If you’re new here. and I’ve been living in Japan for five years. Now, and I made a video before talking about, like, unspoken rules, advice, tips for traveling to Japan. They’re less common. You might not have heard them as much. You probably heard some of them before.
But OK, look, work with me. So this is the follow up to that. We’re going to go over 16 more tips, advice, things I want you to know before you travel to Japan. Go watch my other video after you finish this one. And I’m trying to be unique. I’m trying my best. OK, number one. Number culture. But you didn’t see that coming.
So maybe there’s an image of Japan abroad that it’s like very calm. Everyone’s very well mannered and in relationships, it’s very quiet, contained whatever I am sure. But there is this thing called number, which is basically like hitting on people. It can be incredibly annoying depending on where you are. This is aimed at my fellow women. Most places, no men are not going to try to talk to you, to hit on you or whatever.
Most times if people approach you, it’s very well intentioned, but there’s some places especially in Tokyo and Osaka, basically like the more nightlife areas or where there’s a lot of young people like Shinjuku, Shibuya, there’s going to be men and they’re just going to be like walking around, standing around the same place, and they’re going to go to every frickin woman they see alone and they’re going to hit on them.
Don’t be fooled. I’m warning you don’t be fooled by these men. They are not genuinely interested in you. So this is just a warning that it exists. Be careful they’re not going to do anything to you. Probably is just is very annoying. Next, totally different hotels have pajamas here. So like they’re included in the room usually. But basically at every hotel I’ve ever stayed at in Japan, I think, however, usually they are one size fits all and that is unisex.
So you might not fit, man. If you are tall, then maybe. No, it really depends. Sometimes they look like just like the ugliest, like old man pajamas, like, thank like Scrooge. What would he wear? That’s what they’re offering you, like a long dress. But other times it can be like a top and then shorts. Some hotels do offer different like, sizes, but I wouldn’t go into it expecting that unless they list it.
But if you are on the smaller side or average in Japan side, good news. You might not have to pack pajamas. I usually don’t very good. Very happy about that. Saves luggage space. So check out your hotel reservation and see if your hotel it comes with pajamas. Probably does next Apple Pay. So I talked about before, but cash flows is a lot more and now here in Japan, except a lot more places.
But one thing I often see tourists do and I do Apple Pay is not Apple Pay in Japan. Some places will listed as Apple Pay, but a lot of people are only going to know it as quick pay Q You I see pay. So if you ask a store if they accept Apple Pay, they might not know it.
So try saying quick pay next. Doing things alone is fine. It’s normal solo travelers. Rejoice. You’re not going to be stared at. It’s very normal. I do most things alone. I eat out alone. I go to the movies alone, I go to karaoke. Alone, anything. It’s very normal. And in general, things in Japan are designed for smaller group sizes.
Family size here is quite small, usually just one or two kids. If any in a lot of restaurants just cannot accommodate parties larger than four people like they just won’t accept you. So do be careful of this if you are traveling in a larger group, either put yourself down as two parties or go to two different restaurants, et cetera.
You’re probably not going to be able to sit like eight people at a restaurant unless you deserve an advance. It’s just how things are. And also, restaurants here are very small in Tokyo at least. Or they can be really small, like think like eight people or less in a restaurant. Sometimes that’s not normal, but sometimes. So just be careful.
Next J walk in limitation. I don’t want to say like it’s not allowed here because OK, it’s not allowed. No, jaywalking is a common like Japan rule or whatever online, but let’s be real people do it. I would just say be careful. Don’t always do it. See what the people around you are doing. If it’s 2 a.m. and you’re trying to cross like a two lane street and there’s zero cars, use your judgment.
OK, I’m not encouraging illegal activity but just just follow what people around you are doing next. You can not watch the same shows on like Netflix that you do back home and things like country roll they’re just totally blocked here. You cannot access them. And yes, Japan does have Netflix, but a lot of shows and anime on there.
They don’t have English subtitles, even if they have them back in America. So how are you supposed to relax and watch episode 976 of one piece? After a long day of walking in Tokyo, that’s where today’s sponsored Nord VPN comes in and I have a code for you guys at nor VPN dot com slash Alison in Tokyo where you can get extra subscription time and by the way, this is actually a very honest recommendation.
I have been using Nord VPN for years before they reached out to me. So it is a Japan necessity. So nor VPN is a must for travelers because it lets you seamlessly access all the sites you can at home while abroad. And you really don’t realize how many sites are geo blocked until it happens. And you can also enjoy a much wider range of content than you can just in your home country.
For example, did you know that all of the JetBlue movies are on Netflix? In some countries, Nord VPN will also really impact how you use the Internet just in your daily life, and it lets you browse safely by protecting your online data with top tier encryption and threat protection that blocks malware trackers and ABS they also have amazing additional features like Nord Pass, a secure password manager, and Nord Locker, which keeps all your files protected in a private cloud.
So try it out for yourself risk free with my link. Nord VPN dot com slash Alison in Tokyo and get extra subscription time and a 30 day money back guarantee. I’m serious. It’s good you guys. It’s good was when I watch The Hunger Games. You’re next. Take off your shoes in dressing rooms. Is it all dressing rooms? No.
Like H&M, I think usually you don’t, for example. But most of them. Yes. You do need to remove your shoes. Please wear shoes in Japan that you can easily remove and put on. Ah, you’re going to regret it. Always ask if you’re trying something on when you get to the fitting room. Ask, Do I need take my shoes off?
