Tattoos at tokyo disney and in japan in general.

[ihavenocandy]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking at traveling to tokyo disney and seeing some sights in Japan, however, I am concerned that my full sleeve of tattoos may make this an unpleasant experience. I have researched online and found travellers who had few problems (tended to be those with smaller tattoos) to those who were refused service at restaurants and entry to tourist destinations and refused taxis. I don't like to cause a fuss and I don't want to spend my holiday getting kicked out of places and frantically trying to cover myself up (especially as ill be traveling in summer which i believe is quite hot). Do people get kicked up or told to cover up at disney? And will I get hassled going about my business in the streets and around town? (this was a problem for me in Vietnam). Often the stories that people blog about are pretty extreme and not representative of every day situations so I thought it would be helpful to get some insight from people who live there or go regularly.

Thanks for any help!

 

[Tam1067]

You will see signs in some places like onsens and public pools about no tattoos allowed.

I was in Tokyo Disney last week. The map states that no one involved in organized crime or something along those lines is allowed in. Because tattoos in Japan are associated with organized crime, that's the problem.

Could you just cover them up in Disney? And maybe wear long sleeves?

I was in Japan for work. Some of the college students I was supervising had tattoos. They were told by our contacts in Japan that most Japanese would be curious about the tattoos. Our students did not personally have problems but none of them had full sleeves either.

 

[ihavenocandy]

Thanks for that!

As far as covering up, i could, however, if i go it will be in the middle of summer where outdoors in the heat with long sleeves will be pretty uncomfortable. I have no problems with covering up, i do it all the time as i work as an audiologist and quite a few elderly patients would have a fit if they saw what was up my sleeve lol. However, i like to think of holiday time as a time where i don't have to worry about that. I'm glad i found all of this out before going, after some research i've decided maybe Florida might be worth the extra travel to avoid worrying about this. Thank you so much for your help! I'm bummed i wont get to visit Duffy and Shellie May, however, i am hoping in time maybe things will change and i might get there some day.

 

[teslascar]

I have full sleeves tattoos. Never had a problem in Disney. Once in a while I get people giving me looks on the trains, but I've learned to deal with it. We cannot visit waterparks, public baths and a lot of gyms don't allow tattoos. Other than that, it's ok. Just a lot of crazy stereotypes about a lot of things here. You have a tattoo, you're a gangster.

 

[jsilvers]

To add to what has already been said, the English language website at http://www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp/en/customerinfo/index.html states:

• The following activities are not allowed in the Park: [...] Wearing inappropriate apparel or tattoos
• Members or supporters of organized crime groups will not be admitted

An explicit or implied ban on tattoos at public facilities is not unusual in Japan, given that they are almost exclusively associated with crime in modern Japanese society. For example, a hot spring-themed park in Tokyo has a similar policy in place - see http://www.ooedoonsen.jp/higaeri/english/.

 

[Our3ps]

WOW! This blows my mind. I get it, but it's a hard pill to swallow. We were considering a trip as a family. My husband and I have lots of tattoos. He has full sleeves and I have 2 half sleeves. While I would be able to cover up most of my tattoos as I only have them on my upper arms and could use concealer to hide the others. My husband could not.

Do you know if hotels will also refuse service? We would have a tour guide plan our whole trip so I am sure we could request that they consider this when making arrangements.

To add to what has already been said, the English language website at http://www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp/en/customerinfo/index.html states:

• The following activities are not allowed in the Park: [...] Wearing inappropriate apparel or tattoos
• Members or supporters of organized crime groups will not be admitted

An explicit or implied ban on tattoos at public facilities is not unusual in Japan, given that they are almost exclusively associated with crime in modern Japanese society. For example, a hot spring-themed park in Tokyo has a similar policy in place - see http://www.ooedoonsen.jp/higaeri/english/.

 

[Tam1067]

I did see a white guy with a bunch of tattoos at the Hilton Tokyo Bay when we were there weekend before last. I don't know if he went to the parks though or if he had trouble. I just saw him walking into the hotel lobby.

I think that in a lot of places the Japanese will give foreigners a pass on the tattoos because they know you're probably not in the Japanese mafia .

But since so many places have the explicit ban, it's good to be aware of it and plan accordingly. The most common places where there would be an issue would be in onsens (where you would be nude) or pools. I don't know about hotels. I also think that places which cater to foreign tourists would be less of a problem than those which are more geared to the local market.

But a trip to Japan can be great without visiting those places, and you might not even have an issue if you went to one of them.

I've spent quite a bit of time in Japan. Most Japanese are polite and welcoming to foreigners and accept differences in them.

Trip Advisor and the Japan Guide have really helpful forums where you can get more detailed and accurate information than here because lots of posters on those forums live in Japan or have spent lots of time there.

 

[Our3ps]

To the OP sorry to hijack your post. Hopefully the info below helped you as well.

The Disboards are so awesome. I had no idea tattoos were even an issue in Japan. Thanks to the OP for posting this!

Thank you for your response. All great info to consider. I love traveling abroad and would love to travel to Japan. Good thing this trip is a year away and I have plenty of time to research things.

