To those considering moving to Japan, let me be honest with you.
Recently, Kyoto residents put up a sign in Gion: “No tourists allowed. Fine: ¥10,000.”
It wasn’t the first. Geisha chased through narrow streets, private homes entered without permission, trash left at sacred sites.
The quiet streets we’ve protected for centuries are losing their silence, one corner at a time.
If you cannot respect personal space, please don’t come.
If you cannot ask before entering, please don’t come.
If you cannot carry your trash home, please don’t come.
This is a sincere request from us.
If you come to Japan, you will be unhappy, and so will we.
More discoveries
Japanese Manners
Nobody owns the umbrella stand by the door.
Japanese Manners
A grandmother was alive on Tuesday.
Japanese Manners
A man I had never met seized my hand, crushed it once with great warmth, looked into my eyes, and in
Japanese Manners
Look at the real builders of Japan.
Japanese Manners
Last year in Tokyo, people found about $30 million in cash on the street — and happily carried it st…
Japanese Manners
Here’s one of the quiet little joys of life in Japan.