Writing on signs in Japan
Kanji with rounded kana
Japanese mixes Chinese characters (kanji) with two simple alphabets: rounded hiragana like の and し, and angular katakana like カ and ン.
- Look for the small loop of の, the most common hiragana.
- Katakana (straight, simple strokes) is used for foreign words on shop signs.
- Kanji alone could be Chinese: the kana tells you it is Japan.
16 photos, grouped by the clue they show.
Key clue Shop sign 13
Key clue Street sign 3
Japan: what its writing looks like
Japanese is written with three scripts at once. Kanji are Chinese characters, hiragana is a rounded alphabet with letters like の, し and る, and katakana is an angular one with letters like カ, ン and ト, used for foreign words.
On a shop sign you usually see a mix: kanji for the main word, hiragana for the grammar and katakana for brand names. That mix is what tells Japan apart from China and Taiwan.
The same writing is used everywhere in Japan, from Tokyo to small towns. Station and road signs often add the name in Latin letters.
Look-alikes: how to tell them apart
Japan vs 
Taiwan
South Korea
Taiwan uses Chinese characters too, but never the rounded kana. Korea writes in Hangul, with circles inside its square blocks.
Questions about the writing in Japan
How can I tell Japanese from Chinese writing?
Look for kana: small, simple letters like の, し or ン between the characters. Chinese text has none.
What is katakana used for on signs?
Mostly for foreign words and brand names, like コーヒー (coffee) or レストラン (restaurant).