Fifteen examples of Japanese etiquette that will drive you crazy
Have you ever dreamt of visiting Japan
Seriously, who hasn't it is famous for its high speed trains colorful cherry blossoms
and kimonos yummy sushi and incredible etiquette rules
Apparently there is a ceremony and a set of rules for even the most routine things in the Land of the Rising Sun
We've put together some mind-blowing rules of courtesy from Japan breaking them would seriously
Offend your Japanese friends or colleagues from money envelopes to the degrees of bowing make sure not to miss any of these
Number 15 addressing people
To address people by name is not enough in Japan our usual miss and mister last names won't work either
And even the respectful title sean is only the tip of the iceberg there are actually more appropriate suffixes for
addressing or referring to different people
Kun a less formal honorific than the neutral Sun it approximately means friend
Chun a diminutive suffix people mostly use for children female family members lovers and close friends
sama the most respectful version Lord honorable
It was used to refer to Lords and deities nowadays. It's sometimes used to express sarcasm
We love this one because who doesn't love sarcasm
Senpai is for addressing elder colleagues or schoolmates
Kohai is the opposite of senpai?
Sensei this one you probably know it is used for addressing teachers doctors
scientists politicians and other authority figures
she for formal writing
Imagine mixing them up and referring to your Japanese boss with Chung
Drama drama
Exchanging business cards
When was the last time you gave someone am a sheet oh you have never ever okay, may
She is nothing bad or offensive. It is what a business card is called in Japanese
You just hand it out and safe. It was a pleasure meeting you right not in Japan
Exchanging business cards is a whole ritual. Here's what you need to do
Make sure your cards front side is facing your counterpart offer it with both hands
If your rank is lower than your partner's
Hold the card lower than they do if you were given a business card put it on a card holder and take a few seconds
To look at it. Don't forget to bow if you haven't got a card holder. It's a disaster
It's a far cry from what we have just putting business cards in our pocket
Giving praise
Imagine you are working at or with the Japanese company one of your colleagues has done something outstanding
His or her ideas just helped the company make
Millions or maybe he or she worked day and night to finish that important project and meet the deadline
Would you say they did great in front of everyone else click like if so?
Well you could do that but the person you described as a bright mind and a very loyal professional would feel embarrassed
The Japanese believe that you can easily break a single arrow
But not ten in a bundle in other words group solidarity is much more important than
Individual success to them so if you want to give praise to someone say their team did a great job
Number 12 punctuality
Timekeeping means so much to the Japanese they are surrounded by clocks
every Park store and even many of the
Billboards have clocks in them when a train is one minute late the railway company will make an announcement with their sincere
Apologies the driver of a bullet high-speed train is not expected to stay more than fifteen seconds off schedule
So don't be surprised if you have a meeting a real or an online one scheduled with your Japanese colleagues
And they start messaging you asking if everything is all right with you when you are one minute late
Imagine what it torture it must be for a Japanese person in let's say Italy where life is more
Relaxed and a few minutes could mean a couple of hours
In an elevator
It turns out that even here there are informal
but clear rules if you are the first to enter an empty elevator you become the
Elevator captain and you should stand close to the control panel you'll need to hold the door open until everyone has entered the elevator
Repeat so for each floor at which the elevator stops
You must also be the last to leave and you need to do everything very quickly if you are a tourist in Japan try not
To be the first to enter an elevator unless you really want to be the captain the position is not paid though
And you don't even get a cool captain's hat
Number ten Subway's
On the subway there are some restrictive rules the Japanese are expected to follow
Talking is not allowed on the phone as well, and it's impolite to stare at others
It's not customary to give up your seat for old people even if they can barely stand
There are special seats marked with the sign for them as well as for disabled people and pregnant woman
You can't take those seats if you don't belong to those categories
Touching in
Japan it's rude to look people in the eyes let alone touch them
This country is not very large so every Japanese person respects the personal space of others if you visit Japan
Don't touch people
Kissing in public will also give you quite a few angry looks before
1945 it even was considered a violation of public order
Number 8 keeping it clean
The Japanese are obsessed with punctuality and cleanliness
taxi drivers wear white gloves
Face masks protect people from germs there are mouthwash fountains in public places to keep your breath fresh
There are moist towels at every restaurant to keep your hands clean without touching any taps if you visit a Japanese home
Prepare to take your shoes off before you enter you will get slippers instead
Don't be surprised to get an extra pair of slippers to put on before you go to the bathroom
You will take them off again as you come back to your seat
And if you see a tatami which is kind of like a mat remember there are no slippers for it at all
You can only step on it with your socks or with bare feet
Seven eating outside
There are lots of fun foods
You will definitely want to try in Japan from bento boxes which can come in a super fancy design
- ramen and whatnot at the Atty stalls
One thing to remember here is that you can't bring your own food or drinks to the stall which makes sense?
