Travel in Japan can be exciting, but it also comes with small social rules that many visitors do not know. Right now, this matters more than ever: JNTO says Japan welcomed a record 42,683,600 international visitors in 2025, and its latest published figure shows 3,559,900 arrivals in May 2026. With so many people using trains, stations, restaurants, and public baths, clear and friendly advice about manners has become very important. (jnto.go.jp)
A smart new example is Kodansha’s “MANGA MANNERS” campaign. Its latest version, the fourth edition, began on March 30, 2026 on Tokyo Metro and Tobu Railway. Posters and videos in stations and trains use scenes from 12 manga titles to teach Japanese manners in a fun way for international visitors. The campaign includes famous works such as Attack on Titan, Blue Lock, Space Brothers, Witch Hat Atelier, Chiikawa, and Tokyo Revengers. This project first appeared as a large welcome wall at Narita Airport Terminal 2 in October 2024, then expanded to Tokaido Shinkansen stations in April 2025 and Kyoto in November 2025 before coming to Tokyo in 2026. (prtimes.jp)
The rules are practical and easy to imagine. Travelers are asked to put phones on silent mode and avoid phone calls on trains, line up when waiting, keep the area near doors clear, avoid photography that bothers other passengers, and offer priority seats to people who need them. Some messages also explain culture outside the train, such as holding a rice bowl or soup bowl in your hand when eating Japanese food, slurping noodles being acceptable, and washing your body before entering a public bath. Kodansha and the rail companies are clearly trying to make manners feel easy to learn, not like a lecture. For English learners, this is a nice lesson too: good travel manners are another kind of communication. (prtimes.jp)










