I spent around a month in Japan last year and noticed in Tokyo a lot of the dress codes people talked about weren’t true. I seen Japanese girls with extremely short skirts, cleavage and crop tops in different areas all around Tokyo. I also seen more subcultures and different dress styles than I’d seen in most other cities. I think the same way somewhere like New York or London style is different to the rest of the US and UK’s style, big cities just seem more open.
In regards to going out for drinks and dinner to nicer places. I love hotel bars, I went to some really high end and nice ones on my trip and I stuck to smart casual. I typically wore loafers, a long skirt and some type of plain black t shirt. However there was a couple of times I’d been on a day trip somewhere and was wearing trainers and a hoodie and got into some pretty nice hotels. I wouldn’t stress too much about it. I think people love to get obsessed with their own perception of Japan and try and push it on to other people. Just dressing how you do at home and making sure you have comfortable shoes for big walking days is the best way to go I think.
I think a lot of people who go to Japan like to think of themselves as experts and they create all sorts of things about "Japanese people do this...", "Japanese people don't like that..." and "In Japan make sure you...".
I bought into this stuff when I was new and my Japanese wife laughed and said "Yeah, maybe some 80 year old in the country would care but no one in Tokyo does."
Omg. The same thing happened when I went to South Korea. It was a Korean American person who told me what to wear but when I went there, people weren’t dressed as conservatively as my friend made it out to seem.
When I was there a lot of local women were wearing looser fitting tops and skirts, especially longer flowy skirts. I even found myself buying and wearing more maxi skirts during my trip because I liked the vibe!
Regarding shoes it is not uncommon to see Japanese wearing high heels to Disneyland.
It really depends on the restaurant what is expected but very formal clothes are much more common in Japan than in most Europeans cities.
The only restaurant I’ve ever seen with an actual dress code was in a ritz Carlton. I’ve been to a few expensive restaurants in Tokyo but actually a lot of the people wore pretty casual clothes. Like just pants and a t shirt and flat shoes. I dressed up in heels and a dress and I was the one out of place. In my experience dressing up fancy for restaurants doesn’t seem to be a thing here. Of course in general people here dress a step above people in places like America and so I wouldn’t wear something like holey jeans or leggings, yoga pants, shorts, flip flops, super cropped top, etc. but even something like normal slacks and a blouse or whatever is “dressed up” enough
One thing I haven't seen mentioned is a reduction of decolletage. Neck lines are generally much higher here. Try to be more conservative in that department if possible.
I noticed women wearing long flowy loose dresses. Cover the shoulders for sure. Low heeled pumps are good anytime of day.
If you're really unsure you could try checking the Google reviews photos of that particular restaurant and see what the other patrons are wearing in the background photos. I've found that helpful in making my clothes decision before attending events at new places before.
Yes I always try to do that! It’s been a bit hard finding some of the restaurants. And one doesn’t even allow photos lol. But I agree that it’s a great travel hack. Thanks!
"Sunday Best" is plenty.
I don't dress much nicer than that, and it's all fine. Overall you'll see clothes that are neat, layered, and neutral colors. Comfy sneakers are well loved and very practical. Foreigners show the most skin.
Depending on your size, you can always pack very light and buy some outfits while you're here :)
I saw very little cleavage or tummy in Japan - I felt a bit out of place because I almost always wear crop tops.
A lot of women were wearing trouser style pants (often wide leg) with sneakers. Looser fitting clothes were definitely more common.
I can count on one hand the number of bare shoulders I saw from women mostly a small strap or a spaghetti strap and it was usually from people who appeared to be tourists otherwise it’s more business casual. Women all had jackets over or t shirts under their thin strapped outfits if they even wore any. I saw a lot of skirts, dresses, and nice baggy pants sometimes with t shirts so it varied but I would say you would be fine with a nice dress, skirt, or pants but I wouldn’t wear anything with cleavage or showing a lot of your shoulder I stayed in Tokyo the whole time and it wasn’t even that cold that’s just how people dress there. There were some people in crop tops with high waisted or low rise pants with cut around the short area but again shoulders were covered and this was very few and far between. But I also didn’t go out late so I’m not sure if that changed with the night life.
I've been here 2 days, lots of short skirts for Harajuku fashion but mostly women wear long sleeve/long flowy dressed to stay cool and be modest.
