150+ Best Japan Quotes and Japan Instagram Captions
Recently visited Japan or planning to visit Japan soon? Maybe you are looking for some inspiration and the best Japanese quotes? Or maybe you have a lot of photos & videos for social media and need unique Japan Instagram captions? I got you covered.
Japan is a unique destination with rich culture, long history, and amazing food. It is safe to say that Japan is a dream destination for many travelers. That is why I have prepared more than 150 best Japan quotes for the most inspirational captions.
In this article, you will find different varieties of Japan quotes. Some of the best quotes of all time, famous Japanese proverbs, unique Instagram captions, or something easy-going and fun. I have added iconic quotes by the Japanese and opinions that others have about the Japanese people.
No matter if you are planning to travel to Japan or you live in Japan already, you will find some of the best Japanese quotes in this post, so keep on reading!
Best Japan Quotes
“The whole of Japan is a pure invention. There is no such country, there are no such people. The Japanese people are simply a mode of style, an exquisite fancy of art.“ – Oscar Wilde
“In traditional Japanese Aesthetics, Wabi-Sabi is a world view centred on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. The Aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is imperfect, impermanent and incomplete.“ – Unknown
“Japan is the most intoxicating place for me. Japanese culture fascinated me. the food, the dress, the manners and the traditions. It is the travel experience that has moved me the most.“ – Roman Coppola
“I love Japan. I love the collision of the modern and ancient worlds coming together in that place. It’s so high-tech and cool.“ – John Lasseter
“When you look at Japanese traditional architecture, you have to look at Japanese culture and its relationship with nature. You can actually live in harmonious, close contact with nature – this very unique to Japan.“ – Tadao Ando
“Japan is a sort of a hobby of mine, and I can get around Japan with ease.“ – Dick Cavett
“Japanese culture? I kind of love everything about it. I love the food. Everyone’s really nice. There’s just a lot about Japan that’s really cool.“ – Naomi Osaka
“Japan knows the horror of war and has suffered as no other nation under the cloud of nuclear disaster. Certainly, Japan can stand strong for a world of peace.“ – Martin Luther King Jr
“Japan is very cosmopolitan. It values its origins, but a worldview hovers above this narrow perspective. The interest of the Japanese in their folk culture is transcendental.“ – F. Sionil Jose
“I loved Japan. I used to write a lot about it when I was a child. And I always wanted to go. And it was delightful. I absolutely loved it. What a smashing place.“ – Billy Connolly
Unique Japan captions for Instagram
“What a strange thing! To be alive beneath cherry blossoms.“ – Kobayashi Issa
“I was born in Japan and raised in Japan, but those are the only things that make me Japanese, I’ve grown up reading books from all over.“ – Hideo Kojima
“One must learn if one is to see the beauty in Japan, to like an extraordinarily restrained and delicate loveliness.“ – Miriam
“In the cherry blossom’s shade, there’s no such thing as a stranger.“ – Kobayashi Issa
“Who needs drugs when you have Takeshi’s Castle?“ – Craig Charles
“Japan! everything in details perfection.“ – Baris Gencel
“I wanted to meet the people, to get involved in the city, to make Tokyo mine.“ – Jacob Aue Sobol.
“Japan, for me, will always be my inspiration source.“ – Nicola Formichetti
“I always had a sense that I would fall in love with Tokyo.” – Junot Diaz.
Can I take one of these cherry blossom trees home?
Puns and Japan captions for Instagram
I wish you could taste this picture from Japan.
How long does it take to chop down a tree in Japan? One Okinawa.
But first, let’s sip matcha in Japan.
Sushi and sightseeing, please!
Did you know Japan has its own line of Eggnog? They export it from Nog-Sasaki.
Why has Japan had so many conflicts and wars? Because they have lots of animes.
What is the egg capital of Japan? Yolkohama!
Udon know how much I love Japanese food.
Have you heard what Japan has instead of alphabet soup? Times new ramen.
Thank u, next bowl of ramen.
More puns and Japan captions for Instagram
Lost in Tokyo.
Cherry blossom dreamin.
Having the time of my life in Japan.
Happiness is going on a sushi date in Japan.
Kiss me under the cherry blossoms.
Just me and a bunch of cherry blossom trees.