And you can't occupy your table for too long as there are other people waiting the same rule works in parks and public spaces
Yes, it is considered bad manners to sit in one place slowly enjoying your meal or life in general
There is a good chance others want your spot on a busy day
More than that there are some public open spaces where eating and drinking is forbidden altogether
Eating while walking is also not a thing
Because Akai Ichi dosa which means one thing at a time
If you still want to try to eat while walking be prepared to carry your trash around before you find a trash can
this is a rather difficult task in Japan a lot of tourists fail at it and just litter all over the place which is a
no-no for the Japanese
understandable, right
Alcoholic drinks
When the Japanese drink the social hierarchy
Totally breaks down and they drink really heavily a local professor can drink with his students
and they will then drag him home an
exemplary clerk who vows to his business partner during the day can get drunk at a
Karaoke bar and vomit on his suit, and this is normal
Interestingly enough when they also burr up they will behave just as if nothing happened
In Japan what happens in a boozy session stays in a boozy session?
One four five money
The Japanese have a strange attitude toward money for some reason. They are embarrassed to show it in public
Therefore money envelopes decorated in a traditional manner are very popular here, and if you haven't got such an envelope
you'll have to wrap the money in a piece of paper before giving it to anyone of course don't need to do so at
Supermarkets, but you still have to consider this rule
You can't hand your money to the cashier
Only put it in the cash tray and it's all for the sake of the protection of personal space
The art of sitting properly
To sit by folding one's legs underneath one size is called size' and the Japanese sit on the floor only in this way
They feel comfortable sitting sizes style as if in an armchair
But if you are not accustomed to it your feet become numb within a couple of minutes
If you are a tourist or a senior and spread out your legs will certainly get away with it and no one will say anything
But it would be unimaginably
Inappropriate for a Japanese person to sit this way
Number three gifts
in
Japan the culture of giving gifts is very strong and there are two special gift-giving seasons each year o
coogan and summer and all ceiba and winter in
Many countries it is customary to open a gift at once in Japan to sign up greed and impatience
besides what if the gift giver is embarrassed about their modest gift and
Notices a shade of discontent coming over your face like a wind and the reeds by the way
Do you think flowers are a good gift click like itself?
You have to be very careful if you want to give someone flowers in Japan
lilies lotus blossoms camellias and any white flowers in general are reserved for funerals
Potted plants will not be appreciated because of superstitions
Anything in a set of four is believed to bring bad luck and number nine is considered unlucky as well
So many things to remember not to embarrass yourself
Number two bowing
The art of bowing is so important in this country that children learn it at an early age imagine
This there are many different ways to bow in Japan standing sitting and female and male variants here are some of them
The greeting valve at Shaku of 15 degrees is for people of equal business or social ring
The respectful bow ka of 30 degrees is about for a teacher or a boss
The deeply reverent found site Caray a forty-five degrees should be used if you apologize or see the Emperor
The begging for your life bow is probably only used nowadays. If you have done something really terrible
Of course foreigners are not expected to bow but the Japanese will be pleased if you return a bow
Number one taking leave in
Japan a customer or business partner is almost a god and is treated with incredible respect
When they leave the whole company follows them to the door or elevator and keeps bowing until the doors are closed
It's very inconvenient if this happens in a business center with several such delegations crowding at elevators at the same time
Besides foreign customers can be embarrassed the Japanese of the new generation believe that this is a little bit too much and often
Ignore this ritual who knows what's going to happen to the traditional Japanese etiquette in the coming centuries?
Which of these etiquette rules sound like the craziest to you or maybe there are some you wouldn't mind following yourself
Share your thoughts in the comment section
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