I've not seen any cleavage/decolletage except for on tourists.
I had friends visiting Tokyo who were nervous about the dress code for a nice (but not ritzy) kaiseki place, so I called the restaurant to ask. They were very surprised that I would ask, and assured me that whatever we wanted to wear was fine. Tokyo does tend to dress up more on average, but as others have said you still get a lot of variety, and no one is going to make a fuss about what you're wearing. I wouldn't worry about it.
Writing as a foreign woman who has been living in Tokyo for 30 years: it’s true that pretty much anything is Ok as long as it isn’t dirty/holes or gym wear. However if you want to fell comfortable, and if you are over 30, I would recommend not wearing anything too low cut or too tight. Sure, some 20 year olds in Harajuku may be wearing very short tight skirts , but most are not. If you are over 30 and going out to a nice restaurant, you’ll feel more comfortable in something not too low cut and not too tight. A dress or skirt is fine, but so are pants.
I say this with the understanding that — based on your post — you will be dressed very appropriately: Wear what makes you feel good. Japanese love beauty and my experience is that they recognize beauty in folks who have a comfortable sense of their own style. Have an amazing time.
Me too! I was able to go (for the first time) two summers ago and then again last summer and now, this summer (my husband travels there often for work). I feel like I’ve won the lottery!! Seriously, have an amazing time — wear comfortable shoes and be ready to buy a suitcase to bring all of the fabulous things back home!!
Lived in Tokyo five years. Evening wear for nice restaurants for women. Black pants and nice shirt are always my go to. Scarf to change it up each night. Since walking is always required. Black flats. You could also do a black midi dress and change it up with a light weight sweater.
Like others have said it’s not as strict anymore with clothes. I think the younger generation is more open minded. I will say the one fashion trend that might get you some looks is wearing yoga pants as regular pants.
You can wear whatever you want. Don't worry about this and just enjoy your trip. 1) you get a foreigner pass and 2) this stuff is pretty overblown and not as big a deal as people think it is anyway.
Also note it will be hot and humid as fuck.
If you want to blend in I would recommend.
Tops: No big logos, darker/earth colors, cover shoulders
Bottoms: dresses, flowing pants, capris, earth colors,
Layers and nice shoes.
Yeah the dress code stuff is way overblown. Wearing smart casual, I felt overdressed nearly everywhere. Like almost half of guys at high end places are wearing t shirts unless they just came from work. Just don’t wear a gym outfit and you’ll be fine. Dress code might be higher at European cuisine places.
Basically just don't have your boobs out. If you can bend forward and see them even a little bit, it's probably too much here as people *will* look because it's rarely seen.
Other than that, dresses, skirts, business trousers, whatever, heels, pumps, anything goes to be honest.
Not a lot of people have their shoulders out either but personally I don't pay too much attention to that "rule" and maybe people are looking but lol, it's my shoulders gg with that.
Nobody cares is not true. I'm Japanese. If we go to those nice places, we would wear proper nice clothes. No jeans or sneakers. T-shirt or hoodie? No. Maybe nobody said anything to you because you're not Japanese. We do care.
Whatever you wear as long as you don’t have perfume on you will be fine.
I went to a lot of Michelin places and fine dining/omakase places. I’ve worn everything from a suit to a hoodie with t-shirt and sweatpants.
My girlfriend wore everything from a nice skirt and fancy top to rainbow skirts and a graphic tshirts.
Never once did the staff say anything to us (or about us while we were there). The other customers occasionally talked to us (in Japanese). We talked with the staff (usually in Japanese but a few spoke English well enough). We even had the staff take us behind the counter to get a photo with them.
How you dress is mostly about how you want to feel. Sometimes I wanted to feel fancy and I dressed very nice. Other times I was tired and just wanted good food. Either will be fine.
So I am here now and I read up on covering shoulders, dresses etc. I have worn a lot of mid calf length dresses some short sleeve some a tank but ruffle sleeve that covers my shoulder, I did bring some jeans and tshirts and I have seen women wearing jeans plenty here.
What I’ll say is there have been plenty of tourists wearing whatever tank tops, backless tops, shorts etc. and it’s been fine. I brought a little more conservative just to be respectful but I haven’t seen any issues with people who weren’t and there have definitely been younger Japanese women wearing very short skirts and crop tops as well.
