"11 Japanese customs that are shocking to foreign travelers" (article and reaction)

This is my response to the article "11 Japanese customs that are shocking to foreign travelers," written by Asta Thrastardottir, posted on February 19, 2015.
To read, click the link below:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/11-japanese-customs-shocking-foreign-175809790.html

During my time in Japan, I've found some of these customs to exist, others to be fading away, and others to remain with us under certain conditions.  I should add that I'm in Tokyo almost all of my time here, so I can only speak to what I experience in this city.

Anyway, below are the "customs" as written in the article (in green text), followed by my own observations and views.  

1. Custom:  The number four is avoided at all cost.
My observations:  No, no.  While it is correct that the number 4 is by superstition a bad luck number, and for the reason that the writer states, buildings generally have a fourth floor, elevators a fourth floor button, and people do things in groups of four all the time.  I was pretty surprised to see this claim at the top of the article.

2. Custom: Blowing your nose in public is considered rude.
My observations: During the 90s, before I came to Japan, I read this too.  Can't recall which Japan guidebook it was, but I came across it.  When I arrived here, I saw nobody leave the room to blow his/her nose.  However, I think it's considered polite to turn away from others when blowing one's nose, especially when in at eatery, such as a ramen counter or kaitenzushi place.  About the handkerchiefs, most of my Japanese friends and colleagues have them, but usually for wiping dry their hands after washing.  I don't see people use handkerchiefs for nose-blowing; instead, people use the excellent packs of free tissues that they receive on the sidewalk; companies wishing to advertise often do so through free tissues in lieu of fliers.

3.  Custom: Tipping can be seen as insulting.
My observations: I don't know if people in customer service feel insulted by tips, but I agree that generally such offers are refused.  And the writer is quite right in saying that workers will run down the tipper in order to return the money.

4. Custom: Walking and eating is seen as sloppy.
My observations: This is one of those things that may be fading, but I don't know for sure.  It took me some time to find out that walking and eating, or even standing on a sidewalk and eating (e.g. a sandwich or onigiri) was considered by some to be rude, since no one ever came out and said so directly.  I found out through some of my older colleagues at school who took offense at seeing others commit this act of open consumption.  The Japanese term they used was gyougi warui or, more properly, gyougi ga warui.

Over the years, I've been seeing more and more Japanese people eat out on the sidewalk or street.  At first I was tempted to call it a generational conflict, as most of the people who did it were younger folk.  However, I've found that some of the people who are strongly against such behavior teach their children to be strongly against it; so some of my teenage students take umbrage probably at least as much as their parents do.

All in all, though, I see the standing/eating and walking/eating  happen more and more, so I'm somewhat inclined to expect that an inevitable change is coming.  I've never seen polls on what percentage of the native population here is for prohibiting it, and what percentage for allowing it (and I would be interested to know, so if anyone has data, please share it), but in terms of raw numbers I think the future is going to see more eating in public places, and without chairs or other kinds of furniture.

 5. Custom: There are designated people who will push you into a crowded subway car. 
My observations:  Yes, true!  I don't see these white-gloved people on every train line, but certainly on the more crowded ones.







6.  Custom:  People will sleep on the trains with their head on your shoulder.
My observations:  Yes, it happens.  It moves and impresses me that Japan is still a safe enough place that people can sleep on the train, and feel safe enough to fall sleep.




7.  Custom:  There are toilet slippers for the bathrooms.
My observations:  Yes, and I like this custom.  If you've ever been in a public men's room and have had to stand in front of  a urinal, you know what that floor is like.




And someone did a parody of it.
 

8.  Custom:  You must always bring a host a gift.
My observations:  I don't know about always, but I think it's a nice thing to do.  If someone didn't, I don't think it'd ruin the evening, but I always bring something.  I see it as being akin to bringing along a bottle of wine or dessert to a dinner party.  The elaborate wrapping part is spot-on in my opinion; expensive brands also do much to impress a segment of the population.

9.  Custom:  Pouring you own glass is considered rude.
My observations:  Well, yeah, I guess. . .I mean, people pour drinks for one another at dinners and nomikai.  If your glass is empty and continues to be that way.  then it reflects kind of badly on the people sitting immediately near you.  So I don't know if pouring one's own drink speaks worse for the pourer or the neglecters.  But yes, the custom is to pour drinks for one another.  When I'm drinking with my Western foreigner friends, it drives a lot of them crazy if I try to pour their drink.  They're like, "No, don't do that.  Don't do that."

10.  Custom:  Slurping noodles is not only seen as polite but also means that you have enjoyed your meal.
My observations:  My understanding is that it's seen as okay to slurp with Asian noodle dishes (ramen, soba, udon) but not with Western dishes (spaghetti).  I've seen some Japanese people enjoy their spaghetti with loud slurps and I never saw anyone complain, but the general consensus seems to be Asian noodles = slurping ok, Western noodles = don't slurp.

11.  Custom:  Sleeping in capsule hotels that aren't much bigger than a coffin is very common.
My observations:  To tell the truth, I've never done this, and most people I know never have, but this could be simply because of the environments in which I work and live.  I don't hang out with a lot of salarymen, and they're the ones I always hear about going to capsule hotels.  

