Only three days until we head to a completely different country. While we’ve done our packing, planning, and preparing, part of the process has included researching the customs and cultural taboos in Japan. It’s been more than 6 months of researching for us, and we’ve learned that Japan has far more customs than just taking your shoes off at the door.

It’s frowned upon to walk around while eating as that will likely end in littering (Japan is all about recycling, and you have to carry your trash with you if you don’t throw it away soon after buying a product), don’t tip because it’s considered rude, always carry cash because a lot of places don’t accept credit cards, and most importantly, you have to be mindful of how loud you are. As westerners, we’re used to being quite loud with phone notifications going off all the time. In Japan, your inside voice is how loud you should be speaking outside, and you shouldn’t be on your phone on public transit! There are far more things that are done in Japan to be polite to others and keep yourself in check, which we hopefully won’t forget about anything. We’ll certainly have a lot to keep in mind!

Thanks again to Bethany Muncy for sharing photos with us from her own adventures in Japan!