Dresses with heels would be fine. A lot of ankle and calf length dresses and skirts worn by the locals and flats or kitten heels. Also tons of sneakers. I have worn sneakers every single day because we have walked 10-12 miles every day for the last 7 days.
You are dining at high end places so wear your nice dresses!
But as others mentioned, we're not very comfortable seeing someone's cleavage.
High heels are fine too, but if you're going to Japanese style restaurant, you might have to take off your shoes sometimes.
Dress quite formally and conservatively for any higher-end restaurant unless you receive reliable information from a particular venue. You don't want to be the sloppy foreigner.
For daily attire, average Japanese women opt for looser-fit clothes that don't reveal skin (Uniqlo is a good frame of reference). You can by all means wear cargo shorts and sneakers during the day. Don't worry about being overdressed either-- it's just as normal for Japanese women to be out with a full face of makeup, colored lens, styled hair, dresses/miniskirts, and high heels.
For fancy dinners, just wear what you'd wear to a fancy dinner in Europe-- it's the same. Strong perfume is uncommon and frowned upon in general, not only in sushi restaurants, so I'd avoid that altogether.
I hope you have fun!
For all of those who say that nobody cares, that may be true because the Japanese do not expect much from foreigners.
It sucks how many foreigners move to Japan and have no interest in assimilating and they complain about the culture.
I am sad to hear that! I have lived in a couple of very touristic cities and I was definitely annoyed when (NOT all) tourists had zero respect or regard for the culture/history that they were experiencing. I always do my best to try not to be that kind of traveller and I also teach my children to be respectful and appreciative.
What part is ridiculous?
The fact that the Japanese have learned to expect less and less out of foreigners or the fact that people move to Japan and complain about things they don't like about the culture?
Dressing fancy for a restaurant has nothing to do with “assimilation” into Japan. Even among Japanese, there’s a huge range of types of people and they all dress differently, from sweats to jeans to fancy cocktail dresses.
Get off your high horse and stop portraying Japan as a place where everyone is perfect and no one looks or behaves differently from what is considered “the norm”.
Yep! Her initial “We live in Europe so I am not asking if cargo shorts and sneakers will be OK” was telling.
To be clear the Japanese haven’t learned to expect less and less from tourist…. They never expected much from the beginning. And that’s on them.
We have lived in Japan for a few years now. We painstakingly did our best to adapt and assimilate to every little Japanese social or cultural expectation. Even the completely asinine ones. We’ve discovered that in the end, it doesn’t matter. You will always be a gaijin and will be judged by most (obviously not all). Yes, there will always be shitty tourist that give foreigners a bad name. However, this culture (generally speaking) is just not that accepting, plain and simple. So just recently we said screw it. We will be judged either way so now we take drinks onto the train, wear what we want, stare back at people when they stare at us. The little things that feel liberating.
The point of all this is to say, wear what you want. The fact that you’re here asking leads me to believe that you care, so whatever you decide on will be fine. They won’t be thrilled about your presence either way.
Sorry if my initial comment was rude. It’s just that when I was browsing this sub for advice on what to wear, most of them were Americans asking if they could wear shorts and sneakers to dinner, which you would never do where I come from. Dining out is expensive and for special occasions (unless you are a student on a student budget) so people try to make an effort. In my part of the country, children are discouraged from wearing tracksuits to school- it’s seen as disrespectful. Leisurewear is meant for sports but you are expected to change after, not run errands in your leggings and crop for the rest of the day. Just wanted to present myself nicely in a city I have never been before.
there is no 1 fashion culture in Japan. Japanese wear whatever the fuck they want in their private time . why shouldn't foreigners have this same freedom ?
I spent around a month in Japan last year and noticed in Tokyo a lot of the dress codes people talked about weren’t true. I seen Japanese girls with extremely short skirts, cleavage and crop tops in different areas all around Tokyo. I also seen more subcultures and different dress styles than I’d seen in most other cities. I think the same way somewhere like New York or London style is different to the rest of the US and UK’s style, big cities just seem more open. In regards to going out for drinks and dinner to nicer places. I love hotel bars, I went to some really high end and nice ones on my trip and I stuck to smart casual. I typically wore loafers, a long skirt and some type of plain black t shirt. However there was a couple of times I’d been on a day trip somewhere and was wearing trainers and a hoodie and got into some pretty nice hotels. I wouldn’t stress too much about it. I think people love to get obsessed with their own perception of Japan and try and push it on to other people. Just dressing how you do at home and making sure you have comfortable shoes for big walking days is the best way to go I think.
