Japan: Rule or Rude?

Can you talk on the phone on a train? Smoke on the street in Kyoto? Bring your prescription medicine into Japan? Some of these are laws, some are local rules, some are the rules of one venue, and some are simply manners.

Japan: Rule or Rude? answers the question every visitor actually has — is this illegal, or just considered rude? — and keeps those four kinds of answer apart:

• LAW — national law, with the penalty when there is one • LOCAL RULE — a city or prefecture ordinance • VENUE RULE — the rule of a station, onsen, temple or shop • ETIQUETTE — manners, with no rule behind them

EVERY ANSWER HAS A SOURCE 198 real-life situations, each checked against official sources: laws on e-Gov, government ministries, city ordinances, railway operators and the Japan National Tourism Organization. Each rule links to the pages it was verified against.

ANSWERS FOR WHERE AND WHEN YOU TRAVEL Choose one of 18 regions — Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Fukuoka, Yokohama, Kamakura, Hakone, Sapporo and more — and set your travel date. Answers change where local rules differ, and announced rule changes show up before they take effect.

BEFORE YOU TRAVEL Medicine and customs, cash limits, drones, driving licences, pets, fishing and work rules: the high-stakes questions to settle before you fly.

HOW TO USE IT • Discover: guess RULE or RUDE, then see the real answer • Explore: browse by topic, from transport to onsen to shopping • Search: type what you are about to do and get the answer • Saved: keep the rules for your trip

FREE AND FULL UNLOCK The app is free to download. Every IMPORTANT rule — the ones where getting it wrong costs more than embarrassment — is free with its full answer and sources, along with a set of everyday essentials. Every question in the app can be browsed and searched for free. Full Unlock is a single one-time in-app purchase that opens the full answer, penalties, exceptions and official sources for all 198 rules. No subscription.

PRIVATE AND OFFLINE No account. No location access. No ads. No tracking. Everything works offline from the first launch; only the official source links need a connection.

This app explains rules for travellers. It is not legal advice. Always follow local signs and the instructions of officials.

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