It frustrates me that I haven't even been to Japan yet, and all of the tourist spots are being ruined because of misbehaving tourists

One big problem is that too many people know there are differences in cultures, but they don’t care. These are the same kind of people who don’t even care about their own home and country let alone others. They don’t care about obeying the laws, or keeping things clean, or respecting other people, etc and sadly you can’t do anything to help these people.

My former homeroom teacher was in Japan last week for two weeks and she basically told me that the "tourists misbehaving" situation is actually that bad. Which sucks, cuz if tourists continue this type of behavior; Japan might restrict even more things for tourists, because they can't behave themselves. Which would also suck for us who just want to visit the country in the future🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️

This sucks so much, Havent visited Japan in such a long time and now I find out I can be banned from places and cant see things because some foreigners wern't behaving themselves. Its not just tourists 'suffering' from being blocked from access, but also actual nationals and people who have been residing here for ages. ie Chris Broad. Its not fair. Japanese people mostly behave well in other countries and act as a ambassador' of the country, why cant some people follow a similar idea of respect and humility.

Maybe Japan can solve a lot of this by reinstituting tourist visas and forcing applicants to go through "how not to be a dickhead" training before approval.

As someone who's considering attending university/moving there due to the state of my country. This saddends me, why can't these tourists understand that this is NOT their turf, they are guests and should treat these people's homes with RESPECT?!

tiktok and instagram really be ruining all these places (not just in japan). The Lawson's konbini in this video is an example of a place that just blew up all over social media. The reels/shorts just cause so many people to flock to said location and they'll do whatever needed to get that shot.

thank u for being the moistcritikal for japan news, doesnt affect me but its good content

By the time I finally get to go to Japan, the only place open for tourist will be the airport parking lot.

I think one of the main reasons they went for the drastic solution is because the larger local buildings and business are having to deal with tourists treaspassing, in the form of forcing their way into the buildings to get a better view of Mount Fuji. There was an interview with a worker at the local dentist. They had to kick multiple tourists out daily, who forced their way into the clinic to get the ideal photo.

I finally got the chance to visit Japan a couple weeks ago. Don't let stories like these deter you from visiting, there's so many cool things to see, and despite what you see online, most foreign tourists are very respectful. It's a very small amount of people doing this. Or, at the very least, that's what I observed in 2 weeks visiting.

As an American, who grew up in Japan. And now lives in America as an adult and have for a couple decades now. I still have so much of my core moral character shaped from living there. It’s ridiculous. I get so mad when people litter, I will yell at people in public and tell them to pick it up. I will look at them and say oh “I think you drop something. !!!” 😡

Just read a follow-up article. The photo spot for the Lawson is on the other side of the street in front of a dentist. The town is putting up the screen between the road and the office to lessen the photostop.

someones gonna climb the damn thing and its gonna be an even bigger issue 💀

There are so many videos about how to behave in Japan, there’s almost no excuse for it

That is really sad l want to go to Japan and see all the amazing things in Japan

I still haven’t been to Japan but this is just gonna make the borders close again won’t it? I’m left planning a trip to happen in the next 5 years! Can people just not ruin it for others?!

I feel sad about this situation 😔 I want to visit Japan in the future. Unfortunately, we have people in the UK who have come to live here and don't follow the rules because of their lack of respect. I hope that Japan can sort things out ❤⛩️

weakening yen means nothing, plane tickets are through the roof, jr pass is unaffordable now...

People need to consider that tourism is only about 6% of Japan's GDP. That is for both domestic Japanese tourist and inbound foreign tourists, and naturally the percentage of contribution to GDP by foreign tourist spending is even smaller than that. So while people working in hotels, souvenir shops, tourist trap "ninja" experiences and kimono rentals, etc. get a benefit, Japan's economy as a whole certainly doesn't depend on tourism as much as you think. Just watch some Japanese news YT channels like ANN to see exactly how tourists leave litter on the ground, block parking spaces, etc. at that Lawson spot and it's easy to see why local residents are annoyed. Drivers on that road have to avoid foreigner jaywalkers and idiots who linger in the middle of the road to get their Instagram shot.

