Tattoo
 

I have sleeve tattoo's that consists of memorial art for my friends and family who are deceased. How sensitive are people in Japan about these kinds of things. Should I keep them covered at all times? Do I need to cover them at all? Are there certain times where its ok and others where its not?

It's good that you're concerned about this; it shows you're culturally sensitive! I'd say keep them covered as much as you can. Are you going for a trip? Going to live there? If the former, no biggie. If the latter, probably gonna cause you some problems. How far down does the tattoo go?

Also expect to not be admitted into any public bath houses, onsen (hot springs), or any other public bathing area. Sadly.

Ill be going for about a week on a trip. They are maybe 2 or 3 inches below my elbow, not too far. I'm a little disappointed that I will have trouble getting into an onsen. It was one of the things I was really looking forward to :( , but oh well, I'm sure there's plenty of things to keep me occupied in Japan :).

you probably wont get in to an onsen, but you might be able to find a smallish one and if your japanese is up to par, or you know someone who can speak, they might let you in say during quiet times.

it wont hurt to ask, cos the tattoo thing was mainly to keep the yakuza out and being a foreigner you might get lucky if you really want to go to one.

cant say i've ever heard anyone with tattoos try let alone get in though.

I'd say go ahead and try anyway! All I know is historically foreigners and people with tattoos have sometimes been refused service at onsen... putting them together might make things tricky, but I'm sure it depends strictly on the area you're in. I'll let some more knowledgeable people chime in about this as I've only been to an onsen once, but again, I'd recommend you try anyway if it's something you really wanna do :)

I think I might try to get into one. Seeing as how I'm very shy it might take a while for me to grow the confidence, but I have a friend that came to my town as a foreign exchange student ill be sure to keep him around.

Remember, if you ask the answer will always be "no".

Like, if he walks in and says something like, "あの、入っていいですか？", they'll say no?

In my experience most of the Onsen outisde of citys dont have a sign saying you cant enter with a tattoo, so ill try all off them without asking. If there is a sign i wouldnt go but there is no law forbidding tattos in japan so if there is no sign you couldn´t know.

I found that only 24hour Saunas/spas and sometimes Capsulehotels have this rules to keep said Yakuza out. Smaller Towns or Onsen Towns as well as Onsen attached to Hotels are usually ok.
Otherwise i´d keep them covered if possible.

On the other hand, Japanese who cannot come to terms with the innocent concept of foreigners getting tattoos are culturally insensitive d***s, and deserve to have it rubbed in.

I'd say just be yourself, wear what you want.