TikToker explains why it's rude to tip in Japan

 

When Cyber Bunny (@therealcyberbunny), a TikToker, explains why it's impolite to tip at a restaurant in Japan, viewers are interested in how tipping customs vary in other countries.

While not leaving a tip for your server is considered impolite in the US, some other nations find the opposite to be just as offensive. Ask Cyber Bunny, please. The content creator explains why tipping is prohibited in Japan in a video from her TikTok series where she discusses various "unwritten rules" and etiquette in Japanese culture. The video not only entertains viewers, but it also teaches them how every culture interprets a common practice differently.

A brief sketch is shown to introduce the clip. Cyber Bunny enters the frame dressed as a server and holding a few coins.

“You forgot your money,” she says in Japanese to her off-screen customer alter ego.

“Please keep the change,” the customer responds before Cyber Bunny begins the lesson in the next shot. She explains that in Japan, tipping is similar to giving a child an allowance, or as it’s referred to in Japan, an “okozukai.” So giving a working adult something akin to an allowance comes across as condescending.

Before closing the sketch, Cyber Bunny wraps up her lesson on the unwritten tipping customs in Japan. In this sketch, the server returns the customer's money at the conclusion of the video.

How does tipping work in other countries?

Viewers from all over the world engaged in an interesting discussion about the video in the comments section, where they contrasted different cultural perspectives on tipping.

“In Australia, we CAN tip, but we usually don’t since we’re not used to it, and we get paid minimum wage at LEAST,” one user shared. 

“In Malaysia, there’s like a 10% service charge, so no tipping [either],” mentioned one TikToker. 

“The reason why we tip in the U.S. is because workers, especially fast food workers, do not get paid enough,” one viewer clarified. 

When traveling overseas, it’s a good idea to learn a few recommendations about your destination’s tipping practices.