I wonder if this all stems from some of the districts in Kyoto Banning tourists from certain Geisha areas. Seems like a temporary solution that will hurt them in the long run

Thank you tourists for ruining my plans to travel to Japan next year

"There being lots of garbage bins." LOL! That actually made me laugh. It wasn't till just a few years back that they started bringing back public garbage bins. For those who don't know, after the Tokyo Serin Gas attack, ALL garbage bins were removed from most public places. And they were gone for MANY years.

Everything I looked forward to is going to be ruined or straight up forbidden to me when I finally get there.

First gion district now here just insane. There are so many places you can find in Japan to get a great photo of mt Fuji. Hell just take a train/Shinkansen and can get an even better photo of mt Fuji. One I’m surprised about which I am a victim of doing it is the mochi pounding in Nara. It is so chaotic and I felt bad because of how much chaos it causes on such a such a small street. I really hope everything is sorted out because since post pandemic it just sounds like tourists have been on an all time high of just being disrespectful and not following japans rules and are now making it worse for people who haven’t visited the country yet.

I would suggest printing the "When in Rome" quote in our passports to always have a reminder.

As someone whos about to visit Japan for the first time ever this summer: I hate people who ruin it for absolutely everyone :)

People need to chill with these damn photo's. I love taking pictures as much as the next guy when I am on vacation. But come on bro, your photo op shouldn't ruin the safety of others. it's not the end of the world when you miss that photo op

*sighs* People really just need to be respectful and grow up already. I wish I had been able to go over there to visit when things were slower... but alas, that wasn't meant to be. I understand too that maybe not understanding the rules and all, accidentally doing something wrong can happen. I feel like most people would not act like morons when visiting a foreign country for travel, but looks like enough of them have been sadly and it's destroying opportunities for other people in the future. I also feel horribly bad for the business owners who rely on tourism for their businesses to thrive might now struggle a lot more to keep up with their business. 😢 You pointed out some really good solutions, too. I feel exhausted living in this era sometimes where people act self entitled and just do whatever they feel like wherever ever they are. Just try to respect others, and hopefuly, they will do the same in return. Treat others and their homes and citites the way you would want to be treated and have your place treated. Mistakes happen, but try to correct it if possible. ❤

I couldn't see Fuji well because it was heavily overcast the day I went. It sucks that we might end up in another Stonehenge and Roman Colosseum situation where we can't get close to the mountain because human nature is to destroy...

Every time in japan when I saw signs with rules. F.e. no photos. There where some tourists, that didnt behave good. That made me so angry. Like in the ghibli museum, some people made photos from Miyazakis work, what wasnt allowed. 😢 In a temple lodge, people where suuuper noisy. Like made phone calls super loud on the floor. In the morning at 4 o clock 😢 and dont have good manners. Couldnt understand such people

We might be going to Japan next year and I have studied the country in my off time for 10+ years and I am very upset that tourists just littering and not listening to the rules in general just makes me so upset

the time i visit japan the only place that probably will accept me is Ichiran ramen lmao

As someone who lives nearby this convenience store, it's unfortunate that many have ruined this experience for others. But there are real people living in this area that have to get to/from work, school, other things and people not only not following the law, not following the parking lot attendants and street crossing guards, and leaving trash everywhere makes that incredibly difficult. I don't know the right solution to this problem but people need to be held accountable for the shitty things they do when visiting here. Also, most of Japan's tourism money comes from domestic tourism anyway, not international tourism. I think that's why they feel more comfortable doing things like this.

I live in Japan, and I hope the Japanese government will tackle the tourism issue soon. Limit entries, simple as that. Have a tourist entry tax would be nice too. It is unacceptable that the people living in a country cannot enjoy some areas of that country because they have been invaded by foreign tourists. Worst example is Kyoto, shitshow of a place right now. Many people, including myself, are lowkey hoping for a new pandemic so that the country would be locked down again, which is extremely sad and speaks volumes on how bad the situation is.

It really pisses me off tourists do these kinds of things, especially in Hawai’i and Japan. Seeing tourists act like complete jerks with no respect. Side note: during golden week this year, a ton of Japanese people traveling to the prefecture I am currently living were doing some of the same things foreign tourists do too which annoyed me.

