I didn't say that. You said "Wear a hoodie and gloves in the airport." Tattoos or not, you are going to get negative attention.

I did not know about them always taking your fingerprints (didn't when I last flew...yeah I know, a while back..).

I assure you I can wear a hoodie just fine without getting any "negative attention", in any airport.

You will have to remove your hoodie, they take photos of all visitors now as well as fingerprints.

People seem to entertain a lot of myths about Japan. I keep hearing "I hate my own country and can't wait to move to Japan" not realizing that Japan is probably much more conservative and restrictive than the country they are attempting to leave.

Show up at Japanese customs wearing a suit and tie, and you'll be waved through with nary a word. Show up with tattoos, piercings, or loud clothes, and you will certainly be questioned and your belongings probably searched. If you complain about it, there's a good chance that you'll be denied entry.

The last time I entered Japanese customs I was traveling with 4 friends. One was dressed in somewhat goth-like dark clothing, and had a pierced nose and eyebrow. Needless to say, she was detained, and we had to wait 2 hours before they let her through. She speaks very good Japanese, and cooperated with them during their questioning and bag search. She said she felt sure that they weren't going to let her in, even though she was entering with a COE for a one year work visa. Luckily for her, they let her in, but it was a very near thing.

You really don't understand what I was saying if that was directed at me. "Remove your hoodie" ? You mean hood, right? Do you know what a hoodie is? The actual hood is not taped to your skull.

Anyways, ofcourse you should cooperate with customs, and never talk back and complain. Doesn't everyone already know this?

I know what you mean by hoodie, I own a couple myself. When was the last time you went through immigration in Japan?

My wife, who is from the country-side where things are a bit more conservative, didn't even get her ears pierced until she was 30 or 32 (time goes by too quickly). I loved that natural look.

Ok then. Do you seriously think a regular hoodie looks menacing in a way that would get you suspected in customs? This is really a pointless argument to have but I just got to get this straight.

Hey! This guy looks like a real menace to society! We _must_ detain him and search his stuff! At once! You probably can't even see the horrifying tattoos on his neck!

Regarding your question; I went through customs in Japan twice in 2005. I hear there are more strict regulations now, correct? Anyways, at those times it was just a walk-through for me.

Yeah, I was only born here and grown up here. Know nothing at all :rolleyes:

As others have said, they will ask you to take it off. I've had to stick mine in the machines to be x-rayed.

This guys looks clean cut but some hipsters don't always look this clean.

that guy is stylish.

really? i didn't know that. because when i was in tokyo i saw a lot of females [well mostly teens & young adults] with piercings and they weren't given special attention or anything like that.
utada hikaru has plastic surgery? .. & anyway don't a lot of japanese get their eyelids done? because most of the middle aged & old people in japan have single lids whereas a lot of young people have doubles. but anyway like i said i don't know the numbers so i'm not going to say i'm positive about these things.
well yes i know about the braces .. because for example all the american magazines' models usually have straight teeth, whereas in japanese magazines i've seen girls with like vampire teeth. >< but i didn't mean to use that as a notable example
no i know famous people can get away with more .. i know this is going to sound stupid [i can't think of another example] but there was a picture of a jrocker with his finger up his nose and a lot of people commented with "LOL HE'S SO CUTE" whereas a normal person doing that would get negative feedback. but i don't think famous people get away with serious issues more than regular people. not much anyway.


and about the hoodie issue .. if it's easier to get through customs with a suit why not just wear that? you can hide a tattoo in a suit as well as you can hide one in a hoodie ..

Why do you feel the need to hide a tattoo at customs to begin with? They're not going to turn you away.

well i don't have a stand on whether or not it's needed .. but there's debating going on up there so i was making a suggestion.

That's kind of my point. I have said the hoodie thing was just an example of how you could cover up your neck, IF you were worried about a tattoo. I don't think you'd get turned away at customs for having a tattoo either, but that was the opinion of some people here, hence my comments.

Ths is what i have been saying... I am glad you finally get it.

Rina, the issue is not about "hiding it", but the amount of trouble you may have to go through for having a tatoo.... A lot of people have illusions that Japan is a very open and modern country, that is only what was exposed to the world. Internally, Japan is still a very very conservative country, the concept of body art is there, but not widely accepted by the general public, as a matter, the world been demanding the "open and twisted" side of things more, that is why only these material are being exposed to the rest of the world.

Back to the "conservative" topic, people (Custom) will judge and question you if they felt that you are a threat to society, and this threat, is usually judged based on how you present yourself, so while they don't accept body art, presenting yourself with one is potentially "asking for it"

Modern yes, but HOW can _anyone_ describe Japan as "open" ?!

Well, for people like yourself, MMM, Nagoyankee (and others) and the few of us that knows about Japan, will know that its NOT, but thats how others sees it. Most of the influence comes from the POP/ROCK, Anime/Manga and Adult Entertainment influence.