Then I’ll tell you, they probably will. And just look, if you see like a step up into the dressing room, I means you take your shoes off and also if it’s like changes material, like from tile to carpet, take your shoes off. There are women only train cars kind of. So usually women only train cars will be limited to just like rush hour times in the morning.
Some of them run all day, some of them do rush hour in the morning and evening just depends. It will clearly market. There will be pink, there will be like lady icons or whatever. Don’t be like that guy on take talk. Don’t be like him. It’s rude. Women don’t want men in the car. And many people find this weird and they ask, is sexual assault like really that prevalent that they need this or like, why do they need this?
Is it like, yes, Japan is safe? Yes. But unfortunately, women being molested on public transportation is worse. It’s common, but it’s quite maybe more common than is in the US even. And that is why these train cars exist. There is a reason. OK, next for photos and videos. I said at last video that there’s a lot of like, no photo zones kind of in Japan.
But I also want to make an additional point. Be careful about directly kind of get in someone’s face like like this, like directly on their face. Be careful about it on camera. Like, yeah, I filmed vlogs but I never like go zoom in on someone’s face, you know, to make them the focal point. That’s for a reason. Japanese people in general are very much into not showing their faces online, and they require permission for a lot of these things, like at work, at school, anywhere.
Now, I’m not saying you can’t take photos of crowds but just be careful about like you see some old guy on the street and coming this way and you take his photo, he might get mad at you for a good reason. Don’t do it without permission. Next, covering up tattoos. A lot of people ask me about tattoos in Japan.
No, you don’t need to cover up your tattoos when you’re just like walking on the street or just doing like general tourist things and actually it’s becoming a lot more trendy in Tokyo, especially recently among young people. So I think we’re we’re getting on the we’re on the path to maybe in ten, 20 years these tattoo rules don’t exist.
Maybe, but for now, they do. So you do need to cover up your tattoos in certain places, namely like the gym, a beach, a pool, or a hot spring. And they do sell like little like bandages that you can use to like cover up smaller tattoos. If it’s something you can’t cover with clothes or your swimsuit or whatever or if you’re naked that but like say you have larger tattoos or you can’t cover them up, then you’re going to have to book a private hot spring or honestly, you’re just not going to be allowed to go into some pools and hot springs, et cetera, period.
That’s just how it is. There’s going to be something you can go into, I promise, but you are going to have to be more careful about it. And if you’re wondering why these rules are in place, basically it’s because tattoos are strongly associated with like the Yakuza or like the Japanese Mafia kind of image. But as I said, I think it’s changing.
So just let’s give it a little more time next. I mentioned before that many restaurants are not going to alter their menu for you. Like, for example, if you ask like for no tomatoes on a sandwich or something, they might say no. I think it’s changing slowly as well and you will find places that will do it. But for people who have allergies, most restaurants are actually going to be more flexible on this policy.
If you state it’s because it’s an allergy or if you ask like if this pasta contains shrimp or something because you’re allergic to shrimp, they will take you very seriously usually and try to help accommodate you to eat at least something you do not despair all right. Now, we got a bunch of rules about slippers. My favorite, Alison, how many rules could there be about slippers?
A lot. A lot of rules about slippers. So you probably know, take your shoes off indoors, but it’s so much more complicated than you guys. First, if you check into like a Japanese in a dual con or something, not always, but often you will be asked to remove your shoes or they’re not going to ask you. They’re just going to assume you know what to do sometimes look for this.
And I mean, at the entrance of the lobby, not your room. The lobby, many people don’t even think about it. You wonder, why would you think about it? I know. But trust me, if you try to walk in the no shoe area with your shoes, the staff will be very panicked. They’re going to be slippers for you to use.
Put those on. They’ll tell you what to do with your shoes. It’s either going to be a locker or you carry them to your room. Sometimes these slippers are going to be way too small for you. But just. Just wear the slippers. Don’t go barefoot or sock footed. Wear the slippers. There’s also toilet slippers. Do not wear the toilet slippers outside of the bathroom.
I’ve done this before. I think everyone has done it. At some point, it just happens. So this is going to mainly be at people’s homes, Japanese inns, and just in general more Japanese style places. You’re not going to have to do this like a normal restaurant. But yeah, there’s going to be like toilet slippers in the bathroom sometimes.
And even if you’re already wearing different slippers, no, you put on the toilet slippers and then remember to take them off when you leave and change back into your other slippers. Or whatever. If I’ve made this mistake and it is it is embarrassing. Max, take off the slippers on to Tommy Matt in general, there are some exceptions but in general, Tommy is a no slippers own, no shoe zone, nothing.
Just your bare feet or socks. Do you remember this? Especially if you’re going on like a tour of a temple or something? Or you’re staying at a hotel that has to Tommy in the room or whatever to Tommy is much more delicate than normal flooring. And you need to respect that. To Tommy, it’s expensive. Lastly, slippery and shoe placement.
Don’t just leave your shoes randomly in a mess in the entranceway. Japanese people basically learn from birth who always organize with slippers and shoes around the entrance, and they will master it by kindergarten. And you’re going to look like a little baby. So don’t just kick off your shoes and not even look back at them. You need to like turn around and bend down, turn the slippers so that they are neat, they are organized, and you can quickly put them back on when you leave.
Do the same for the slippers. It’s just like an etiquette thing. People are not going to get mad at you if you don’t do this or anything. I mean, but it’s it’s very nice and it will show that you respect
