A Handy Guide to Tipping in Japan

Waitbutwhy posted the above stats on tipping in the U.S. I thought I would take it a step further and provide some helpful information on tipping in Japan for those of you who may be visiting this country.

WAITER — Bupkis*
DELIVERY — Bupkis
TAKEOUT — Bupkis
BARTENDER — Bupkis
BARISTA — Bupkis
CAB — “It’s not much, but keep the change.” (When you’re drunk or your kids were noisy. Otherwise, bupkis.)
VALLET — What’s a vallet?
BELLMAN — Bupkis
DOORMAN — What the hell’s a doorman?
HAIR SALON — Bupkis, they charge enough as is.†

*Bupkis (also bupkes, bupkus, bubkis, bubkes): emphatically “nothing”, as in “He ain’t worth bupkis.” (indeterminate, either ‘beans’ or ‘goat droppings’, possibly of Slavic, Vlach, or Greek origin; cf. Polish bobki ‘animal droppings’).

†Learned the other day that the cost of running a typical hair salon in Japan is only 11%. I always figured the profit margin for salons was high, but not thathigh. Seems that with one squirt of shampoo, some warm water, and a towel, you can earn six to ten thousand yen. Hmmm. Haircut, anyone?

One last thought, I think the true reason behind tip inflation (15%→20%) in the US is Americans’ poor math skills.