When I say "Open" I wasn't referring to anything relating to sex or anything like that, but more along the line of open culture that accepts anything that goes around the world

Yeah, coming from an actually "open" (IMO) country, it wasn't hard to notice that when I was in Japan.

Lol I have 2 tattoos currently that's on my feet and ankle. I've never gotten a second look at customs nor anywhere else I've ever gone to. Maybe cause they're so small but I just never had a problem with them.

Again, as I said you "MAY" have problems :)

so if i get a tattoo like i'm planing on getting of two koi fish on my arm i'm not going to be allowed to go to an onsen? that's so sad....is it different if you're a girl or are they harsher?:eek:

But there are some here who are saying you will have problems no matter what, which is what irks me. Nothing is absolute.

If its MMM's response you are looking at then I would say its almost 100% accurate. My information is mostly from ages ago, and my recent encounter is that its still very strict.

And mangapunkrocker, YES, you will have problem entering the onsen, chances are you won't be allowed in, regardless of you being female or male

No, I wasn't thinking of MMM, I usually agree with all he says. Maybe being a native half-blood helps me, who knows.

Just use a bandage?

Depending on the size of the tattoo, I think people will think that you have a big open sore/gash under the bandage and they'll deny you because of hygiene issues lol

Who said that? That is pretty ill-informed.

I imagined two small fishes on the arm, maybe I was wrong :D

Hm, I wonder, how do they know if you have a tattoo? I mean, they don't actually make you strip down and search you before entering the premises, or do they? What I'm getting at is that if you have a small tattoo on your lower arm or whatnot, you could just be stealthy and block others line of sight to it with a towel / placing your body right etc ;) Once you're in the water you're home free!


Just fun speculation...

I think the way it works is when people spot someone with tattoos, they would report it to the hotel manager.

By the time you come back to your room, they would ask you to leave for the violation.

I have seen this happen in the past and it's usually not a fun experience for both customers and the hotel managers.

In my case, this American couple refused to leave so the local police had to escort them out.

Anyways, I'm getting tired of hearing about tattoo so please get tattoos at your own cost but don't expect people in Japan to accept it.

If you want to go to Onsen, go to the ones in Kuchan Hokkaido where lots of Australians go for snowboarding and onsen.

They have bad reputation up there but since the number of Australian visitors outnumber the local customers, whoever runs it don't care much about tattoos and all the screaming and yelling anymore.

No Japanese there but at least you can enjoy Onsen.

Hmm, maybe I was reading another tattoo thread in archives because I remembered more. In this the one it would be tommasi.

what if you have a moko?(hawaiin face tattoo)

I don't want to go too far out over the edge. In general, Japanese people see piercings and tattoos as graffitti on the beautiful body your parents gave you.

The young generation now does more piercing and tattooing than previous ones, but that image still exists to many Japanese, no matter where you come from.

I am sure customs at the airport is used to seeing tattoos on foreigners, but they don't need any reason to pull someone aside. Tattooes are not looked upon nicely at onsens and pools, as it can make other customers uncomfortable (some might even be offended) and they are associated with yakuza, though yakuza tattoos tend to be sleeves or whole upper body, and have distinct and traditional imagry, so no one is going to mistake you for being a yak with a I HEART MOM tattoo, but the rules are the rules.

There are many tattoo magazines and books in Japan, and the taboo nature is attractive to certain people, especially bikers and rockers.

I think I said someone would use this as an excuse to deny customers.

It's a Japanese way of telling someone without directly pointing out the real reason. Cos if you think about it, you would think small tattoos would be ok but once you start making exceptions, how far do you have to go?

All I meant to say was often the way Japanese people try to avoid direct conflict irritates foreign guest cos they are used to receiving honest direct feedback.

If you were merely stating that they might get discriminated upon by using the tattoos as an excuse you really need to be more careful about your choice of words and grammar. The impression you gave me is that you believe all tattoos will be considered evil to all Japanese and they will forever be banished for such a mark. And to tell me I know nothing of my own heritage, culture and surroundings just because I didn't agree with you is idiotic. Like I stated, I have 2 tattoos and never had a problem. Not everyone will have trouble in Japan and not everyone will go completely untroubled in Japan because of their tattoos.

If you're tired about hearing about tattoos then this is the wrong thread for you.

Anyways... So basically, if you're good enough you can actually be in the onsen with tattoos, if you just make sure the other guests don't see them. It would be a challenge though (and risky!).

It's not what I believe.

I'm just saying how it is.

And believe me, tattoo is considered bad if not evil and people who know about Japanese culture would agree with me on this.

Like I said, if you want to use 1% population who believes tattoo is ok, then you are completely lost.

And yes, Henbaka, I won't be responding to this thread anymore.

Because my honest feedback as a native Japanese means very little and I believe that's probably why some people who visit Japan run into problems cos they ignore and challenge how things are in Japan instead of respecting it.

Do as you want :)

It would be sad to lose your input, tommasi. Of course, do what is right for you.