GENCHI.JAPAN 現地
genchi (現地) — the actual place, seen for yourself

The Japan that never gets translated.

I'm Japanese. I read what locals actually say about the places you're planning to visit, then check it against the ordinance, the ward office, the carrier's own rulebook. Twelve guides so far — every rule linked to its source.

Changes 1 November 2026 Tax-free shopping is about to work in reverse You will pay the tax at the till and claim it back on the way out. The airport only confirms your goods are leaving — the shop pays you, and the law sets no method, no deadline and no cap on what gets deducted. What actually changes, from the NTA's own Q&A →

Four places, and what locals say about them

Gion

Kyoto

Which streets are private, which are public, the ¥10,000 sign, and what locals say. Most kimono you see are rentals; a real maiko at dusk is commuting to work, not posing.

¥10,000 fine · private alleys

Shibuya

Tokyo

Locals are happier to see you than anywhere else we sampled — with one exception they will not forgive.

Street drinking banned · 6pm–5am

Dotonbori

Osaka

A local's theory for why even a bad takoyaki shop survives here, where Osakans actually eat, the canal you stay out of — and the ¥1,000 citywide smoking fine most visitors don't know exists.

No street smoking · ¥1,000 fine

Nara Park

Nara

The deer are not pets. Why teasing one gets you bitten (72.5% of injuries happen at feeding time), what to feed, and why injuring one can get you 5 years.

National Natural Monument

Japan Logic — the country-wide honne

Some things confuse you everywhere in Japan, not just at one spot. Same method: the official face (tatemae), what locals really say (honne), and why.

Why Japan Has No Trash Cans

Japan Logic

The cleanest country with nowhere to throw anything away. Station bins went for security, street bins for hygiene — and locals argue about it more than you'd think. Plus: where to actually put your rubbish.

Carry it home

JR East Credit Card Error on eki-net

Japan Logic

Your card fails on the official Shinkansen site four days running. Three different problems hide behind one vague screen — including a daily shutdown that lands in the middle of the US workday.

Check the clock first

Tax-Free Shopping from November 2026

Japan Logic

You now pay the tax and claim it back on the way out. The airport only confirms your goods are leaving — the shop pays you, and the law sets no method, no deadline and no cap on the cut. Plus the receipt rule that voids a whole claim, and how to avoid it at the register.

Before you check your bags

Shipping Luggage Between Hotels

Japan Logic

Liquids? Yes. From a convenience store at 11 p.m.? Yes. Chilled souvenirs? Only from a Yamato office. What it costs, what to write on the label, and the rules that live only in Japanese — with the carrier's own sources.

Tell the hotel first

Mixed-Gender Onsen for Couples and Women

Japan Logic

New ones effectively cannot be licensed, so every konyoku left is a grandfathered survivor. Why couples should start with a private bath, what a woman should expect step by step, the word locals have in mind (“crocodile”), and which of three rule-sets you're walking into.

Read the Japanese page

Taking an Elderly Parent to a Ryokan

Japan Logic

The listing never says how many stairs, how high the entrance step, or what you sit on at dinner — and the reply you get back sounds fine and answers half of it. A form the inn fills in instead, with English beside every line.

Ask before you book

If a Japanese Inn Refuses You a Room

Japan Logic

Japan lists the grounds an inn may refuse you on, in the statute, and disability is not among them. The wording most people are turned away with is on the ministry’s own list of discrimination examples. Statute text, quoted.

Reference · sources only

Convenience Store Toilets

Japan Logic

Free to use, and Lawson calls the toilet social infrastructure rather than something you buy. Locals buy something anyway. Why it exists at all — and both sides, quoted.

The unwritten rule

Coming: tipping (really, don't), train etiquette, onsen & tattoos, eating while walking.

How this is made

  1. We read what locals post publicly about each place — in Japanese, where they assume you're not listening.
  2. We aggregate behaviors, not people. Posts attacking nationalities are excluded; grievances are counted only when corroborated by multiple independent posts or news reporting.
  3. Every rule links to a primary source — the ordinance, the ward office, the news report. If we can't source it, we don't print it.
  4. Then we tell you what to do instead. Not a lecture — a cheat sheet.

Individual posts are never reproduced or linked. Local voices appear only as aggregated themes.

Suggest the next place — or make this page better

Spotted something outdated? Know a place I should cover? Tell me below — it opens right here, no account needed. Every report is verified before publishing.