Is it rude to wear sunglasses in Japan?

Not rude, just uncommon, and Japanese commenters give ordinary reasons: sunglasses hide where you are looking, most people are not outdoors long enough to need them, and lightly tinted lenses are the compromise drivers actually use. Nobody in the threads treats a tourist in sunglasses as offensive.

Can I talk on the phone on a train in Japan?

Keep it to a few seconds. The consensus in the thread is that the no-calls norm survives because riders want it (the top comment, 1,260 likes, says exactly that), and the polite move everyone praises is answering quietly with "I am on the train, I will call you back" and hanging up.

Where do these come from?

From the comment sections of Japanese YouTube videos — food crawls, hidden-gem tours, honest reviews. We quote real comments only, show the actual like counts at the time of collection, and link back to the source video.

How accurate are the translations?

Each quote keeps the original Japanese alongside the English. We adapt slang so it reads naturally, but we never change the meaning or invent comments.

Dossier

What Not to Do in Japan: The Etiquette Japanese People Mind

日本のマナー

Fourteen roundups, 35,675 comments between them, and the thing English guides get wrong is the reason, not the rule. Japanese commenters are no longer wearing masks for COVID: the top comment (8,684 likes) says the mask now hides a face its owner dislikes, and the runner-up (7,075 likes) says taking it off has become the hassle. Blowing your nose at the table is still bad manners, but 353 likes go to a commenter who finds the sniffling worse. Slurping noodles is not the rude part: in the noodle-harassment row the top reply (82 likes) says anyone bothered by it shouldn't eat out, and the complaints that land are about noisy chewing and needlessly loud slurps. Perfume is not rude, a heavy spray is: 1,079 likes say a light touch is just right for Japan. A bad chopstick grip does get noticed among Japanese adults, but the top comment in that debate (2,993 likes) saves its scorn for refusing to fix it and blaming your parents. The phone-call ban on trains stands because riders want it to stand (1,260 likes). Makeup on the train is judged by what can land on the next rider: a leading answer (40,807 likes) asks people to stop at lipstick, and the anger is saved for powder and brushes. The escalator side is genuinely split by region. And the stroller question splits in two: the official rule has said since 2014 that you need not fold it, while 525 likes say a Tokyo rush-hour train has no room to give up in the first place. Kids are welcome in most restaurants: under a shop sign turning away children with no discipline, the top reply (7,400 likes) says the anger is at parents who leave a crying child to it, not at the child. Sharing food is fine once everyone has ordered their own bowl: when a stranger scolded a couple for splitting a ramen refill, the top reply (8,048 likes) said only that they should have asked the staff on the spot. Read each rule as a habit with a reason behind it, and you will break fewer of them.

14 roundups · 14 source videos · 244 comments translated · 297,141 likes on them

The videos hold 35,675 comments in total; we read the top 2,431 of each and translated the ones that shaped the consensus.

Tracking since Jul 17, 2026 · Updated Oct 13, 2026

The most-liked comments about Japan Etiquette (What Japanese People Actually Do)

Ranked by real like counts across every roundup. Each one links to the article it came from.