Short and sweet? How very Japanese of you.
Doing this sweet thing called exploring Japan.
Finding paradise in the streets of Japan.
I can’t seem to get the beauty of Tokyo off my mind.
Short quotes about Japan
“If it has not been invented in Japan, then it has not been invented anywhere else.“ – Amelia Danver
“In Japanese swordsmanship, it is not uncommon to speak of a unity of mind, body, and sword.“ – H.E. Davey
“If plan A doesn’t work, the alphabet has 25 more letters – 204 if you’re in Japan.“ – Claire Cook
“I miss riding those fast trains in Japan. Cause I’d never seen a train that fasts in my life.“ – Ike Turner
“I have visited Japan several times and have always been shown wonderful hospitality.“ – Stephen Hawking
“In Japan, there is less a culture of preserving old buildings than in Europe.“ – Tadao Ando
“Japan never considers time together as time wasted. Rather, it is time invested.“ – Donald Richie
“I actually enjoyed getting lost in Japan’s backroads, finding myself in a wasabi farm.“ – Travis Rice
“Japan shows the extent to which food habits evolve.“ – Bee Wilson
“In Japan, food filters into every aspect of the culture.“ – Bee Wilson
Funny quotes about Japan
“What they have done in Japan, which I find so inspirational, is they’ve brought the toilet out from behind the locked door. They’ve made it conversational. People go out and upgrade their toilets. They talk about it. They have sanitized it.“ – Rose George
“It is often said that the Japanese are extremely clean at home, or inside any house or office, but dirty and untidy outside. ‘Go and look at a railway station,’ I was told, ‘and you’ll be horrified.’ I went and was horrified; horrified by the cleanliness of the place.“ – George Mikes
“In Japan, you have no idea what they are saying, and they can’t help you either. Nothing makes any sense. They are very polite, but you feel like a joke is being played on you the entire time you are there.“ – Bill Murray
“The method (of learning Japanese) recommended by experts is to be born as a Japanese baby and raised by a Japanese family, in Japan. And even then it’s not easy.“ – Dave Barry
“‘The Japanese are one of the most punctual people he had ever worked with. They could, he imagined, put the Germans to shame in their high expectation for timeliness.“ – Vann Chow
“Japan is the only country I know where a flower can bring an entire nation to a state of near-sexual excitement.“ – Karin Muller
“I often look ridiculous in Japan. There’s really no way to eat in Japan, particularly kaiseki in a traditional ryokan, without offending the Japanese horribly. Every gesture, every movement is just so atrociously wrong, and the more I try, the more hilarious it is.“ – Anthony Bourdain
“You cannot call yourself a true geisha until you can stop a man in his tracks with a single look.“ – Arthur Golden
“Japanese medical people are traditionally very strange and creepily poetic.“ – David Cronenberg
“If your computer speaks English, it was probably made in Japan.“ – Alan Perlis
“The Japanese have a word to describe it. It’s judo; the art of conquering by submitting. The Western equivalent of judo is, “Yes, dear.” – Unkown
Quotes about food in Japan
“Japanese food makes me feel particularly good.“ – David Mitchell
“I was not prepared for the feel of the noodles in my mouth, or the purity of the taste. I had been in Japan for almost a month, but I had never experienced anything like this. The noodles quivered as if they were alive, and leaped into my mouth where they vibrated as if playing inaudible music.“ – Ruth Reichl
“There are signs that the Japanese themselves consider their excellent cuisine as an essential part of what it means to be Japanese.“ – Bee Wilson
“You’ll find that a lot of traditional sweets will include Anko – sweet red bean – and they are quite delicious. My favorite is Taiyaki – a fish-shaped sweet pancake, typically filled with Anko, but often with other fillings like chocolate, custard, or green tea cream. When they’re fresh and warm they are so amazing.“ – Abby Denson
“I find that there are a lot of similarities between French and Japanese food. I think they’re two countries that have really systemized their cuisine and codified it.“ – David Chang
“No, Ramen is not good for you. But in Japan, our favorite thing to do after drinking all night, especially in Sapporo where it is freezing cold, is to go to the Ramen place at two, three in the morning.“ – Cary Fukunaga
“Japan has somehow managed to achieve the ideal attitude to eating: an obsession with culinary pleasure that is actually conducive to health.“ – Bee Wilson
