I’m hoping to move to Japan in the next few years and as of right now I don’t have any tattoos but I was thinking of getting a small tattoo on my inner left wrist. The tattoo would have a meaning to me and planning on having it covered under my watch band most of the time. I work in tech also so generally at more progressive companies (at least this is common in the US).
I’d most likely live in a bigger city but would also like to travel to more rural areas as well to explore. I’m worried that a tattoo could be an issue and that if I want to move to Japan ever, might be a safer bet to not get one.
Would a small inner wrist tattoo really cause that much of an issue for me? Is there a difference between having one in a bigger city vs a smaller town?
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No, if it’s easily coverable it’s unlikely to cause any issues (other than entry to a lot of onsen)
>I work in tech
If you work in tech something small and easy to cover would not be an issue. If it’s something you can cover up with a bandaid, going to a gym won’t be an issue either.
I have tattoos. There is no problem in regular life as long as you can cover it up in business situations. If it’s really so small that a watch can cover it, you will be fine. Or else, you will have to wear long sleeve shirts even when it’s hot and humid as fuck.
Where it will cause problems is places where there is a shared bath or water area. For example, sentos, capsule hotels with a shared bath, onsen, some pools and gyms, etc. There are a lot on onsen that allow for tattoos, but there are also a lot that don’t. I’ve gotten kicked out of a capsule hotel before because of my tattoos.
From my experience, onsens in the countryside are more accepting of tattoos than sentos in the city.
For most stuff you won’t have any issues, the biggest issues I’ve had so far with tattoos are gyms and onsen. Some are fine if you just cover it up others will not budge at all, some gyms will even cancel your membership on the spot. You could try calling and asking in advance or just covering them and hoping, but yes be ready to be potentially asked to leave certain places even if it’s small
Honestly? Wait until you get to Japan.
Covering with your watch is perfect, if you have to cover it for work or the gym. I have large peices that I use tape or covers for all the time and I just don’t go to onsens or gyms.
I’m sure no one would notice one on your wrist (or care). So my two cents that if you think of going bigger or in a more obvious place then you may have cause to worry depending on what part of Japan you’re living in.
I lived in Tokyo for a year and worked as an English teacher for that period. I have 4 tattoos, 1 of them covers my forearm completely; so for a long time I tried to hide them. When I realized my students thought they were ~cool and fashionable ~, I stopped trying to hide. Never had any negative reaction after that. Even old ladies in supermarkets and convenience stores would praise my tattoos.
Long story short: from my experience, if you are a foreigner, they think tattoos are all fun and shit, but if you’re Japanese people think you are Yakuza.
Anyway, there are places where you can’t get in if you are tattooed, like onsens. You can always find ones that don’t have this kind of prohibition though.
I have a tattoo in the exact same spot and lived there 2 years with 0 issues. Went to onsen and everything