Idiots Who Visit Japan

Why do people come to Japan?

A lot of tourists come for the traditional culture, the history, or the food. All good reasons to visit Japan, or any other country. To experience something completely different from what you are used to.

I've seen on news programmes and YouTube videos people coming from China to shop, and they really do shop. One report that went viral a few months ago was about Chinese tourists in one of the theme parks here buying out the store without regard for other customers. 

But the reports that make me angry are the idiots who come to Japan with no regard for others, who think it's okay to act as if Japan is their own backdrop to make videos. 

Some of these videos have gone viral, the guy dancing on a train and trying to get some poor high school girl to join in, or the girl doing pull-ups on a tori gate. I get that they are trying to get views but surely there are better ways to do this.

Do these "influencers" have any idea what they are really doing? 

Japanese people are naturally insular, to the point of being xenophobic; we really don't need to show them that foreigners are ignorant and disrespectful.  We should be encouraging international exchange, not reinforcing the idea that foreigners are weird, scary, and should be avoided at all costs!

Japan needs tourists; the country needs the money the tourists bring in.  Unfortunately, tourism is now a dirty word. It's synonymous with overcrowding, disrespect for the country, and bad behavior. I know that the majority of people who visit Japan are well-behaved and try to follow the rules of etiquette and use common sense when visiting the country. But it only takes a few idiots to do things such as scribbling graffiti on national monuments or throwing trash on the ground for the media to paint all foreigners as bad and unwelcome in the country.

As a long-time resident, 34 years now, I feel that the surge of anti-foreigner sentiment is becoming scary. I live in the countryside where there are very few foreigners, so I haven't experienced any real prejudice beyond kids pointing at me! But some of my online friends who live in the bigger cities are saying that it's getting to be a bit scary now. One lady was traveling with her young kids on a train in Tokyo,  in the middle of the day, so not crowded. She was standing next to her kids when a man knocked into her. She thought it was an accident until he actually punched her. Another lady was in a convenience store and was punched by a middle-aged man. She was minding her own business when he came up and punched her. These are just two incidents, but from what I've seen, there are a lot of incidents involving foreigners, especially women, and a lot of this is because of idiots who show no respect for Japan.

When I'm out, especially in the city, I keep to myself, I try to follow the unspoken rules, and blend into the background. But somebody seeing me doesn't know if I'm a tourist or not. The mass media paint all foreigners with the same brush. We are here to destroy Japan!!  

It's sad. It makes me angry when I and other long-time residents, who work and pay taxes, are lumped in with idiots who come here and misbehave. 

I've seen headlines from other countries dealing with over-tourism.  I don't know if there is an answer to this problem. 

One idea is to show case other areas of Japan so tourists are spread out more and not crowding Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. That would deal with the overcrowding but what to do about people who have no respect for the country they are visiting, not just Japan but other countries as well. Can we educate idiots?

Any one who is reading this, if you are thinking of traveling abroad please remember that you represent your country. your actions, both good and bad will reflect on the people who have decided to call the country your are visiting home, so please give a thought to them!