Women's Clothing in Summertime

MimiDee905

Mouseketeer
Joined
Apr 24, 2016
Can anyone attest to how to dress in the summer time in Japan? In my research I learned that Japanese women dress conservatively and don't show shoulders or anything. I want to be respectful but also comfortable as I know it's going to be warm in June! I'm planning on packing tank tops and am wondering if it's as big of a deal as the internet is making it?
 
I was actually wondering this as well. Seems like I should be okay packing a couple tank tops for our trip
 
My daughter didn't find it to be. Before she went, we did our homework and had a long list of no-nos - cutoffs, two-piece bathing suits, tank tops, etc. We bought a bunch of new clothes for her before she went because so many planning resources stress the need to dress fairly conservatively, but when she got there, she thought it was mostly unnecessary. She said older Japanese women tended to wear more modest styles, flowy things with lots of coverage rather than bare skin to deal with the heat, but the teens and young adults didn't dress much differently than her idea of "normal" summer clothes. She also said that even in more conservative areas (she spent half her stay in a rural area near the Sea of Japan), the Japanese are pretty tolerant of the fact that Americans do things a little differently and tourists in US-style summer wear don't attract negative attention in most settings even if the Japanese wouldn't wear the things the American women are wearing.
 


I don't think anyone will make a big deal about a foreigner wearing clothes that are too revealing but there are some things that are just not the style. I find very few Japanese girls at Disney wearing: 1. things that show the belly, 2. thin straps rather than a thicker fabric piece to cover the shoulders, 3. transparent clothing, 4. exercise clothes.
 
Honestly it doesn't matter and it's very, very hot so just dress in a way that makes you comfortable. I wore spaghetti strap dresses, shorts etc and nobody batted an eyelid. I'm heavily tattooed as well and even that wasn't an issue. If you're planning to visit temples, then bring a cover up for your shoulders and socks if you have a thing about going barefoot.

Generally, I'll echo above. Japanese women don't really wear crop tops and they often wear heels (even at Disney - ouch!)
 
Honestly it doesn't matter and it's very, very hot so just dress in a way that makes you comfortable. I wore spaghetti strap dresses, shorts etc and nobody batted an eyelid. I'm heavily tattooed as well and even that wasn't an issue. If you're planning to visit temples, then bring a cover up for your shoulders and socks if you have a thing about going barefoot.

Generally, I'll echo above. Japanese women don't really wear crop tops and they often wear heels (even at Disney - ouch!)

Ooh this makes me feel better. On my first trip to Japan, I went through so much trouble and worry to cover my tattoos (I'm not even heavily covered in the usually-exposed areas, but my fiance is), and constantly wore long sleeves and even resorted to bandages. I'm going again at the end of September and am worried it may be hot. I know not to expect to go to most hot springs, temples, & water parks with them exposed but was worried about Tokyo Disney, where I will be visiting for the first time. You hear so many "horror stories" on the interest it is nice to hear from someone who has experience saying it's generally no big deal.

Regardless for the poster, I know Japanese women are more comfortable showing legs than ... chest area, which US has more of an infatuation with. I would be wary of visible bra straps and super short crop tops but that's about all. Light flowing fabric, both in color and texture, tends to keep you more cooler than clothing that leaves much of the skin exposed regardless.
 


I don't think anyone will make a big deal about a foreigner wearing clothes that are too revealing but there are some things that are just not the style. I find very few Japanese girls at Disney wearing: 1. things that show the belly, 2. thin straps rather than a thicker fabric piece to cover the shoulders, 3. transparent clothing, 4. exercise clothes.
Almost all of my clothes are athletic clothes so I may stick out just a little bit
 
Almost all of my clothes are athletic clothes so I may stick out just a little bit
You & everyone else :laughing: Athleisure is very popular for both men & women right now. (Not athleisure like sports bras on the street, but athletic-inspired clothing for sure.) The upcoming Olympics ushered it in.
 
You & everyone else :laughing: Athleisure is very popular for both men & women right now. (Not athleisure like sports bras on the street, but athletic-inspired clothing for sure.) The upcoming Olympics ushered it in.
I wear mostly nike running shorts and under armour tops or nike tank tops. I’m really not too worried. It’s gonna be hot and humid so that’s what I’m more focused on. I don’t show any cleavage or bra straps. I think my freckles might make me stand out more than my clothes lol
 
Ooh this makes me feel better. On my first trip to Japan, I went through so much trouble and worry to cover my tattoos (I'm not even heavily covered in the usually-exposed areas, but my fiance is), and constantly wore long sleeves and even resorted to bandages. I'm going again at the end of September and am worried it may be hot. I know not to expect to go to most hot springs, temples, & water parks with them exposed but was worried about Tokyo Disney, where I will be visiting for the first time. You hear so many "horror stories" on the interest it is nice to hear from someone who has experience saying it's generally no big deal.

