the toilet facing the hemispherical hood. The latest Western style toilets are provided with such functions as washing, drying and automatic lid opening and closing. Please flush the toilet with handle, lever or button, when you are done. Public toilets may not be provided with toilet paper. It is recommended to always carry pocket tissues with you. Some toilets have tissue vending machines installed at the entrance. At Japanese-style hotels, slippers are provided in toilets. When you enter the toilet room, you wear the slippers to use the toilet. Please remember to take off those slippers when you get out of the toilet room.

Mobile phone manners

Since electronics devices can be affected by the use of mobile phone at public places, including hospitals, theaters, museums, or inside planes, you should power off your mobile phone. When you use your phone in public, you need to be considerate of other people. Especially, the use of it is very dangerous while you are riding a bicycle. Also, set your phone to a silent mode whenever you ride public transport like train, subway, and bus. Be sure to turn off your mobile phone near priority seats so that it may not adversely affect pacemaker used by people with heart problems. For more details, see the rules set by each transportation company.

Priority Seats

Priority seats, which are found on the public transportation such as trains and buses, are designated for elders and physically-challenged passengers. They are often called yusen zaseki or "silver seat." Priority seats are also intended for passengers who may need a seat, including those who are sick, injured, pregnant, or are traveling with infants and toddlers.

Women-only Cars

Women-only cars, or josei sen-yo sharyo in Japanese, are designated exclusively for female passengers on trains including JR and other private lines for the purpose of protecting them from obscene acts. Women-only cars are mostly found at the first or the last car of the trains during the morning and evening rush hour periods, although their schedule and location may vary by company. Except for designated hours, male passengers may ride on these cars as usual.

Tokyo outline Customs/Manners Climate Communication Money