What a Ryokan Asks You When You Arrive — and How to Answer
A ryokan runs on a timetable, not a front desk. The three questions you'll be asked at check-in, what your answer actually sets in motion, and the words to use.
How to Use a Japanese Tourist Information Centre
The desk with the "i" sign is free, neutral, and holds information no guidebook has: what today looks like. How the certification works and what to actually ask.
Machi-Chuka: How to Order at Japan's Neighbourhood Chinese Diner
Faded photo menu, red stools, one cook. No English, cash only, and quietly disappearing. How to walk in, what to order, and the sign to check at the door.
How to Eat at a Japanese Standing Soba Stand
The ¥500 meal every commuter eats and no visitor tries. Buy the ticket before you find a spot, slurp, and be gone in six minutes. The full mechanics.
The Japanese Festivals You Can Actually Join — and the Ones You Can't
One rule tells you which is which. Free ways into Awa Odori, Nebuta and Gujo Odori, why nobody will let you carry a mikoshi, and how to be a good guest inside the circle.
Your Second Trip to Japan: 15 Experiences Instead of Sights
You've done Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. Here are 15 niche Japanese experiences a local would send you to instead — quiet, specific, and mostly unphotographable.
How to Choose and Book a Real Experience in Japan
Five ways to book, which one each kind of experience needs, and the etiquette that runs through all of them. Including the ones you shouldn't try to book at all.
How to Book Something in Japan When the Only Page Is in Japanese
The reservation form fields, the kanji that matter, what furigana wants from you, a copy-and-paste email, and a phone script — for the small places that never translated their site.
Cancelling, Running Late, and Not Showing Up in Japan
A Japanese reservation is treated as a promise. What cancellation actually costs, how to cancel or say you're late when you don't speak Japanese, and why silence is the one unforgivable option.
Japan's Morning Markets: What Time to Go, and Whose Time You're In
Tsukiji's own association says the hours before 9am belong to trade buyers. What that means, how to see the Toyosu tuna auction, and why Nishiki banned eating while walking.
Depachika After 7pm: The Half-Price Hour Nobody Tells Visitors About
Department store food basements discount prepared food in the last hour before closing — often to half. What gets marked down, when, and how to buy without being the rude one.
Tachinomi: How to Drink Standing Up in Japan
Standing bars are the cheapest, friendliest rooms in Japan — and the ones visitors are most nervous about. Payment, timing, space, and the rules nobody writes down.
"Is It Rude in Japan?" — 43 Honest Answers
Is it rude to eat on the train, tip, blow your nose, speak English, not finish your food? A Japanese local answers 43 real questions honestly — most answers are no.
Jazz Kissa Etiquette: How to Sit in Japan's Listening Bars
Japan's jazz kissa are cafés where you sit in silence and listen. A Japanese local explains the unwritten rules — talking, phones, ordering, how long to stay.
Sumo Morning Practice: How to Watch Training at a Real Stable
Watching sumo morning practice at a stable is closer than any tournament seat — and the rules are strict. What to expect, what's forbidden, and how to get in.
Sentō: The ¥600 Bath Your Neighbourhood Actually Uses
Not an onsen — a sentō is the ¥600 neighbourhood bath where locals actually wash. What to bring, the etiquette, tattoos, and how to find a good one.
Nagoya "Morning Service": Order a Coffee, Get Breakfast Free
In Nagoya, ordering a coffee before 11am gets you breakfast free. A Japanese local explains morning service, ogura toast, kissaten etiquette and how to order.
Okinawa Isn't Japan Lite: Utaki, and the Etiquette Nobody Explains
Okinawa was its own kingdom, with its own religion. Utaki are not "power spots" — they're places of prayer and thanks, still in use. What to know before you visit.
Sleeping in a Temple: Shukubo Etiquette, and Where to Go Instead of Kōyasan
Shukubo is temple lodging — tatami, shojin ryori, and a 6am service you can join. The etiquette nobody explains, and four places that aren't Kōyasan.
Fukuoka Yatai: How to Sit at Japan's Last Street-Food Stalls
Eight stools, no toilet, no reservations, cash only. How Fukuoka's yatai actually work — the unwritten rules, what to order, and how to be the customer they want.
Magome to Tsumago: Walking the Old Nakasendō
A 9km walk on the Edo-period highway, luggage forwarded ahead for ¥1,000, and a night in a village that agreed in 1971 never to sell, rent or demolish.
Craft Workshops in Japan: Kintsugi, Indigo and Washi
Most one-day kintsugi workshops don't use real lacquer, and the result often isn't food-safe. What you're actually booking, and how to choose the right workshop.
Japan Etiquette: 17 Mistakes First-Time Visitors Make (and How to Be the Traveler Locals Love)
The unwritten rules of Japan, minus the lecture. 17 etiquette mistakes tourists make — and how to be the traveler locals love. Free guide inside.
Anime Pilgrimage Etiquette: How to Visit Your Favorite Locations Without Ruining Them (2026)
Visiting your favorite anime's real locations? The seichi junrei code — how to visit respectfully, keep towns welcoming, and not ruin the spot for the next fan.
Onsen Etiquette for Beginners: How to Use a Japanese Hot Spring Without the Panic
Nervous about your first onsen? The complete beginner's guide to Japanese hot-spring etiquette — washing, towels, tattoos, and the one rule that matters most.
First Time in Japan? The Complete Pre-Trip Checklist (2026)
Everything to sort before your first trip to Japan — IC card, cash, eSIM, luggage, etiquette, and the mindset that makes the whole trip easier.
Mount Fuji Climbing Rules 2026: What Changed, and Why
Mt Fuji's 2026 rules explained: the ¥4,000 fee on all four trails, reservations, the daily cap, the 2pm gate, and why "bullet climbing" is now blocked.
The full guide: Good Guest Japan
37 things locals quietly wish visitors knew — the complete etiquette guide for a respectful 2026 trip. On Amazon Kindle.
Get the free Japan Etiquette Cheat Sheet
10 things Japanese locals quietly wish every visitor knew, plus the three magic phrases. Two pages you can keep on your phone.