“A lot of people think Japanese food is difficult, a lot of work. But you don’t have to buy the knife I have. You don’t have to train as long as I have. You can do my cooking in your kitchen.“ – Masaharu Morimoto
“Maitake Mushrooms are known in Japan as the dancing mushroom. According to a Japanese legend, a group of Buddhist nuns and woodcutters met on a mountain trail, where they discovered a fruiting of maitake mushrooms emerging from the forest floor. Rejoicing at their discovery of this delicious mushroom, they danced to celebrate.“ – Paul Stamets
“My husband and I went to Japan for our honeymoon, and you look at, like the presentation of the food, and it’s ridiculous. It looks like a Mondrian painting or something. Everything looks like a bunch of little hello kitty erasers when you eat a little bento box in Japan. It is so precise and beautiful and processed and neat.“ – Ali Wong
Inspirational quotes about Japan
“Three things matter in life – sumo, business, and war. Understand one, you know them all. But why should Geisha care? You spend your time plucking strings and dancing.“ – Arthur Golden
“It is not for Geisha to want. It is not for Geisha to feel. Geisha is an artist of the floating world. She dances. She sings. She entertains you. Whatever you want. The rest is shadows. The rest is secret.“ – Arthur Golden
“The main religions in Japan – Confucianism, Buddhism, and Shintoism – are all ones in which the rituals are more important than absolute rules.“ – Hector Garcia
“Listen, Ono, Japan is no longer a backward country of peasant farmers. We are now a mighty nation, capable of matching any of the Western nations. In the Asian hemisphere, Japan stands like a giant amidst cripples and dwarfs.“ – Kazuo Ishiguro
“I am not a new age person, but I do believe in meditation, and for that reason, I have always liked the Buddhist religion. When I have been to Japan, I have been to Buddhist temples and meditated, and I found that rewarding.“ – Clint Eastwood
“In Japanese, we have a word for those feelings that are too deep for words: Yugen. Yugen gives us a profound sense of the beauty and mystery of the universe.“ – Dr Qing Li
“Japan’s very interesting. Some people think it copies things. I don’t think that anymore. I think what they do is reinvent things. They will get something that’s already been invented and study it until they thoroughly understand it. In some cases, they understand it better than the original inventor.“ – Steve Jobs
“Donated by Japan, cherry blossoms grace the paths where a wall once stood in Berlin. Walls divide. Flowers unite.“ – Khang Kijarro Nguyen
“In Japanese, Ikigai is written by combining the symbols that mean “life” with “to be worthwhile.“ – Hector Garcia
“This may seem to labor the obvious, but in Japan, one meets intelligent people who claim that ‘logic’ is something invented in the West to allow Westerners to win discussions. Indeed, the belief is widespread that the Japanese can as happily do without logic now as they supposedly have for centuries past.“ – Karel Van Wolferen
Quotes about life in Japan
“It would be really nice to have a venue stop in Japan someday. Japan would be perfect for it.“ – Travis Rice
“One thing living in Japan did for me was to make me feel that what is left out of a work of art is as important as, if not more important than, what is put in.“ – Katherine Paterson
“The Dojo system in Japan is very unique. It prepared me not only for wrestling in the states and around the world, but it also prepared me for how to handle myself as an adult in the real world.“ – Finn Balor.
“In Japan, and to some degree other Asian countries, people have historically focused mental strength in the hara (abdomen) as a way of realizing their full potential. Japan has traditionally viewed the hara as the vital center of humanity in a manner not dissimilar to the Western view of the heart or brain.“ – Unknown
“The neck is kind of what’s sexy in Japan, so you have to have the kimono a little bit back. It was just a whole different way of appealing to what was sexy.“ – Lucy Liu
“If you are a Westerner and you spend enough time in Japan—and you speak Japanese—you will eventually be told that you cannot truly understand the Japanese. Only the Japanese can understand themselves.“ – Marie Mutsuki Mockett
“When doing business in Japan, process, manners, and how you work on something is more important than the final results.“ – Hector Garcia
“But anything that you hear about Japan is nothing like what you see when you actually go over there and see it, you know, in a real situation.“ – Billy Higgins
“Living right in the heart of Tokyo itself is quite like living in the mountains – in the midst of so many people, one hardly sees anyone.“ – Yuko Tsushima.
