Wanderbug

I'm about to take my first trip to Japan (very excited!)
I am aware that tipping is very much frowned upon and might even be considered insulting.

We'll be staying in decent hotels and with the language barrier I expect we may be needing the concierge more than usual.

I understand that giving a small gift is appreciated, often something from my home area. Is this appropriate for a concierge? If so, what sort of thing should we gift? How much (ish) should the token of appreciation cost?

MSPeconomist

mjm

No need whatsoever to do this. Service staff in Japan work very hard because it is there job to do so. They would not know what in the world to say to their colleagues if they alone got gift. The staff function as a team. If a gift is given it is always shared among the colleagues with the approach that it was for everyone. The absurd extent to which tipping (or a gift as asked about in this case) has gone on the US is thankfully not present here. People just do their jobs and are happy when they see your satisfaction.

Wanderbug

This is great news! Thanks for the reassurance!

I was mostly worried because they are known for very formal etiquette, etc and I wanted to behave in the correct respectful manner.

I don't really think we'll be asking for anything extraordinary. This is a simple vacation trip. I was toying with asking about rugby tickets but I think we have enough things planned already it doesn't make sense to add something so significant on just a lark.

Aeolus

abmj-jr

Many of the guidebooks and such tend to mention the need to bring gifts of appreciation but they can be a bit vague as to when it is appropriate. Certainly if you happen to be invited as a guest into a private home a gift is appropriate. Often snacks or a bottle of nice booze are appreciated. But for employees doing their job, I would never consider it. Unlike in the US, service people are paid a living wage in Japan and take pride in doing their job well without the need for a "bribe."

muji

That's one of the reasons why no gift should be given. It obliges the receiver to then give you a gift of some sort.

At one Tokyo hotel I wrote a note to the manager, telling him that the staff had been so kind and helpful to me and my wife. Upon checkout the front desk told me to please wait a moment. The manager was informed that we were checking out. He came out to thank us for the note and gave us a gift of cookies.

Aeolus

Steve M

This can manifest itself in interesting ways. I once was with a friend in Tokyo, and it was hot and we just wanted a cool place to hang out for a couple of hours. We went into a restaurant that was nearly empty, and took full advantage of the "unlimited soft drink refills" policy, and ordered no food. So, we were there for about two hours, and the bill was 500 yen each or something like that. The waitstaff kept coming by and giving us refills, without complaint. We wouldn't have done this had the restaurant been busy, but we were almost the only ones in there. In the US, I'd feel really guilty about that, and would probably have a pissed-off waiter. Then I realized why it wasn't a problem in Japan: the waitstaff (and all other service personnel) are paid a reasonable hourly wage and don't rely on tips. What do they care if we don't order food? In the US, a waiter would feel that they were doing a lot of work for almost no pay in such a situation.

Wanderbug

Yes, this ambiguity is probably what caused my concern. As we aren't anticipating any sort of real business interaction I'd kind of figured we wouldn't need to worry about most of those rules. It seemed to me the closest that might apply would be with the concierge if we were asking for assistance. We will follow the recommendations to mention any particularly helpful individual by name in any thank you note we leave with the hotel.

I knew FT was exactly the place for this question! Really appreciate everyone's input! Thank you!