tipping in Japan

If you are staying in an extremely high class Ryokan (a traditional Japanese Inn) the tipping etiquette is to leave a small tip in an envelope and never to give the tip directly. Otherwise hotel staff in Japan will not expect you to tip and if you do decide to tip it may be refused. You should expect this tipping etiquette to hold true even if you are staying at an extremely high-end hotel. Often hotel staff in Japan are trained to say "no thank you" if they are offered a tip.

Waiters and waitresses in restaurants in Japan will not expect you to tip. Like most services in Japan the view is: you are paying for a good service, why pay extra? So much so it's not uncommon to hear stories of staff chasing down patrons to hand back change that was left as a tip.

Food in Japan

There are many must-try foods in Japan, including the obvious sushi. However there are many more delicious dishes:

• Curry Rice
• Yakitori (meat skewers)
• Onigiri (stuffed rice balls)
• Yakiniku (grilled meat)
• Nabe (soup)
• Okonomiyaki (omelette pancake)

You don’t need to tip at the spa in Japan.

Social Etiquette

• Simply incline your head slightly to greet someone.
• Take off your shoes when entering someone’s house.
• Don’t draw attention to yourself

You don’t need to tip your taxi driver in Japan.

Taking a Taxi in Japan

Public transport is very good in Japan. However, taking a taxi may be necessary is small towns or villages. There is usually a light on the taxi wind-shield. If it’s green, the taxi is occupied. It it’s red, it’s free. If you don’t speak Japanese, bring a map with you, and point to your destination.