Bowing Out Of Respect
We seem to have moved past the days of handshaking. It is no longer the everyday norm, and it is much more sanitary. In Japan, the locals have a similar custom, one that is similar to the Western handshake, that is. In Japan, you bow to greet someone, and it also shows a lot of respect.
You do not want to embarrass yourself, so you have to be aware of the various kinds of bows that exist, and you prostrate your body in different ways, depending on the person you are greeting, as you do not want to show disrespect. Take an informal setting, for example,
a quick slight 15-degree bow would suffice; formal settings call for a slow 30-degree bow.