Hi. I just moved here in Kyoto and I very new to a lot of things. I want to be a law abiding respectful citizen as much as possible but I cant do that if I dont know the proper etiquettes. I’m gonna be staying here for a year. I’d appreciate it if someone were to tell me the proper etiquettes so that I dont disrespect the people around me.
1.Where should I walk? Like if I’m walking on the L side, and a person or a bike is infront of me, do I go to the L or the R? If there is a line on the side of the road, do I walk there even if the cars are coming from behind me?
2.I noticed that whenever I pay, I give it directly to the teller. And they also give to me directly? is it better to put it on the money tray?
3.I rode a bus awhile ago from 川勝寺 until kyoto station. I noticed that all of the passengers tapped an object before riding the bus. Maybe a phone or a card? Should I have that? if so, whats it called and how do I get that? And before riding the bus, they also took this paper thing or a stub. Should I also take that before riding or is it only for the passengers who tap their card?
4.Is it okay to stand anywhere inside the bus? I dont like sitting specially if there are women and elderly who dont have a seat. Should I be quiet inside the bus? I remember hearing something like dont use your phone or play loud music on your headphones. Although there were a couple of people who were talking while inside the bus. So at this point I dont know if Its okay to talk or not.
5.Escalators. I know I should stand on the L side. The escalator I rode had a “dont walk sign”. If it has something like that, is it okay to stand on the R? Saw a few people do that. Not sure if its okay or not.
6.When crossing the road. While waiting for the green light, Is there like a rule where I should stand? behind the yellow mark? Do I stand anywhere as long as its behind the yellow mark?
7.I watched a youtube regarding trash segragation. It said there dont throw your trash at night. Throw it in the moring before 8am. Well, I saw a yellow plastic at night at the trash collection one night. Is it okay to throw it at night or was it something done by someone who don’t know the rule?
I wanna try my best obeying whatever it is I need to obey. I just need to know it. Any advice is greatly appreciated aswell
12 comments
1. walk the same side everyone else walks on in any given situation
2. doesn’t matter too much, i use the money tray because im low-dex and hate fumbling with coins, i’ve seen native japanese not bother with it.
3. that’s an IC card, get one and add it to your phone’s wallet app, foreign android phones have problems with this though
4. yes, be quiet on the bus, phone use is fine as long as you’re not talking or playing sounds out loud
5. escalators: stand the same side as all the other standing people, if there’s no rhyme or reason to it just stand wherever
6. people tend to stand far away from the road because you’ll get splashed if it’s raining.
7. if you work nights and end up going home at like 4 in the morning, it’s fine to put your trash out before the “between 5-8” specification. some trash-minder may give you shit for it, but they’ll usually be cool with it as long as you explain why you did it. don’t put it out at like 9PM the previous night unless your building has a dedicated box/area that’s 24/7(many do, thankfully!) – i did deal with this a few times as i have to stay up super late to have meetings in US timezones occasionally. never got too much shit for it, maybe im lucky.
Try to follow these rules as much as you want; you will primarily see Japanese not giving a flying fuck about these rules.
Look around you and just do what everybody else does. You’ll be fine.
Hello and welcome to Kyoto, it’s a good place and generally I would advise to observe your surroundings first – not everything has a strict rule, so sometimes it’s a question of common sense. So don’t sweat it – I know how that feels, being stressed out all the time about how to behave etc. and it’s not nice but I get wanting to not be a problem
To your questions:
1. Traffic is generally left-handed, which also applies to bicycles. Unfortunately in Kyoto you’ll find people cycling on any side and however they want. As a pedestrian I would try to move away from cars and bicycles by moving closer the houses/buildings, no matter which side you are on currently. Actually I myself not sure about the white lines on the road, I always see pedestrians use either side with not much care …
2. If there is a tray I would put the money on there. But no one’s gonna go after you if you don’t
3. So in Kyoto there’s either the Kyoto City busses or the JR busses. With both you can use the ICOCA card to pay, a type of IC card. There’s also paper tickets you can buy at 7/11 called バス共通回数券, you can buy them in bulk and then save a bit of money. For the JR busses, they sometimes go beyond Kyoto city borders so it’ll cost more than the standard fare. these are also the only busses where you can take those white paper tickets, those indicate where you entered so they can see how to calculate your fare. you just put that in the box where the coins go next to the driver.
4. It’s ok to talk quietly, it’s more frowned upon to talk on the phone or have any other sounds coming from the phone
5. in Kyoto you’re supposed to stand on the left side (contrary to rest of Kansai) but sometimes it gets mixed up and people stand on either left or right side – i usually just watch whatever side most people stand on when I get on the escalator and adjust accordingly. and yeah, technically officials are trying to discourage people from staying only on one side as it damages the escalators … but old habits die hard
6. not that i am aware of – as a cyclist though it’s annoying to me when people stand on the bicycle lane but generally the bicycle lane awareness in Kyoto city is really low…
7. when it comes to trash segregation you should check with your building manager. In Kyoto it depends on whether you have private or public trash disposal, if it’s private often you can take trash out whenever. if it’s public then you can only take trash out on specific days, and theoretically it’s better to take out the trash in the morning on the day but I often do it the night before … it depends on your neighborhood but I haven’t gotten into trouble for it (yet).
enjoy Kyoto! 🙂
​
#
Just don’t be an asshole and you will b fine. The finer points you will pick up as you go. People will cut you some slack cuz they know you aren’t from here.
I moved to itabashi a whole week ago so I’m basically a professional.
Honestly tho, the advice about do what everyone else is doing really travels. I really get the feeling that locals have a pretty low expectation of foreigners so anything I do is a plus, I’ve given up my seat on the train twice and both times the people seemed extremely grateful for something that I thought was just expected to do lol
Here in itabashi the bike lanes are marked, in some places it’s faded but I’ve noticed that even if the bike lane is open people just ride into the street anyway, maybe theyre avoiding me lmao
The best advice I can give is just act like you’re at a nice dinner party whenever you go outside. Dress appropriately, speak quietly, be courteous and polite, and be aware of your surroundings and others.
If you stick to dinner party rules you should be fine in almost any situation.
I don’t think Japan is for you.
With the bikes just keep walking in your intended straight direction and let them maneuver you, it’s easier and safer that way.
Also moved to Kyoto three weeks ago !
You can publish an ICOCA at the station machines to tap on tap off!
Something I also learned is that’ if you are getting off the bus at a certain stop, keep in mind if the stop has been pressed to stop at or not, the driver may not open the front doors of the bus if it isn’t pressed.
Take care !
Dude… Japanese people don’t care….. Just do you.
I think it’s good that you are very consciousness of your behaviour. I hope you have a nice time.
In Japan we don’t give tips, so…