See with tourist that come over and do that that's terrible it ruins it for the rest of us who want to come over and experience the culture I totally grasp and understand living in Las Vegas and growing up here people have The stereotype that it's supposed to be a party City we get a lot of people that come here cause chaos drink get belligerent and need I go on it gets worse you've seen videos probably on KZfaq

This is not at all surprising. I went to Japan with a group of friends and my husband in 2019 and I was the only one who read up on Japanese etiquette because it's not my country and I wanted to be conscious of that as a tourist. It felt like I was babysitting my friends the whole time. Some people just don't give a shit and like to ruin things for other people.

I just looked up this specific location in Google Maps and it's actually craaaazy to me that people are willing to cause traffic and pile up all on this particular spot to get the same photo as everyone else. If you walk around a bit in Street View, you'll see there are so many other spots to take a beautiful photo of Mount Fuji! There's an open sidewalk at an intersection next to Lawson, where you can safely get a nice photo of Mount Fuji with the street and the passing cars in the foreground. As someone who does photography as a hobby, I can already picture the shot I can get from there (no pun intended hehe) I dunno, I just don't understand why people always go for the tourist-y/influencer-y spot to get their photo. Why not think outside the box and (safely & respectfully) walk around a bit to find a potentially better spot with less people??

I don't blame them. When visitors don't know how to act right and are inconsiderate, so be it. I went there in January. It was the happiest 2 weeks of my life in ages.

Aaannnnddd another nasty incident happened in Toyosu area. Especially at TeamLABS digital art museum. An Aussie tiktoker literally swimming in the interactive pool area which mostly require you to walk slowly.

I was traveling with a local friend. We both agreed that the problem spot wasn't even a good view. Most annoying is that people aren't going to see the sights, they're going to see themselves at the sights.

Every tourist place in japan is almost miserable now - hoards of loud, rude, tourists, disregarding signs, rules, cutting lines, throwing trash, wrecking bathrooms, etc. I only go to the country now, to avoid tourists

Yeah, an odd solution to say the least. If tourism is a decent part of the local economy, trying to invest in solving the different problems caused by the tourists, rather than trying prevent any tourist from coming, might've been a better idea. Road barriers as suggested seems like a good start and while putting up trash cans all over the place might not completely remove littering, it'd probably alleviate it quite a lot, even if those trash cans has to require some sorting by the users in order to live up to Japans rules around sorting trash.

Thanks for covering this Joey.

Is it not better to fine such behavior instead of building a giant wall? Why are they hireing bodyguards when they can dispatch officers, or utilise cameras in the tourist hotspots. Oh it's time for you to leave the country? Well we have 7 unpaid tickets for littering tied to your passport so pay up or you ain't going anywhere. Edit: I forgot the technology-workspace dynamic of Japan for a second, if they try to make a database for tickets it will end up being an excel spreadsheet and some random guy who just came fresh outta college who has to keep it updated

I went to Biei a few weeks ago, and some tourists from HK drove their cars into a local farmer's private property, which clearly stated "no entry", just to take selfies with the Seven Star Tree... Yeah, they really need to do something bout this problem.

At this point. Build a cafe on top of Lawson lol

Went to Japan my very first time during the first two weeks of April. Visited Osaka, Nagoya, Kyoto, and Tokyo. Most people are respectful, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't spot a few bad actors. Everyone on trains were very quiet and respectful of others' space (whenever one could be, especially on busy Tokyo trains). I went to the Fushimi Inari shrine and thanks to a recommendation from a bar owner (shoutout to Sake&Beer Bar Windmill) we ended up going at sunrise instead of 7AM like we originally planned. It was walkable but I can imagine how bad it gets later on in the day. We also walked through the outer area of Osaka Castle before the inside was open and managed to see everything without crowds, but as soon as it opened and tour bus groups were dropped off it got insanely clustered. We looked at things alone going in and walked out and saw crowds of 40-50 at the same things we were able to enjoy peacefully. We also did a tour of the emperor's palace (where they specifically tell you not to take photos) yet I saw a few "Karens" take a couple pics thinking no one would notice. Spoiler: they did notice. My advice to anyone going to Japan is if there is something that you want to see that might get busy or crowded and you're able to, go early or at opening time. Most people tend to get breakfast and then go to an attraction, but you might find it better to do the attraction and eat after. Plan smart. Also, give yourself plenty of time to acclimate yourself to the train system, especially if you don't normally live in an urban area like myself. It can get overwhelming but the ICOCA card (if you arrive on the Western side of Japan) is GOATED. Also, I highly recommend the illuminations at Nabana No Sato if you are in the area around Nagoya. Coolest thing I've probably seen in my entire life.