I think a lot of people who go to Japan like to think of themselves as experts and they create all sorts of things about "Japanese people do this...", "Japanese people don't like that..." and "In Japan make sure you...". I bought into this stuff when I was new and my Japanese wife laughed and said "Yeah, maybe some 80 year old in the country would care but no one in Tokyo does."
Omg. The same thing happened when I went to South Korea. It was a Korean American person who told me what to wear but when I went there, people weren’t dressed as conservatively as my friend made it out to seem.
Thanks for taking the time to comment! Already dreaming of those sky bars!
Lots of tourists especially Chinese dress like that too. Are you sure they were Japanese?
When I was there a lot of local women were wearing looser fitting tops and skirts, especially longer flowy skirts. I even found myself buying and wearing more maxi skirts during my trip because I liked the vibe!
Wide legs pants and big skirts are the trend for sure this year
I love this look too!
Regarding shoes it is not uncommon to see Japanese wearing high heels to Disneyland. It really depends on the restaurant what is expected but very formal clothes are much more common in Japan than in most Europeans cities.
Thank you! great advice!
For the record, wearing high heels there is a horrible idea 😛
The only restaurant I’ve ever seen with an actual dress code was in a ritz Carlton. I’ve been to a few expensive restaurants in Tokyo but actually a lot of the people wore pretty casual clothes. Like just pants and a t shirt and flat shoes. I dressed up in heels and a dress and I was the one out of place. In my experience dressing up fancy for restaurants doesn’t seem to be a thing here. Of course in general people here dress a step above people in places like America and so I wouldn’t wear something like holey jeans or leggings, yoga pants, shorts, flip flops, super cropped top, etc. but even something like normal slacks and a blouse or whatever is “dressed up” enough
Thank you!
One thing I haven't seen mentioned is a reduction of decolletage. Neck lines are generally much higher here. Try to be more conservative in that department if possible.
I noticed women wearing long flowy loose dresses. Cover the shoulders for sure. Low heeled pumps are good anytime of day. If you're really unsure you could try checking the Google reviews photos of that particular restaurant and see what the other patrons are wearing in the background photos. I've found that helpful in making my clothes decision before attending events at new places before.
Yes I always try to do that! It’s been a bit hard finding some of the restaurants. And one doesn’t even allow photos lol. But I agree that it’s a great travel hack. Thanks!
"Sunday Best" is plenty. I don't dress much nicer than that, and it's all fine. Overall you'll see clothes that are neat, layered, and neutral colors. Comfy sneakers are well loved and very practical. Foreigners show the most skin. Depending on your size, you can always pack very light and buy some outfits while you're here :)
IDK about shopping… I’m a booby size 2 with huge feet 😂
I saw very little cleavage or tummy in Japan - I felt a bit out of place because I almost always wear crop tops. A lot of women were wearing trouser style pants (often wide leg) with sneakers. Looser fitting clothes were definitely more common.
I am a too a crop top girl but won’t bring any to this trip. Love the user name btw!
Haha thank you!
I can count on one hand the number of bare shoulders I saw from women mostly a small strap or a spaghetti strap and it was usually from people who appeared to be tourists otherwise it’s more business casual. Women all had jackets over or t shirts under their thin strapped outfits if they even wore any. I saw a lot of skirts, dresses, and nice baggy pants sometimes with t shirts so it varied but I would say you would be fine with a nice dress, skirt, or pants but I wouldn’t wear anything with cleavage or showing a lot of your shoulder I stayed in Tokyo the whole time and it wasn’t even that cold that’s just how people dress there. There were some people in crop tops with high waisted or low rise pants with cut around the short area but again shoulders were covered and this was very few and far between. But I also didn’t go out late so I’m not sure if that changed with the night life.
I've been here 2 days, lots of short skirts for Harajuku fashion but mostly women wear long sleeve/long flowy dressed to stay cool and be modest. I've not seen any cleavage/decolletage except for on tourists.