Regardless for the poster, I know Japanese women are more comfortable showing legs than ... chest area, which US has more of an infatuation with. I would be wary of visible bra straps and super short crop tops but that's about all. Light flowing fabric, both in color and texture, tends to keep you more cooler than clothing that leaves much of the skin exposed regardless.

Yeah I was exactly the same and was expecting to be refused from bars/restaurants etc but I didn't encounter any negativity over the two weeks - I get more stares on the London Underground to be honest. I went the first two weeks of September and it was so hot that I would have fainted if I was wearing long sleeves. My boyfriend has all his arms tattooed too and they were equally chill about that. Tokyo Disney does say no tattoos on it's park rules but I think that's to stop the Yakuza having a day at Disney, as a Westerner you'll get a pass.
 
DH and I were just there last week. I didn't get any comments about my calf tattoo, or see anyone really staring at it (which my DH said would likely be the case). Also noticed that they do tend to dress more conservatively there (and not many wear sandals), but no one seemed bothered by our shorts and sandals.
 
I'm at the park today and everything people said you don't usually see/people don't wear - I've seen all of it!! Cleavage, bare shoulders, exposed bra straps, crop top/exposed mid-driff, exercise clothes, super short shorts. Only thing I have seen are transparent clothes. Admittedly, it's not the norm, but I guess today is anything goes.
 
I'm at the park today and everything people said you don't usually see/people don't wear - I've seen all of it!! Cleavage, bare shoulders, exposed bra straps, crop top/exposed mid-driff, exercise clothes, super short shorts. Only thing I have seen are transparent clothes. Admittedly, it's not the norm, but I guess today is anything goes.

Maybe it's topsy turvy day?
 
It was kind of weird today. Lots of people to try to navigate walking through but ride times were fairly short. At least the weather was nice. For anyone coming in the next few days, it's going to get much warmer!

Possible that a lot of those were foreign tourists. People from Tokyo usually know their way around the parks and don't mind waiting.
 
It was kind of weird today. Lots of people to try to navigate walking through but ride times were fairly short. At least the weather was nice. For anyone coming in the next few days, it's going to get much warmer!
We arrive on Tuesday which looks like right when the weather cools back down so I’m happy about that!
 
We spent 2 weeks in Japan last month with a couple of days at Tokyo Disney. I agree that the Japanese dress more conservatively than North Americans, but I don't think that clothing that is reasonable for American theme parks would cause any problems there. I would say, however, that a lot of American theme park wear would be extremely sloppy to the Japanese. It really felt like most of the Japanese guests in the park dressed like visiting Disney was an event; something very special that required more care than just throwing on a t-shirt and baggy shorts. Even a lot of the kids were dressed to the nines. I thought it really added to the special atmosphere in the parks and part of what makes Tokyo Disney so amazing. If I went back in hot weather, I wouldn't worry so much about covering up, but I'd bring things like sun dresses and tailored shorts and shirts.
 
After reading this, I asked our friends about appropriate dress code... Both women said that the Japanese dress nicely, at all times men and women and the kids are dress very well... even in the parks, no sloppy looks, except from tourist visiting... one of the our friends said that she had on a nice sleeveless shirt, and that her bra strap kept peaking out, and she had to keep pushing the strap back under the garment... she said while in the ladies room lounge area of the ladies restroom, they were having a fancy lunch in a really nice restaurant in Tokyo... she had sat down to re-arrange her day bag, check her phone, a woman quietly sat beside her, and smiled and offered her a safety pin, and pointed to her bra strap... Her DH has a huge tattoo on his upper arm... it goes from his shoulder to elbow... part of it was showing going into the park, and he was asked to push up his sleeve, they quickly looked at it, he was allowed in... a CM came up to them, and offer apologies for the inconvenience... which he said was not a big thing... he said that he knew that it might be a problem, and had brought an ace bandage to wrap around his arm if necessary... the one thing that they all could not get over was women in heels all over the parks...
 
the one thing that they all could not get over was women in heels all over the parks...

The most amazing thing to me is girls who wear skirts to the parks in the winter. Last February, I waited for an hour after a blizzard to get into Tokyo Disneyland (2 degrees Celsius, 35 Fahrenheit). There was a group of young girls sitting on the bare cold floor next to me in skirts. Half of them didn't even have leggings! 😱
 

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