Is Tokyo Trans Friendly? A Local Perspective :)

Tokyo, Japan is a generally safe and accepting city for transgender travelers.

For Transgender tourists planning to visit Tokyo for the first time, the prospect can be daunting. Language barrier aside, one may have concerns about how they may be viewed as a trans person or how Japanese culture views transgenderism in general. 

The good news is that generally speaking, Japanese people are highly respective of personal space and privacy, particularly in its capital-city, Tokyo. Furthermore, as with most big cities, it is a fairly progressive place where people are accustomed to seeing all kinds of people. For most Japanese people, efforts at speaking the langauge, politeness, cleanliness, and good public manners matter more than nationality, ethnicity, gender-identity or sexual orientation. Furthermore as most Japanese people are shy and risk-averse, what most want (at least in my experience) is simply to avoid any kind of trouble and to quietly go about their business. While this isn’t to say that everyone you meet will embrace your gender identity with open arms, even those who have a problem, will generally keep it to themselves, politely interact with you as necessary, and go about their business. 

How is shopping in Tokyo as a Trans person?

As Japan has a long long history of gender-bending, cross-dressing and open sexuality, this is no problem at all. Most people want your business more than anything else (as it should be) and will offer friendly and helpful service regardless of how you present. In contrast with the states and other places, it’s also not uncommon for Japanese men to buy and wear elements of women’s things simply because they like them or they think they fit their fashion, so generally even if you are male-presenting when you shop, no one thinks anything of it. As aforementioned, with a strong cultural emphasis on respecting privacy, as long as you aren’t breaking any laws, or misbehaving, most Japanese people will never ask why you buy something or any other personal or intrusive questions about you for that matter. 

Can Trans Women Use Women's Bathrooms in Tokyo?

Thankfully, for transgender tourists who haven't fully transitioned, or don't feel "passable" enough to use a women's restroom, the multi-function toilets available in most places in Tokyo represent a safe third option.

Due to a myriad of cultural factors (much too many for me to discuss in this blog) and of course, the influence of US politics, I think this is the only place where a “non-passable” (as much as I hate that word) trans woman would have to be careful. Thankfully however, due to the tightness of the city, a great number of establishments only have one “single-user” bathroom that isn’t labelled by sex either way. Many others also have an arrangement where there is a “male” bathroom with only a single urinal, and a male/female bathroom with a single regular toilet. 

Other places also have a male/female handicapped or "multi-function" toilet that offers a safe third option. About the only place where you are likely to find a problem are larger establishments that only have committed male and female bathrooms. 

If you know that this is the kind of place you are going, your best bet may be to use the bathroom before arriving at the venue (most train stations also have the same handicap accessible third bathroom arrangement) or, if you find that this isn’t an option and do have to use the women’s bathroom, go with a female friend. 

Are other cities in Japan as Trans-friendly as Tokyo?

As most of my experience has been in Tokyo, I can’t speak to a great degree about how things are outside of the capital, but as with anywhere, the farther and deeper you go into the countryside and the more you deal with people who have never left their hometown, the more likely you are to find people who are close-minded. At the same time however, with the culturally overarching emphasis on personal privacy, politeness and well-mannered behavior, it shouldn’t present a problem. Most Japanese people will be more curious about the fact that you are a foreigner than the fact that you are trans, and will be more concerned about an inability to communicate due to the language barrier. 

About the only major difference that I can speak of with certainty is that people from Kansai (in particular, Osaka) tend to be much more outgoing, direct, friendly, (and on occasion, roudier) than their shy Tokyo counterparts. 

Beyond that, the more you move into Kyushu, the more likely you are to run into “Kyushu Danji” or those with a “men should be masculine” mentality. Again, this however, would more than likely not apply to you in any way, as there is an understanding that you are a foreigner, and as such, the general rules and philosophies of Japanese culture wouldn’t apply to you. 

Is Japan a Safe Place for Transgender Tourists?

For the transgender tourist, Tokyo is a great city to get lost in a crowd. Most Tokyo-ites are too busy to pay any attention to you, and as a foreigner, many may not even notice that you are trans.

In conclusion, I would definately say that Japan is a safe place to come to as a transgender tourist. Like people anywhere, most people, (particularly busy Tokyoites) simply want to go about their business and won’t particularly think anything of you as a trans person either way. As the average Japanese person generally views foreigners as having very different bodies, faces, voices and other features different from their own, if you are normally and cleanly dressed many may not even notice that you are trans. While the farther you go into the countryside, the more likely to find more close-minded people, most people will be more concerned with the language barrier and the fact that you are a foreigner more than your gender identity. Businesses will want your business, and as long as you aren’t troublesome or loud, you should not have any issues getting service. Any denial of service would be an exception, not the rule. The only area to be concerned with are the public toilets, but as long as you keep an eye out for the handicap toilets, or smaller establishments with single-use or male/female toilets described above, you should be fine. 

If you do plan to make a trip out here and have an questions, feel free to drop me a line at tisha@blossomkimono.com. Always happy to help :) Hope to see you for a Kimono dressing too! ;)