A more recent and trending option has been for people to sleep overnight at onsen places.

Below is the original article by Asta Thrastardottir.  I've copied and pasted it as is.  The original post, for some reason, has a lot of gibberish text characters, and I just left them in.  If you want to see it, it might be better to click the link at the top of this entry; maybe Yahoo! will correct it and take out the mojibake.
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11 Japanese customs that are shocking to foreign travelers

By Asta Thrastardottir 9 hours ago

Japan has a unique culture that has a very strict code of etiquette. 

There are specific ways to eat noodles, good practices for accepting gifts, and certain rules to follow so that you avoid insulting a host. 

This complex web of social rules and traditions can be  overwhelming for those traveling to Japan, so we’ve compiled a list of some of the things that foreigners find most shocking when visiting the country. 

Here are 11 customs you should know before traveling to Japan. 

1. The number four is avoided at all cost. 

In Japan, the number four is avoided because it sounds very similar to the word for death. In the same vein as the number 13 in Western culture, the number four is extremely unlucky and is used as little as possible. You must always avoid giving anyone something in fours since it can be seen as a very ominous gift. 

Elevators will often be missing a fourth floor — and in some extreme cases, they will not have the floors 40-49. The number 49 is especially unlucky, as it sounds similar to the phrase which means “pain until death.” 

The practice of avoiding the number four is called “Tetraphobia,” and is common in many East Asian and Southeast Asian regions. 

2. Blowing your nose in public is considered rude.  

Blowing your nose in public is not only seen as rude, but simply disgusting. Instead, people will generally sniffle until they find somewhere private. If you simply must blow your nose, it is recommended that you do so as discreetly as possible. 

The Japanese are also repelled by the idea of a handkerchief. 

3. Tipping can be seen as insulting.  

Tipping is considered rude — and can even be seen as degrading. Tipping will often cause confusion, and many people will chase after you to give you back your money. 

If someone has been particularly helpful and you feel absolutely compelled to leave a tip, Rough Guides suggests leaving a small present instead. 

4. Walking and eating is seen as sloppy.

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Reuters

Although walking and eating is often convenient and widely accepted in many Western cultures, the practice is looked down upon in Japan. Many also consider it rude to eat in public or on the trains. 

There are just a few exceptions to this rule, including the fact that it is okay to eat an ice-cream cone on the street. 

5. There are designated people who will push you into a crowded subway car.

Oshiya, or “pushers,” wear uniforms, white gloves, and hats and literally push people into crowded subway cars during rush hour.

They are paid to make sure everybody gets in and doesn’t get caught in the doors. 

6. People will sleep on the trains with their head on your shoulder. 

If someone falls asleep with their head on you shoulder in Japan, it is common practice to just tolerate it. People have very long commutes and work dreadfully long hours, so many will often fall asleep on the train. 

"There is a tolerance that if the person next to you falls asleep and their head kind of lands on your shoulder, people just put up with it. That happens a lot," Sandra Barron told CNN. 

7. There are toilet slippers for the bathrooms. 

Flickr/Andrea Schaffer It is customary to change into slippers when entering a Japanese home, a traditional restaurant, temples, and sometimes museums and art galleries, according to Rough Guides. Basically anytime you come across of row of slippers in Japan, you should just put them on. 

There are even special toilet slippers kept inside the bathroom, so you’ll take off your house slippers and put on the toilet slippers.  

8. You must always bring a host a gift. 

It is an honor to be invited to someone’s home in Japan, and if this happens you must always bring a gift. The gift should also be wrapped in the most elaborate way possible, and lots of fancy ribbons are suggested. 

You should also never refuse a gift once offered — but it is good practice to strongly protest the gift at first. 

9. Pouring you own glass is considered rude.  

It is customary in the US (and many other countries in the world) to serve others before you serve yourself, but in Japan you are never supposed to pour yourself a drink. If you have poured for others, another guest will hopefully see that your drink is empty, and pour for you. 

You must also always wait for someone to say “Kanpai” (cheers) before drinking. 

10. Slurping noodles is not only seen as polite — but also means that you have enjoyed your meal. 

Slurping is considered polite in Japan because it shows that you are enjoying your delicious noodles — in fact, if you don’t eat loudly enough it can be mistaken as you not enjoying your food. 

Slurping noodles isn’t entirely for the sake of politeness, but also to avoid having a burnt tongue. Japanese soup and noodles are generally served steaming hot, hot enough to burn, and slurping helps to cool down the food.

But unlike some other Asian nations, it is still considered rude to belch at the table. 

11. Sleeping in capsule hotels that aren't much bigger than a coffin is very common. 

REUTERS/Aly Song Capsule hotels are used as cheap accommodations for guests who purely want a place to sleep — and are most often used by businessmen working or those who have partied too late and have missed the last train home.Â

The sleeping quarters are small capsules that are not much bigger than a coffin, and the beds are stacked side-by-side and on top of one another. The concept has been around in Japan since the 1970s, but has begun to spread to a few other countries around the world.  

The hotels are a cheap alternative to a hotel, since a bed costs only $65 a night, but should be avoided for anyone who suffers from even slight claustrophobia.Â