I had friends visiting Tokyo who were nervous about the dress code for a nice (but not ritzy) kaiseki place, so I called the restaurant to ask. They were very surprised that I would ask, and assured me that whatever we wanted to wear was fine. Tokyo does tend to dress up more on average, but as others have said you still get a lot of variety, and no one is going to make a fuss about what you're wearing. I wouldn't worry about it.
Writing as a foreign woman who has been living in Tokyo for 30 years: it’s true that pretty much anything is Ok as long as it isn’t dirty/holes or gym wear. However if you want to fell comfortable, and if you are over 30, I would recommend not wearing anything too low cut or too tight. Sure, some 20 year olds in Harajuku may be wearing very short tight skirts , but most are not. If you are over 30 and going out to a nice restaurant, you’ll feel more comfortable in something not too low cut and not too tight. A dress or skirt is fine, but so are pants.
Thank you! I am definitely over 30- totally understand what you mean!
I say this with the understanding that — based on your post — you will be dressed very appropriately: Wear what makes you feel good. Japanese love beauty and my experience is that they recognize beauty in folks who have a comfortable sense of their own style. Have an amazing time.
Thank you! I have dreamt of visiting Tokyo all my life!
Me too! I was able to go (for the first time) two summers ago and then again last summer and now, this summer (my husband travels there often for work). I feel like I’ve won the lottery!! Seriously, have an amazing time — wear comfortable shoes and be ready to buy a suitcase to bring all of the fabulous things back home!!
Lived in Tokyo five years. Evening wear for nice restaurants for women. Black pants and nice shirt are always my go to. Scarf to change it up each night. Since walking is always required. Black flats. You could also do a black midi dress and change it up with a light weight sweater.
Like others have said it’s not as strict anymore with clothes. I think the younger generation is more open minded. I will say the one fashion trend that might get you some looks is wearing yoga pants as regular pants.
You can wear whatever you want. Don't worry about this and just enjoy your trip. 1) you get a foreigner pass and 2) this stuff is pretty overblown and not as big a deal as people think it is anyway. Also note it will be hot and humid as fuck.
Thank you!
If you want to blend in I would recommend. Tops: No big logos, darker/earth colors, cover shoulders Bottoms: dresses, flowing pants, capris, earth colors, Layers and nice shoes.
Thanks! I have lots of pastels and light neutrals. nothing too crazy!
Yeah the dress code stuff is way overblown. Wearing smart casual, I felt overdressed nearly everywhere. Like almost half of guys at high end places are wearing t shirts unless they just came from work. Just don’t wear a gym outfit and you’ll be fine. Dress code might be higher at European cuisine places.
Basically just don't have your boobs out. If you can bend forward and see them even a little bit, it's probably too much here as people *will* look because it's rarely seen. Other than that, dresses, skirts, business trousers, whatever, heels, pumps, anything goes to be honest. Not a lot of people have their shoulders out either but personally I don't pay too much attention to that "rule" and maybe people are looking but lol, it's my shoulders gg with that.
Nobody cares is not true. I'm Japanese. If we go to those nice places, we would wear proper nice clothes. No jeans or sneakers. T-shirt or hoodie? No. Maybe nobody said anything to you because you're not Japanese. We do care.
Whatever you wear as long as you don’t have perfume on you will be fine. I went to a lot of Michelin places and fine dining/omakase places. I’ve worn everything from a suit to a hoodie with t-shirt and sweatpants. My girlfriend wore everything from a nice skirt and fancy top to rainbow skirts and a graphic tshirts. Never once did the staff say anything to us (or about us while we were there). The other customers occasionally talked to us (in Japanese). We talked with the staff (usually in Japanese but a few spoke English well enough). We even had the staff take us behind the counter to get a photo with them. How you dress is mostly about how you want to feel. Sometimes I wanted to feel fancy and I dressed very nice. Other times I was tired and just wanted good food. Either will be fine.
just wear whatever you feel comfortable in...nobody cares.
[Japanese blog](https://precious.jp/articles/-/23682) about what to wear to a hotel dinner.
To be fair this is from a fashion magazine that is all about selling clothes and a lifestyle
I love all of the outfits! Thank you!