“A Japanese person, no matter what, never loses his temper.” – Ercole Patti
Quotes about the Japanese culture
“Teaism is a cult founded on the adoration of the beautiful among the sordid facts of everyday existence.“ – Kakuzo Okahura
“A very enjoyable meditation on the curious thing called ‘Zen’ -not the Japanese religious tradition but rather the Western click of Zen that is embraced in advertising, self-help books, and much more. Yamada, who is both a scholar of Buddhism and a student of archery, offers refreshing insight into Western stereotypes of Japan and Japanese culture, and how these are received in Japan.“ – Alexander Gardner
“Bathing just once in this hot spring in Shimane prefecture in Tamatsukuri will clear your skin, and continued bathing will cure all your aches and pains. Given such positive results without exception since long ago, people call it the water of the gods.“ – Izumi no Kuni Fudoki
“Japan is not a Western democracy. The Japanese have kept their traditions, culture and heritage, but they have joined the community of free nations.’ – Natan Sharansky
‘Japan was made by a handful of brave men, warriors, willing to give their lives for what seems to have become a forgotten word, honor.“ – Unknown
“Whereas in the west, individuality and drive are considered positive qualities, they have not seen the same way, in Japan. In that country, if you are too much of a rugged individualist, it might actually indicate that you are a weak, unreliable character and that you are selfish, in a childish, willful kind of way.“ – Alexei Maxim Russell
“The method of producing comics in Japan is very hectic, but it’s also rewarding because it’s possible to do both the story and art all by yourself. In this way, it’s possible to bring out one’s individuality. If this idea appeals to you, I call on you to try drawing your own manga.“ – Akira Toriyama
“The Japanese have two words: “Uchi” meaning inside and “soto” meaning outside. Uchi refers to their close friends, the people in their inner circle. Soto refers to anyone who is outside that circle. And how they relate and communicate to the two are drastically different. To the soto, they are still polite and they might be outgoing, on the surface, but they will keep them far away until they are considered considerate and trustworthy enough to slip their way into the uchi category. Once you are uchi, the Japanese version of friendship is entire universes beyond the average American friendship! Uchi friends are for life. Uchi friends represent a sacred duty. A Japanese friend, who has become an uchi friend, is the one who will come to your aid, in your time of need, when all your western “friends” have turned their back and walked away.“ – Alexei Maxim Russell
“Beauty and health without medicine or cosmetics – no wonder onsen bathing is so popular. In Europe as well as Japan, hot springs are known as ‘the foundations of youth’ because of their abilities to rejuvenate and restore.“ – Dr Qing Li
“To combat the confusion and depression that assault me when I come off the road in the middle of a tour, I seek the most oblivion music possible. When its the way out there that I seek, I go right to my stash of amazing music from Japan.“ – Henry Rollins
“There’s nothing in Chinese culture that is equivalent of the geisha. It’s so different, so special to Japan.“ – Zhang Ziyi
Travel quotes about Japan
“Japan, not only a mega-busy city that thrives on electronics and efficiency, actually has an almost sacred appreciation of nature. One must travel outside of Tokyo to truly experience the ‘old Japan’ and more importantly feel these aspects of Japanese culture.“ – Apolo Ohno
“I wish I could see a cherry blossom or a lotus flower. Where could they be?“ ― Susumu Katsumata
“I love Mount Fuji and I think it is my love of the mountains in Japan that led me to seek other mountains around the world.“ – Tamae Watanabe
“One must learn, if one is to see beauty in Japan, to love an extraordinarily restrained and delicate beauty.” – Mary Ritter Beard
“Fall is the time to view the changing colors of the leaves. Momijigari is the Japanese word for leaf-peeping. Many Kyoto temples and parks hold night illuminations with colorful trees lit up beautifully.“ – Abby Denson
“I’ve been to Japan so many times, but I still constantly stumble across things that are so foreign to me.“ – Travis Rice
“I loved the quiet places in Kyoto, the places that held the world within a windless moment. Inside the temples, Nature held her breath. All longing was put to sleep in the stillness, and all was distilled into a clean simplicity. The smell of woodsmoke, the drift of incense; a procession of monks in black-and-gold robes, one of them giggling in a voice yet unbroken; a touch of autumn in the air, a sense of gathering rain.“ – Pico Iyer
