How to use Japan

The stuff that stops you at the door

The toilet with twelve buttons. The table with a blanket. The bath you have to wash in before you get in. None of it is hard once someone shows you — so here’s the someone. Find the thing, get the steps.

In the bathroom

Washlet toiletTwelve buttons, all in Japanese. There's really only one you need to know, and the rest you can poke at safely.
Home bath (ofuro)Wash outside the tub, then soak in water the whole household shares. That's why you never drain it or soap it up.
Onsen & sentoYou scrub down completely before you get in. The bath is for soaking, never for washing. Get that one thing right and you're fine.
Toilet slippersA separate pair of slippers waits at the toilet door. Step into them on the way in, and out of them on the way back.

In your room

KotatsuA low table with a heater built under the top and a blanket trapping the warmth. Switching it on comes down to one dial.

Getting around

Eating & drinking

Money

ATM (foreign card)Plenty of bank machines simply reject foreign cards. Two reliable ones don't, and both have English menus.

Everyday

Trash sortingRubbish splits into several streams, public bins are scarce, and the rules shift from town to town. This is the baseline to work from.