I don't want it done right next to me, but watching a face come together bit by bit from a distance is honestly kind of fun lol
隣ではやって欲しくないけど、徐々に顔が出来上がっていく過程を遠くから見てるのは結構好きwwwwwwww
— @揚げ出し豆腐-m2k41,495 likes
From: "Stop at Lipstick": Is It Rude to Do Your Makeup on the Train in Japan? Japanese Commuters Draw the Line at Powder
Unless it's a reserved seat, I'd rather people stop at lipstick. But once on a commuter train I saw a girl who looked like a fresh graduate doing her makeup frantically, half in tears, and I ended up rooting for her.
指定席以外ならリップくらいに留めておいてほしいと思うけど、通勤電車の中でまだ新卒っぽい子が半泣きで必死にメイクしてた時は応援してしまったわ
— @モブゴブリン40,807 likes
From: "Stop at Lipstick": Is It Rude to Do Your Makeup on the Train in Japan? Japanese Commuters Draw the Line at Powder
On the train an old lady was sitting there smiling while putting on lipstick, and I wondered if something nice had happened. When I got off, there she was by chance outside the ticket gate, meeting her husband for what looked like a date, and she shyly linked arms with him and walked off. I remember how warm that made me feel (*ˊᵕˋ*)
電車の中でおばあちゃんが座って、ニコニコしながら口紅塗ってて何かええ事あったんかなぁ？って思いながら下車したら改札出た時に、偶然おばあちゃんが居って旦那さんと、待ち合わせデートやったみたいで照れたように腕組んで歩いて行ったの見てめっちゃ、ホッコリしたん覚えてる(*ˊᵕˋ*)
— @gara742825,496 likes
From: "Stop at Lipstick": Is It Rude to Do Your Makeup on the Train in Japan? Japanese Commuters Draw the Line at Powder
Sometimes when someone has obviously overslept and is doing their makeup, I'm cheering them on like crazy
たまに明らか寝坊したなって人がメイクしてるとめっちゃ頑張れって応援してる
— @金木犀最強21,101 likes
From: "Stop at Lipstick": Is It Rude to Do Your Makeup on the Train in Japan? Japanese Commuters Draw the Line at Powder
I was riding the train between job interviews when it lurched and the person next to me got makeup all over my suit. I nearly cried, but there was no time to ask for dry-cleaning money, so I rushed into the Uniqlo at the station and bought a new shirt in tears. As a broke student job-hunting with barely any part-time work, that hurt, and ever since I haven't forgiven people who do makeup on trains.
就活中の移動の電車内で、揺れた時に隣の人の化粧品がスーツにベッタリついてまじ泣きそうになったけどクリーニング代請求とか言ってる時間無いからそのまま急いで駅のユニクロで泣きながら替えのシャツ買った覚えある就活中でバイトも対して出来ない貧乏学生にはめっちゃ痛い出費だったからそれ以来電車で化粧する人許してない
— @Small_emi14,560 likes
From: "Stop at Lipstick": Is It Rude to Do Your Makeup on the Train in Japan? Japanese Commuters Draw the Line at Powder
Wanted: a society where nobody says anything if you go out with no makeup
求む:ノーメイクでも何も言われない社会
— @きしこ-w2x14,105 likes
From: "Stop at Lipstick": Is It Rude to Do Your Makeup on the Train in Japan? Japanese Commuters Draw the Line at Powder
Please, no powder products... no highlighter or eyeshadow with a brush... my whole right side is sparkling
粉物はやめてくれ…ハイライトもシャドウもブラシでするな…キラキラしてんだよ私の右半身が
— @のん-i7j6t11,420 likes
From: "Stop at Lipstick": Is It Rude to Do Your Makeup on the Train in Japan? Japanese Commuters Draw the Line at Powder
A really stylish friend who's great at makeup once said, "Anyone who does their makeup in public is the ugliest person there, no matter how good their face is." I still remember it...
めっちゃおしゃれでお化粧上手な美人の友達が「公衆の面前で化粧するやつはどんなに顔が良くても一番ブサイク」って言ってた言葉をまだ覚えてる………
— @sandsandsandsand8,875 likes
From: "Stop at Lipstick": Is It Rude to Do Your Makeup on the Train in Japan? Japanese Commuters Draw the Line at Powder