“If you go to Japan, you have to take the train and go visit different capital cities. Just sticking to one city would be a shame, considering how easy it is to get around. Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto all have different vibes and sights.“ – Ronny Chieng
“Tokyo may have more money and Kyoto more culture; Nara may have more history and Kobe more style. But Osaka has the biggest heart.“ – Vikas Swarup
“We were in Japan once where they had 30 kinds of green tea. I thought there was one.“ – Billy Corgan
Quotes about Tokyo
“If Japan is enigmatic, then Tokyo is the heart of that riddle. Its rhythm and essence so utterly alluring that it demands to be explored. It has a depth that keeps travelers in a constant state of rapture and delight. Whatever your vice, Tokyo has you covered.” – Michael Ryan
“Tokyo was an origami city folded over and over until something was made of virtually nothing.” – Christopher Barzak
“Tokyo was a place you could quite happily exist alone and be self-contained. It seemed to promise that it was better to be by yourself.” – Olivia Sudjic
“I grew up in the countryside and wanted to go to Tokyo. I had Tokyo complex.” – Makoto Shinkai
“Look at London or Paris. They are both filthy. You don’t get that in Tokyo. The proud residents look after their city.“ – Tadao Ando
“Tokyo is like the New York of Asia. Although the people there are all basically from Japan, they celebrate what they like about various cultures.” – Pharrell Williams
“Here in Tokyo, they’re not just hard-working, but almost violently cheerful. Down at the peacock, the change flows like tap water. The women behind the register bows to you, and I don’t mean that they lower their heads a little, the way you might if passing someone on the street. These cashiers press their hands together and bend from the waist. Then they say what sounds like to me like we, the people of this store, worship you as we might a God.“ – David Sedaris
“I love Tokyo. If I had to eat only in one city for the rest of my life, Tokyo would be it. Most chefs I know would agree with me.“ – Anthony Bourdain
“There are so many more people in Tokyo than in New York, but it’s pristine. It’s so organized, and yet the address system is in complete chaos.” – Nick Wooster
“Shibuya is a great place to start your trip, as it offers you a taste of every stereotype you could hope to see in Tokyo” – Brian Flynn
Quotes about Japanese people
“Many Japanese people never really retire—they keep doing what they love for as long as their health allows.“ – Hector Garcia
“The Japanese are skilled at bringing nature and technology together: not man versus nature, but rather a union of the two.“ – Hector Garchave
“I like them very much. I like the Japanese people are very polite. Now, some people don’t like to play to them because they think they’re very quiet after American audiences. But I like them, they’re very nice people, they listen, and they applaud and once you get used to the fact that they’re not all drunk and screaming like they are in America maybe, then it’s OK.” – George Harrison
“Honda did not necessarily cling to the historical school of law, which was influenced by nineteenth-century romanticism, nor to the ethnic school. The Japan of the Meiji era, indeed, needed a nationalistic type of law, one that had its roots in the philosophy of the historical school. But Honda’s concerns were quite different. He had first been intent on isolating the essential principle behind all law, a principle which he felt must exist.“ – Yukio Mishima
“What do Japanese artisans, engineers, Zen philosophy, and cuisine have in common? Simplicity and attention to detail.“ – Hector Garcia
“One of the things I discovered in Japan was from watching sumo wrestling. In the end, you can never tell who has won the fight, and who has lost because they do not show their emotion because it could embarrass the loser. It is unbelievable. That is why I try to teach my team politeness. It is only here in England that everybody pokes their tongue out when they win.“ – Arsene Wenger
“The recipe to an unhappy life in Japan is to want to be Japanese if you are not. Anyone who wants to penetrate the country is setting itself up for tears and disappointment.“ – Pico Iyer
“Japan learned from the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that the tragedy wrought by nuclear weapons must never be repeated and that humanity and nuclear weapons cannot coexist.“ – Daisaku Ikeda
“The Japanese see self-assertion is immoral and self-sacrifice is the sensible course to take in Life.“ – Akira Kurosawa
“The Japanese are a forest civilization. Their culture, philosophy and religion are carved out of the forests that blanket the country – not to mention all manner of everyday things, from houses and shrines to walking sticks and spoons.“ – Dr Qing Li
Famous Japanese Proverbs
Love without friendship is like a shadow without the sun.
