Etiquette in Japan - Making Payment

Making Payment

It is common for Japanese businesses to set out a small tray near a cash register so that customers can place their money on the tray rather than handing it directly to the cashier. If a business provides such a tray, it is a breach of etiquette to disregard the tray and instead hold out the money for the cashier to take by hand.

In the event that the business does accept payments made hand to hand, one should take care to follow the broader rule, also applicable to items such as business cards and in other social contexts, that one hold an article with both hands whether giving it or receiving it.

The rationale for this broader rule is that by using both hands to hold an article, one a) demonstrates that one is handling the article with care and b) suggests that the article is worth handling with care. By handling every item in this manner whether giving or accepting it, a) when one is giving the item, one suggests that the other person's dignity is high enough that only an item meriting such handling would befit that dignity, and b) when one is receiving the item, one suggests that the other person's dignity is high enough that he or she would give only items meriting such handling. In turn, careless handling of an item suggests at best a pointed refusal to make such an assumption and at worst an affirmative statement to the contrary.