What Japanese people recommend instead

If there aren't many people around, I think a little is OK. Honestly, I don't want people seeing my face while I'm doing makeup anyway lol
人がそんなに居ないんだったらちょっとくらいならしてもいいかな。てかそもそも人に自分がメイクしてる時の顔を見られたくないw
— @UoxoU123,876 likes
From: "Stop at Lipstick": Is It Rude to Do Your Makeup on the Train in Japan? Japanese Commuters Draw the Line at Powder
If someone on the sidelines says something, just ask the staff.
外野が何か言ってきたら店員に聞けばいい
— @さくれついもだんご1,040 likes
From: Can You Share Food at a Japanese Restaurant? "Should Have Asked the Staff Right There": Japanese Diners on Splitting a Ramen Refill
Once my kid's tantrums nearly made me late for work and I ran out bare-faced. My job doesn't allow no makeup, so I had no choice, and apologizing over and over in my head, I did a full face in my seat (a two-person seat with only me in it, so nobody next to me). I used to be in the "makeup on the train, really?" camp too, but now I think some people may have no other option. If they do it quietly in a corner so they don't bother anyone, please let it go...
子どものイヤイヤで仕事遅刻しそうになってすっぴんで飛び出た時仕事上すっぴんNGの仕事だからどうしようもなくてごめんなさい…ごめんなさい‥と心の中で謝りながら電車の席(二人がけの席で私だけ座ってたから隣には人いない)でフルメイクした事ある。私も電車でメイクするのどうなの？と思う派だったけど、やむを得ない事情がある人もいるのかも…と思うようになった。人に迷惑かけないように隅っこでこっそりとかだったら許してあげてほしい…
— @るか-g1x856 likes
From: "Stop at Lipstick": Is It Rude to Do Your Makeup on the Train in Japan? Japanese Commuters Draw the Line at Powder
If there's obviously nobody around I don't wear one, but the moment I'm out where people are, on it goes.
明らかに人いなけりゃマスクしないけど人がいるところに出たらマスクはしちゃうね
— @覚悟の準備をしておいて下さい500 likes
From: Why Do Japanese People Still Wear Masks? "Putting It On Was Never the Effort — Taking It Off Is": 11,939 Comments on Japan's Mask Habit
In junior high my grandfather saw how I held my chopsticks and was shocked! He made me practice moving beans onto another plate while holding my chopsticks properly. He was usually a gentle grandpa, but he told me a girl can get by if she's not great at studying, but if her manners are sloppy she'll never get married, and I practiced picking up beans in tears. Now I'm grateful to him.
中学生の時私の箸の持ち方を見て祖父はビックリ！正しく箸を持った状態で豆を違うお皿に移動させる練習を強制的にさせられました。いつもは優しい祖父でしたが女性は少しお勉強ができなくても大丈夫だが、所作が汚いとお嫁にいけないと言われ、泣きながら豆を摘む練習をしました。今では祖父に感謝しています。
— @take-od9um347 likes
From: Chopstick Etiquette in Japan: Do Japanese People Really Notice How You Hold Them?
When I really had to do my makeup, I used to ride the Green Car. Brings back memories. These days I go anywhere bare-faced.
どうしても化粧したいときグリーン車乗ってたな、懐かしい今はすっぴんでどこまでも行ける
— @Riley_o232i286 likes
From: "Stop at Lipstick": Is It Rude to Do Your Makeup on the Train in Japan? Japanese Commuters Draw the Line at Powder

Questions the roundups answer

Every roundup about Japan Etiquette (What Japanese People Actually Do)

FAQ

Is it rude to wear sunglasses in Japan?: Not rude, just uncommon, and Japanese commenters give ordinary reasons: sunglasses hide where you are looking, most people are not outdoors long enough to need them, and lightly tinted lenses are the compromise drivers actually use. Nobody in the threads treats a tourist in sunglasses as offensive.
Can I talk on the phone on a train in Japan?: Keep it to a few seconds. The consensus in the thread is that the no-calls norm survives because riders want it (the top comment, 1,260 likes, says exactly that), and the polite move everyone praises is answering quietly with "I am on the train, I will call you back" and hanging up.
Where do these come from?: From the comment sections of Japanese YouTube videos — food crawls, hidden-gem tours, honest reviews. We quote real comments only, show the actual like counts at the time of collection, and link back to the source video.
How accurate are the translations?: Each quote keeps the original Japanese alongside the English. We adapt slang so it reads naturally, but we never change the meaning or invent comments.

Sources — 14 videos

Every number on this page comes from the public comment sections of these videos. The creators deserve the views.

More places

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