This is messed up for the people that just want to experience what Japan has to offer

Keep up the great work and videos Joey love the video

It’s always misbehave tourists that has to ruin it for everybody I’m going to japan this November and it’s sad that I won’t be able to go to that spot of Mount Fuji and a certain district in Kyoto and I’m also going to study there in 2025 which I can not wait for

I've just come back from Fujikawaguchiko today. We saw so many tourists. The town almost seems to exist for tourists, I was pretty taken aback by that. The onsen towns further around Kawaguchiko seemed like ghost towns, with most stores seemingly closed around until you get to the Oishi Park. We saw Mt Fuji once during our overnight stay as it was cloudy. We did see many tourists taking photos of Mt Fuji at that time, not blocking anything but on the paved area outside Hotou Fudo, which was closed at the time. Maybe we were just lucky.

I've been living in Japan for a little while and during peak Covid I got to travel to Kyoto. Fushimi Inari was devoid of people, I was able to take my sweet time praying, walking through the Torii and hiking to the top of mt Inari. I was able to enjoy Arashiyama the bamboo forest, the old town of Kyoto without people pushing others around. Cue earlier this year, I visit Kyoto again and it's completely packed with tourists. You can barely walk without bumping into other people.

I went to Japan in 2014 as part of a school trip and it was one of the best experiences I've had. I was so obsessed with learning Japanese and the culture even before going so imagine my excitement hahaha.. Maybe because we had teachers with us, we were all pretty respectful of Japan's culture. I would even bow back at people and that stayed with me as I still do a little head bow to people here in Australia XD. We did get to see Mt Fuji but only from a distance which was sad, would've loved to have seen it properly, but I was still happy. I really love how Japan is always so clean! Yet at one stage I had trouble finding a bin lol. I think it would be a good idea for tourists to look into the culture of the country they're going to and just be respectful in general. Think of it as you are a representative of your country, you wouldn't want to leave a bad impression in people's minds. I agree with you that the way Japan is going about it is quite unfair, basically ruining it for everyone because of a few tourists. Reminds me of teachers who punish the entire class because of a couple of disruptive students and not looking for an actual solution to the problem.

I was watching Tokyo Lens do a livestream. There were temples he wanted to visit, but were closed off. It's so sad to see :/

it always takes one bad seed, to ruin something fun and exciting for the rest of us out there.

If only Korea’s tourism industry could even bring a quarter of the level of tourists Japan’s been having…

Japanese town goes full Mr. Burns, blocking Mt. Fuji instead of the sun.

I have been in Kawaguchiko last year as I was climbing Mount Fuji during my stay. Luckily I was there at the beginning of August where basically no tourists were there. I really enjoyed the laid-back and calm town and it kind of saddens me that the people living there have to deal with this kind of misbehavior...

I live in Scotland and we are experiencing very similar issues. In the past few years it’s gotten so bad. Social media has brought allot of tourists to very quite out of the way spots in Scotland. In Scotland we are raised with the saying ‘leave the land as you found it’. Take your rubbish home, if you’re wild camping clear your campsite , clear the fire pit ect. But allot of tourists do the opposite. Untouched nature is slowly being destroyed by tourists. It’s heartbreaking to see:(

I imagine there are no quick fix solutions to be able to deploy on this.. perhaps the best thing is simply constant vigilance on all sides to ensure that people remember when engaging with other people anywhere, that there are broader concerns beyond your own wants - that basically cuts to the root issue.

I’ve seen some pictures and videos of said tourists on Facebook of shaking Sakura branches just for a photo and another in a train hanging and showing off when you’re supposed to be quiet and sitting🤦🏻‍♀️

As someone from Florida who lived next to a national park in the Everglades iv seen tons of tourists from other countries break the rules like taking flowers and plants and walking on wet lands protected by law, and some of the people were from Japan... So its just like he said... Humans are gonna be human

Respect the culture, laws, customs, and people of Japan. It's that simple.

