At this point, I’ve combed through many a report of “bad” tourist manners and cultural expectations vs. tourist reality in Japan. I have to say this is the most…specific complaint I’ve seen to date. A recent report says that clothing apparel shops – and their Japanese customers – are complaining about poor manners in clothing store changing rooms.
The article from Money Voice documents various etiquette faux pas witnessed among foreign tourists to Japan. For example, one female customer in her 30s complains that foreign tourists spend an inordinate time in changing rooms. On several occasions, she says, she’s left the store without trying anything on.
The woman also complained that tourists emerge from changing rooms “acting like it’s a fashion show.”
“One woman was singing and blasting music from her smartphone while strutting back and forth from the changing room like a model. A guy was taking video – I think they were livestreaming.”
Some people say tourists are using locations like shoe stores, not to shop for anything, but to sit and rest. A man in his 40s says he regularly sees “people just using their smartphones, letting their kids sleep, drinking, or eating ice cream.”
This last complaint isn’t surprising. We’ve discussed how even Japanese citizens complain that free public spaces to rest in cities like Tokyo are rapidly disappearing. We’ve also covered how hard it is to find a paid place to rest, like a seat in a cafe. So it doesn’t shock me that some tourists are grabbing seats wherever they can find them. (Not that I’m endorsing this practice, mind you.)
Don’t enter a changing room with your shoes on, people
Apparel shop employees are also frustrated. One worker in her 30s said it’s common for foreign tourists to enter changing rooms without removing their shoes. To be sure, that’s a point of etiquette in Japan that is likely lost on many tourists from the West. She says this happens even though her store has signs prominently posted in English reminding people to remove their shoes.
Another issue: people wearing strong perfume or cologne.
“Foreigners apply perfume more heavily than Japanese people do,” she says. “It fills the changing room with the smell to the point we get complaints from Japanese customers.” She says the smell also gets into the clothes – especially during summer, when people sweat more. That means they can’t immediately return the clothes to the rack.
With a record influx of tourists to Japan, such clashes are to be expected. Most of the “bad tourist” stories I’ve seen are people doing things that would be considered ill-mannered even in their own country. However, lack of awareness over cultural differences – like not removing shoes in a changing room, being too loud on public transit, or not knowing you shouldn’t pass food between chopsticks – can sometimes lead travelers to violate local customs inadvertently.
Reports like this show the importance of educating yourself on local customers before traveling. You don’t have to be an expert in Japanese etiquette before stepping into the country. At a minimum, however, you should do some basic research – and pay attention to all posted signs, following instructions to the best of your ability.
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