The Japanese place great emphasis on manners and politeness amongst themselves, but will usually (though not always) forgive foreign visitors for transgressing the unwritten rules. However, they can be quite fussy when it comes to neatness and cleanliness and are acutely attuned to body odours. Men, in particular, should avoid strong colognes and aftershaves. All foreign visitors should present a clean appearance, which can be difficult to do in the withering heat and humidity.

Eating and drinking in the streets is generally frowned upon, at least by those over the age of 25.

While Japan is known as a smoker’s paradise, and it seems you can light up cigarettes in far more places than elsewhere in the world, cigar smoking is definitely out while pipe smokers are an extremely rare breed indeed. But most of the other norms aren’t applied to foreign visitors, so you can (usually) relax and enjoy yourself without worrying about being told off.