Etiquette, power plugs and money

⚡ Power plugs and charging

• Fine to plug in — phone chargers, laptops, tablets, cameras, power banks, electric shavers
• Watch out for — hair dryers, straighteners, kettles and small rice cookers rated 220V only: they will run weak or break (nearly every Japanese hotel provides a dryer, so leave yours at home)
• Three-pin earthed plugs won’t fit Japanese sockets — bring an adapter or a slim extension lead
• Japanese hotels have few sockets business hotels and capsules especially — a multi-port USB charger helps a lot
• Power banks must go in your carry-on only never in checked luggage, and many airlines ban using or charging them in flight

💴 Money — how much to bring, where to change it

How much do you still need cash?

Japan has become far more card-friendly in recent years, but plenty of places are stillcash only so plan for it

Change money at home or in Japan?

• Rates at home are usually better especially at exchange shops in competitive areas. Compare rates online before you walk in.
• Avoid airport exchange counters if you can — their rates are usually the worst in either country
• Foreign debit/credit cards are convenient but carry a currency conversion fee of roughly 1–2.5% per transaction — a card designed for travel costs less.
• When the card machine asks whether to charge in your home currency or yen, always choose yen. Letting the shop convert for you (DCC) gives a worse rate almost every time.
• No tipping in restaurants, taxis or hotels — in some places it’s even considered rude

To see what this trip really costs, try the trip budget calculator which pulls live exchange rates every time

IC cards — get one on day one

• Suica / ICOCA / PASMO They work across almost all regions: buy one card and use it nationwide
• Use them on trains, buses, at convenience stores, vending machines and lockers — tap to pay, no counting coins
• Add Suica to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet and top up from your phone, no queueing at a machine
• ¥1, ¥5 and ¥10 coins pile up fast if you pay cash — an IC card largely solves that

🎌 Etiquette visitors get wrong most

On trains and in public

• No phone calls on trains Set it to silent (manner mode) and take calls only on the platform or off the train
• Keep your voice down — packed carriages are often quiet enough to hear people breathe
• Queue along the lines marked on the floor, and let everyone off before you board
• Take a big backpack off and hold it in front, or put it on the overhead rack
• Leave priority seats free, and on some trains you’re asked to switch phones off nearby
• Escalators — stand on the left in Tokyo, on the right in Osaka (though many stations now ask people to stand on both sides and not walk)

Rubbish

• Bins are very hard to find carry a small bag for your rubbish until you find a bin or get back to the hotel
• Where bins usually are: outside convenience stores, beside vending machines, in stations and food courts
• Japan sorts rubbish carefully — burnable / plastic bottles / cans / glass. Check the pictures on the bin first.
• Don’t eat or drink while walking buy from a vending machine, drink it standing there, and bin the empty beside the machine

Restaurants

• Wait to be seated; don’t pick your own table
• Never stand chopsticks upright in rice and never pass food chopstick to chopstick — both are funeral rites
• Slurping noodles in a ramen or soba shop is fine, but chewing noisily is not
• The hot towel (oshibori) is for your hands only — not your face or the table
• Many bars charge aseating fee (otoshi) with a small appetiser you didn’t order — that’s normal, not a scam
• Many small placesdon’t allow sharing one dish and some ban photos — check the sign out front

Onsen and accommodation

• Always wash and rinse thoroughly before getting in — the bath is for soaking, not for cleaning yourself
• Get in with no clothes, and keep your towel out of the water (fold it on your head or the rim)
• Tie long hair up out of the water
• Tattoos — many places still bar them, but some are tattoo friendly and private baths (kashikiri) can be booked. Check before you go.
• Take your shoes off where the floor level changes or you see tatami, and never step on tatami in bathroom slippers

Other things to know

• Smoke only in designated areas many wards fine street smoking — look for a smoking area sign
• Ask before photographing people, especially children and staff. Many shops and temples clearly ban photos.
• People queue seriously everywhere — lifts, toilets, buses
• Japan has frequent earthquakes — turn on emergency alerts on your phone and check the live cameras and disaster status before you head out each day

Frequently asked questions

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Check the latest information 17 Aug 2026 · Customs vary by region and by venue. This page covers what visitors run into most often. If you’re unsure, watch what people around you do and follow.