I did see a white guy with a bunch of tattoos at the Hilton Tokyo Bay when we were there weekend before last. I don't know if he went to the parks though or if he had trouble. I just saw him walking into the hotel lobby.

I think that in a lot of places the Japanese will give foreigners a pass on the tattoos because they know you're probably not in the Japanese mafia .

But since so many places have the explicit ban, it's good to be aware of it and plan accordingly. The most common places where there would be an issue would be in onsens (where you would be nude) or pools. I don't know about hotels. I also think that places which cater to foreign tourists would be less of a problem than those which are more geared to the local market.

But a trip to Japan can be great without visiting those places, and you might not even have an issue if you went to one of them.

I've spent quite a bit of time in Japan. Most Japanese are polite and welcoming to foreigners and accept differences in them.

Trip Advisor and the Japan Guide have really helpful forums where you can get more detailed and accurate information than here because lots of posters on those forums live in Japan or have spent lots of time there.

 

[ihavenocandy]

No problems at all- it's helpful for me too- thanks to everyone for all of your help

 

[CaliBear]

wow. I did not know this and am glad to get this information. I'm slowly saving for a trip- probably another year at least before I can even make reservations- but I had hoped to stay at a ryoken as well as doing all 3 TDL hotels. I will need to do more research with this info. Thanks OP for the thread!

 

[dizneekrazee]

I'm so glad I read this thread!! I have 2 tattoos, one down my spine (easy to cover with my long hair), and one across the top if my shoulder. Lets say, for example, I'm wearing a tank top while on Okinawa, will I be refused entry/service? Like at the aquarium. Not too worried about the rest of our Japan travels, as they seem to be cooler weather & I would be more covered.

 

[EPJessy]

Japanese people understand that tattoos are different in other countries (in other words, that they don't mean you're a gangster like it could mean in Japan). Provided you look foreign you should be fine with smaller tattoos. I have noticeable tattoos on both wrists and I was fine my entire trip in Japan. I wasn't prohibited entrance to anywhere (Tokyo Disney, shrines, temples, an aquarium, castles/palaces, etc.) BUT I didn't go to an onsen because I knew I might have problems there.

 

[dizneekrazee]

Japanese people understand that tattoos are different in other countries (in other words, that they don't mean you're a gangster like it could mean in Japan). Provided you look foreign you should be fine with smaller tattoos. I have noticeable tattoos on both wrists and I was fine my entire trip in Japan. I wasn't prohibited entrance to anywhere (Tokyo Disney, shrines, temples, an aquarium, castles/palaces, etc.) BUT I didn't go to an onsen because I knew I might have problems there.

Thank you for this. We will just avoid onsens then, to be safe.

 

[Etoile]

Ooh, I'm quite late responding on this! I have tattoos as well and I covered them the entire time I lived in Japan, at least at work. However, as people have noted, it's not really a big deal *except* for onsen and sento. No hotel, ryokan, museum, amusement park (except water parks), etc. will give you any trouble.

But I am posting to say if you really want to experience an onsen and you have tattoos, I can suggest the Asakusa Kannon Onsen, next to Senso-ji. It's between the temple and Hanayashiki amusement park, address is Asakusa 2-7-26. They permit tattooed people after 5:30pm daily. You can search for the name in English to find reviews. Tried to post the name in Japanese as well but DIS doesn't seem to like it!

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

As a Japanese citizen, maybe, but as an American no one is going to mistake you for a Yakuza.

The signs are everywhere. They are not going to be enforced for someone who is clearly a tourist.

 

[CaliBear]

Ooh, I'm quite late responding on this! I have tattoos as well and I covered them the entire time I lived in Japan, at least at work. However, as people have noted, it's not really a big deal *except* for onsen and sento. No hotel, ryokan, museum, amusement park (except water parks), etc. will give you any trouble.

But I am posting to say if you really want to experience an onsen and you have tattoos, I can suggest the Asakusa Kannon Onsen, next to Senso-ji. It's between the temple and Hanayashiki amusement park, address is Asakusa 2-7-26. They permit tattooed people after 5:30pm daily. You can search for the name in English to find reviews. Tried to post the name in Japanese as well but DIS doesn't seem to like it!

Thank you for this information. I am interested in the onsen at the ryokan itself. I hope I will find one that allows me to use the bath on premise with tattoos.

 

[disneyobsessed808]

A late reply, but just a head's up. My friend who frequent Japan and is very obviously not Japanese (he's Anglo and Hispanic), has never had a problem at Disneyland. He has a medium sized aquabats tattoo on his calf. He has however been turned away from gyms and onsen.

I am curious about the tattoo policy as written. Does that mean that all tattoos are prohibited or just inappropriate tattoos. I don't have one, but it's nice to know

 

[Etoile]

In places where tattoos are prohibited, it seems to be all tattoos. The usual graphic used pictures a man with a full sleeve next to a woman with a butterfly on her shoulder. I've never encountered anywhere that was specific about what tattoos are banned - in policy, anyway. In practice, it's up to the person who does the kicking out.