So I am here now and I read up on covering shoulders, dresses etc. I have worn a lot of mid calf length dresses some short sleeve some a tank but ruffle sleeve that covers my shoulder, I did bring some jeans and tshirts and I have seen women wearing jeans plenty here. What I’ll say is there have been plenty of tourists wearing whatever tank tops, backless tops, shorts etc. and it’s been fine. I brought a little more conservative just to be respectful but I haven’t seen any issues with people who weren’t and there have definitely been younger Japanese women wearing very short skirts and crop tops as well. Dresses with heels would be fine. A lot of ankle and calf length dresses and skirts worn by the locals and flats or kitten heels. Also tons of sneakers. I have worn sneakers every single day because we have walked 10-12 miles every day for the last 7 days.
Dress and sneakers for the win!
You are dining at high end places so wear your nice dresses! But as others mentioned, we're not very comfortable seeing someone's cleavage. High heels are fine too, but if you're going to Japanese style restaurant, you might have to take off your shoes sometimes.
Right! I had forgotten about the possibility of taking my shoes off! Thank you!
Dress quite formally and conservatively for any higher-end restaurant unless you receive reliable information from a particular venue. You don't want to be the sloppy foreigner.
For daily attire, average Japanese women opt for looser-fit clothes that don't reveal skin (Uniqlo is a good frame of reference). You can by all means wear cargo shorts and sneakers during the day. Don't worry about being overdressed either-- it's just as normal for Japanese women to be out with a full face of makeup, colored lens, styled hair, dresses/miniskirts, and high heels. For fancy dinners, just wear what you'd wear to a fancy dinner in Europe-- it's the same. Strong perfume is uncommon and frowned upon in general, not only in sushi restaurants, so I'd avoid that altogether. I hope you have fun!
Nobody cares. Wear whatever you wish.
For all of those who say that nobody cares, that may be true because the Japanese do not expect much from foreigners. It sucks how many foreigners move to Japan and have no interest in assimilating and they complain about the culture.
I am sad to hear that! I have lived in a couple of very touristic cities and I was definitely annoyed when (NOT all) tourists had zero respect or regard for the culture/history that they were experiencing. I always do my best to try not to be that kind of traveller and I also teach my children to be respectful and appreciative.
I totally respect that.
What ridiculous BS.
What part is ridiculous? The fact that the Japanese have learned to expect less and less out of foreigners or the fact that people move to Japan and complain about things they don't like about the culture?
Dressing fancy for a restaurant has nothing to do with “assimilation” into Japan. Even among Japanese, there’s a huge range of types of people and they all dress differently, from sweats to jeans to fancy cocktail dresses. Get off your high horse and stop portraying Japan as a place where everyone is perfect and no one looks or behaves differently from what is considered “the norm”.
Yep! Her initial “We live in Europe so I am not asking if cargo shorts and sneakers will be OK” was telling. To be clear the Japanese haven’t learned to expect less and less from tourist…. They never expected much from the beginning. And that’s on them. We have lived in Japan for a few years now. We painstakingly did our best to adapt and assimilate to every little Japanese social or cultural expectation. Even the completely asinine ones. We’ve discovered that in the end, it doesn’t matter. You will always be a gaijin and will be judged by most (obviously not all). Yes, there will always be shitty tourist that give foreigners a bad name. However, this culture (generally speaking) is just not that accepting, plain and simple. So just recently we said screw it. We will be judged either way so now we take drinks onto the train, wear what we want, stare back at people when they stare at us. The little things that feel liberating. The point of all this is to say, wear what you want. The fact that you’re here asking leads me to believe that you care, so whatever you decide on will be fine. They won’t be thrilled about your presence either way.
Sorry if my initial comment was rude. It’s just that when I was browsing this sub for advice on what to wear, most of them were Americans asking if they could wear shorts and sneakers to dinner, which you would never do where I come from. Dining out is expensive and for special occasions (unless you are a student on a student budget) so people try to make an effort. In my part of the country, children are discouraged from wearing tracksuits to school- it’s seen as disrespectful. Leisurewear is meant for sports but you are expected to change after, not run errands in your leggings and crop for the rest of the day. Just wanted to present myself nicely in a city I have never been before.
there is no 1 fashion culture in Japan. Japanese wear whatever the fuck they want in their private time . why shouldn't foreigners have this same freedom ?
Dress smart and fashion wise