The wise never marry. And when they marry they become otherwise.
Virtue is not knowing but doing.
One who smiles rather than rage is always the stronger.
Fear is only as deep as the mind allows.
One kind word can warm three winter months.
Who travels for love finds a thousand miles not longer than one.
Cold tea and cold rice are bearable, but cold looks and cold words are not.
Dumplings over flowers.
Those who chase two hares won’t even catch one.
Love and a cough cannot be hidden.
Quotes by famous Japanese people
“News from Japan doesn’t travel and hardly ever gets reported abroad. It is almost as if Japan’s winds do not travel far.“ – Kanji Hanawa
“I speak of the old Japan because out of the ashes of the old Japan there has risen a new Japan.“ – Shigeru Yoshida
“In Japanese culture, there is a belief that God is everywhere – In mountains, trees, rocks, even in our sympathy for robots or hello kitty toys.“ – Ryuichi Sakamoto
“You change the world by being yourself.” – Yoko Ono
“In Japan, they prefer the realistic style. They like answers and conclusions, but my stories have none. I want to leave them wide open to every possibility. I think my readers understand that openness.“ – Haruki Murakami
“For me, creation can only come out of a certain kind of unhappiness. They say in Japan, this thing like the hungry spirit – the hungry mind – is what gets you going forward.“ – Rei Kawakubo
“In Japan, we have the phrase, “Shoshin,” which means “beginner’s mind.” Our “original mind” includes everything within itself. It is always rich and sufficient within itself. This does not mean a closed mind, but actually an empty mind and a ready mind. If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything. It is open to everything. In the beginner’s mind, there are many possibilities; in the expert’s mind there are few.“ – Shunryu Suzuki
“We Japanese enjoy small pleasures, not extravagance. I believe a man should have a simple lifestyle – even if he can afford more.” – Masaru Ibuka
“A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.” – Yoko Ono
“People are drawn deeper into tragedy not by their defects but by their virtues.” – Haruki Murakami
Further reading for the best Japan quotes
Travel tips for Kyoto:
- How to Rent a Kimono in Kyoto: Detailed Process with Prices
- Complete Kyoto Itinerary: How to Spend 3 Days in Kyoto
- Best Kyoto Tours: Unique Experiences in Kyoto That You Don’t Want to Miss
- 18 Best Free Things to Do in Kyoto + Kyoto Budget Tips
- 13 Best Ryokan in Kyoto with Private Onsen That Will Blow Your Mind
- Where to stay in Kyoto? Hotel Review of Mimaru Kyoto Nijo Castle
- 15 Best Places to Photograph Cherry Blossoms in Kyoto
Travel tips for Osaka:
- 12 Best Ryokans in Osaka with a Private Onsen
- Osaka Itinerary: How to Spend 3 Days in Osaka
- 10 Best Food Tours in Osaka for Foodies
- How to Plan a Day Trip to Himeji: Travel Tips and Things to Know Before Visiting
Travel tips for Tokyo:
- 13 Best Tokyo Tours: Fun and Unique Experiences in Tokyo
- 13 Incredible Hotels With Tokyo Tower View In Tokyo
- 15 Epic Hotels with a Mount Fuji View in Japan
Or read more about Kyoto | Osaka | Tokyo | Himeji | Nara | Uji | Japan
Other useful tips for visiting Japan
🏠 Need a place to stay? Browse Booking or Agoda
💃 How about fun experiences? GetYourGuide, Viator, and Klook have it all
🚗 Considering renting a car in Japan? Use Rentalcars
🚂 If you need transfers, bus or train tickets, check 12Go
🔒 Don’t forget about travel insurance from HeyMondo
In conclusion…
This is the end of the best Japan quotes and some of the coolest Instagram captions about Japan. I am sure you enjoyed reading this article, but which quotes did you like the most? Maybe you want to save them all and teleport to Japan already? I feel you!
I would love to hear your thoughts, so if you have any feedback or additional tips, leave a comment below. Also, check out my Instagram for regular travel videos and travel inspiration. Or explore other destinations on this travel blog.