Japan is a country with many rules.
If you do not know about them, you could be in trouble with neighbors, friends, etc.
In the worst case, you could be charged or caught by police (or both!).
Here are 4 major things that you should know before visiting/moving to Japan.
Learn about them for yourself and for others to make your stay enjoyable!

1. Know where to park

   There aren’t many (almost none!) free parkings in Japan.
   You could be charged if you park on the road without any permissions or at someone’s premises.
   If you are going to live in Japan and planning to use a car, you should know where is OK to park.
   If you are travelling by car, you will need to find a coin-operated parking (usually located near a train station)
   It costs around 300 yen for an hour of use.

   

2. Follow the rules when throwing away trash

   We recycle trash and you need to separate garbage into categories when you throw away.
   You might find it hard to find a garbage can outside other than at convenience stores or stations (there aren’t many places to throw away trash outside to keep the road clean and tidy).
   This might confuse you if you are traveling in Japan for the first time.
   If you are going to live in Japan, you will have to follow the local rule when taking out the trash as the way to separate trash is slightly different depending on the area (Usually the city office gives you a guidebook after giving you the resident card).
   When you throw away household garbage, you have to check the garbage calendar to know what kind of trash is picked up on the day. Then you have to put it in a specific garbage bag and take it to the designated area.

   

3. Keep it quiet on public transport

   You have to refrain from talking on the phone while using public transport.
   Keeping privacy is very important in Japan, and you have to think of others (not to disturb them) in public.
   People keep themselves to themselves and don’t usually get involved in other people’s business.
   It is an etiquette to keep things clean and quiet so that other people around you can be comfortable.
   I think this custom is quite different from western countries where people enjoy interacting with strangers.

   

4. Take some cash with you

   If you are planning to visit country side, you should take some cash with you.
   Japan is a very safe country and there isn’t much crime of stealing money.
   So in some places, especially in country side, people still use cash a lot and some stores don’t have card readers.
   It you go to an area where there’s no convenience store, you will have hard time finding an ATM ,so you should get some cash before traveling.
   *Btw, you don’t need to pay any tip at anywhere in Japan, so you don’t need to worry about carrying cash for that.

   

Above 4 things are major rules that anyone coming to Japan should know.
You might think that following rules can be stressful sometimes, but it is very important to keep things organized and be respectful to others in Japan.
If you are polite and respectful, people will like you and it will get much easier to make friends/settle.
Enjoy your stay in Japan!

This is me writing music at home.
Another recording session in Tokyo is coming soon!

You can listen to my music here:
Skyhigh
Soundtracks

Have a nice day!
Taka

*Need more info about Japan?
Give me a comment here or send me a message to
[email protected]otaka.jp