If you’re on this page, you might be curious about how to navigate your job in Japan with your pre-existing body modifications. This page will cover what to expect from your schools, coworkers, students, and public community about your tattoos/piercings.

Let’s first look at the body modification culture in the Japanese education system.

Regardless of an area’s traditions or progressiveness, it’s seen as unprofessional to show tattoos or intense body modifications at your place of work in many parts of the world. In Japan, this tends to be the case. Many teachers don’t even wear earrings or accessories to school. Why? 

In junior and senior high schools, the rules surrounding what students can and can’t wear to school are strict. They must wear their uniforms a certain way. They wear the same socks and shoes. They can’t wear any makeup, jewelry, colorful hairpins, or different hairstyles. There is hardly room for self-expression through fashion in Japan’s school system. Thus, teachers hold back too. The goal is to set a good example for the students and to not show off, though sometimes there is a strict dress code for teachers as well.

However, don’t forget your job: you are here for cultural exchange, and that’s exactly what makes the students so interested in you. If you’re allowed to show tattoos and wear cool piercings, do it! The students will be thrilled, or at least curious. Some schools even encourage it. Click here for more information on the history of tattoos in Japanese culture.

Now, let’s see how having tattoos can affect your everyday life in Nagasaki.

Gyms: It’s pretty standard for ALTs to find a gym around their area and frequent it with a membership. However, gyms around Japan have a strict no-tattoo rule. This means that you will be restricted in what you can wear to the gym. This is a problem for some, but if you don’t care about covering up then it won’t be an issue. Just be aware that you will have to do some research before applying to any gym membership.  

Onsen: You’ve probably heard about Japan being strict on their no tattoos in the onsen policy. It’s true — a lot of onsen in Nagasaki don’t let tattoo-havers into their onsen. But this isn’t the case everywhere! There are a ton of exceptions. Many onsen are becoming more and more accepting as Japanese society accepts tattoos more and more each year. Click here for a list of tattoo-friendly onsen.

There are also places that you can rent a private or “family” room, in which you are isolated from other people as well as workers. Some popular onsen in Nagasaki have this option. Again, just do your research ahead of time.

Cover-up Options: Whether that’s to keep it out of the public eye, or because part of it shows through your favorite work shirt, or you have a small one and want to go to a no-tattoos beach, there are many options for you to cover your tattoo. Keep in mind that covers are for small tattoos and tattoos that do not expand over a large area. For example, tiny ankle or wrist tattoos are generally OK and easy to cover. Medium-sized individual tattoos can be a breeze as well. Covering up sleeves and tattoo clusters may prove more difficult. Check out the links below to learn more about covering up in Japan:

Japan’s rules

Cover Options for Onsen Etc.

**If you do have tattoos in very visible places, do keep in mind that your placement is Nagasaki Prefecture — this area of Japan gets VERY HOT over the summer months, and it’s possible you’ll still be required to wear long sleeves to cover your tattoo when you teach. Be CAREFUL not to get dehydrated or cause harm to your body!**

Things to Keep in Mind While Teaching in Nagasaki With Body Mods:

  • ES/JHS levels usually require you to cover tattoos the best that you can. It’s ok if the kids know you have them, but during work they will expect you to cover up.
  • SHS are a little more lenient on tattoos showing as long as they are not huge, obnoxious, or inappropriate. This still varies from school to school.
  • If you have a facial piercing (lip, eyebrow, nose), be ready to take it out during work hours. You will probably be asked to remove them if you show up with them.
  • Having your ears pierced is fine. If you have multiple ear piercings, you might be asked to limit how many you wear to school. 
  • Gauges are OK if they just look like earrings/piercings. If you have very largely gauged ears, talk to your school about what to do.
  • Your first few days or weeks at school, you may be able to get away with showing tattoos/wearing certain piercings since you’re new and foreign. But be prepared for other teachers or your VP/principals to eventually ask you to change that. This also depends on the school!
  • Your body, your choice — there is nothing wrong with showing your body art freely when you are not at work. However, remember that you are still a representative for JET, for your country, and for your school(s). 
  • Piercing shops in Nagasaki Prefecture are kind of hard to come by, but Sasebo and Fukuoka have a lot of great tattoo artists 🙂

Here are some real-life scenarios from NAGASAKI ALTS:

         – a high school ALT showed their large forearm tattoo and wore 3 piercings in each ear every day. Totally fine with their school.

         -a high school ALT showed their upper arm tattoos when wearing short sleeves. They were not asked to cover it.

         -an ES/JHS ALT wears 0g spiral gauges to school, and has never been asked to remove them or wear different ones.

         -an ES/JHS ALT on the Working Committee said that their school requested for them to remove their eyebrow piercing after a few weeks of being here.

         -an ES/JHS ALT was asked to remove their (very small) nose piercing during school hours.

So, to reiterate, depending on the size, content, and placement, you might be asked to take out piercings or cover up tats. It’s usually nothing personal. It’s just the custom, and sometimes just the dress code. There is a plethora of personal accounts from ALTs across Japan who talk about their experiences with tattoos or piercings. It’s very much an ESID scenario, but one thing you can definitely count on is that it’s NOT the norm here to have body modifications, especially extreme ones, and especially as a teacher!