Japan Facts: Acceptable behaviors
1.) Lift your plate
It's okay to lift small plates and bowls when eating. It's also ok to sip Japanese soups directly from the bowl.
2.) Yelling
Staff at restaurants tend to yell. The louder the better. For example, when you enter a restaurant they'll likely yell irasshaimase!!.
It's okay to yell back at the waiters. When you want something – yell sumimasen!! You'll find this incredibly convenient. Far easier than trying to get eye contact.
3.) Eat sushi with your hands
Having trouble with your chopsticks? It's perfectly acceptable to eat temaki, maki and nigiri sushi with your hands (although it looks a little masculine and most people do use chopsticks).
4.) Drinking at the beach
Your allowed to drink in public in Japan. This one isn't too surprising since most countries allow this (notable exceptions being the United States and Canada). In Japan, it's easy to drink in public — Japan has beer vending machines.
Japan has strict drinking and driving laws. Japanese people don't drive much — take the train if you think you'll be drinking.
5.) Slurping
It's perfectly acceptable to loudly slurp your Japanese noodles such as ramen, soba and udon. The louder the better — nobody will be offended.
6.) Pushing on trains
Tokyo trains are too crowded to apologize each time you need to gently push to get on or off the train. It's only practical.
7.) Holding doors
In many situations the Japanese are less likely to hold doors for a stranger. There's no culture of men holding doors for women. That doesn't mean that Japanese men lack chivalry. It just means that chivalry isn't associated with opening doors.
8.) Avoiding the question
The Japanese avoid conflict, they don't deliver bad news directly. Criticism is usually softened in Japanese — you need to read between the lines to get it.
In some cases, no is softened to maybe. The Japanese are also prone to flattery. For example, people will tell you that your Japanese language skills are great when your Japanese is completely broken.
People from more direct cultures may take these things at face value (fail to read the air). Afterwards they may feel betrayed or insulted.
This is the source of much cultural-friction. In Japan, it can be considered rude to be direct with people. In some Western cultures, it can be rude not to be direct (straightforward).
That's not to say that Japanese people never speak their mind. They certainly do.
Bizengaust is a Russian-American lady who teaches English in Kyoto Japan and wishes feminists would read a ******* history book before complaining about Game of Thrones.
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