Very superstitious

Tokyo’s shrines do a roaring trade in protective amulets, fortune-telling papers, lucky wooden rakes and (often sizeable) cash donations to ward off bad luck – an indication of just how seriously many Japanese people take their superstitions. Some themes will be familiar – unlucky numbers, prophetic cups of tea and stepping on cracks – but they all get a local twist. Here are some of the most popular:

Safety in numbers…

The numbers four and nine are always unlucky, thanks to their phonetic similarity to the words for death and suffering, respectively. It’s why few things come packaged in fours, and hospitals often omit those room numbers.

Do the math…

Money is a common gift in Japan, especially at weddings. But the figure has to be an odd number, since anything divisible by two portends a future split in the relationship.

Straighten up and lie right…

Bodies are traditionally buried with the head pointing north, so it’s considered unlucky to sleep this way. And while not quite a superstition, Japanese kids also learn that if they lie down directly after a meal they will become a cow.

Don't step on the gaps…

Stepping on the gaps between tatami mats is as unlucky in Japan as pavement cracks are in the West.

Get a thick ear…

To become wealthy you’ll need either thick earlobes or to have a dream involving a snake.

Lucky cuppa…

If a tea stem is floating upright in your tea, it means good luck.

Rule of thumb…

When you see a funeral car, quickly hide your thumbs. A dangling thumb will prevent you from being present at your parents’ deaths. (This stems from the name for thumbs in Japanese: ‘parent fingers’.)

Nail in the coffin…

You’ll also miss your parents’ deaths if you cut your fingernails in the evening, although only if you are a Tokyoite. People in other regions incur alternative forms of bad luck by nocturnal trimming.

Feeling eel…

And finally, a superstition that borders on plain common sense: don’t eat eels and pickled plums at the same time or you’ll get stomach cramps.