I was in Japan back in Nov, ad I miss it so. but man I was just doing a basic recording with my action cam while walking and I got to many looks I stopped. it was so awkward.

They did this a while back with Tatsumi parking area. They built a literal wall to block the view of the city.

Strange I was in Japan recently and didn’t notice anything off. Was not turned away anywhere and we were treated very well. Mind you we tried our best to behave. Obviously I can’t speak for the whole of Japan but most of our trip was spent in Hakone and Tokyo and we just had the most wonderful experience. I don’t get how anyone could act bad in Japan the people are so helpful and friendly.

What sucks is that foreign residents get mixed with the tourists. I live in Japan and sometimes get confused by Japanese people as a tourist and it annoys me. I'm trying to enjoy living in this country and these damn tourists are ruining it.

One of the reasons I choose to not move to one of the big cities for my exchange (tokyo, osaka etc). Is because I would not want to be surrounded by tourists all the time. I used to live in a tourist city and it kind of drove me crazy at some point. Not because I don't think that they should come here, but it felt weird living your every day life in a city that other people used as a their playground/zoo.

We have the same issues with tourism in Norway too. People go on cruise ships to see the fjords, and many tourists have visited the fjords and made a whole mess in nature and on private property. Someone was even caught taking a shit in someone's garden. a lot of complaints have been made, but I don't think anything has been done to fix the problem.

I can agree with them on this point They don't need to block the view forever, but only enough to decrease tourism and leave a message for foreigners who come later who now know how serious these people are and if they did it once they can do it as many times as it takes

When i was in japan last month, i was really flabbergasted there were signs everywhere, aimed at tourists, trying to tourists to actually put their trash in trash bins. With cartoon instructions and all.

Fujikawaguchiko was the first town my friend visited when he travelled to Japan, the took the train from the airport to there. He spent the his first night at Mount Fuji and was going to spend another one, but due to bad weather, he had to do it at Kofu.

Just went to see Mount Fuji today. It was a sunny day and the views were breathtaking. It is a shame to know that people in the future may not have those views any more.

As an outsider looking in, when I went to Japan especially in Akihabara there were some REALLY loud tourist in the shops. Even I was irritated about how loud these individuals got. How would you approach people like that consider that I too am a tourist should we SHHH them or ignore them?

The misbehaving tourist problem is not only in japan but in all of the country with lot of tourism like Italy, Spain or France for example. For me the reason why it's a problem in japan is mostly because they want to become a touristic country like in Europe but there not prepared for it and most of the place that are really touristics can't handle the amont of tourist.

Standard tourist behavior, its same shit everywhere (unfortunately), but since its Japan, its suddenly, whoaaaaa there buddy, thats too much Doe, this is certified hater behavior from Japanese, love it

Since being in Japan I did notice that there isn’t a lot of public garbage bins on the subways and regular places was pretty frustrating carrying garbage till the day is done

I was waiting for this video.

This happens in my village too. Tourists walking through the streets, walking RIGHT in front of cars, and they PARK on our lawns during events.

I think that suggestion given by that French fellow mentioned in the article is on the right track, otherwise, unrealistic as it may be, I would have some form of law enforcement in the area prepared to levy fines to anyone who crosses against the light, obstructs traffic, foot or vehicle since the walkways were mentioned as being narrow, etc. I'd also keep the notification signs up too, alongside the aforementioned barriers. With that said, I do hope to someday see the sights of Japan myself, and can guarantee I'll not be one of these tourists who are so determined to be bad representatives of their home countries.

There are literally hundreds of spots where you'll get perfect picture of Mt. Fuji without being a goddamn nuisance. You just have to look for them. I know because I've lived in Fujinomiya before, literally at the foot of the mountain, and saw a lot of great spots.

I love that MIKE album you got. Beware of the monke

This started long before Logan Paul with the suicide forest incident.

Coming from a country that is somewhat "in the middle ground" (Brazil) I think I can say something about crossing the road. In Southeast Asia, like Thailand or Vietnam, as I was taught, and it looked like something out of a super hero movie hearing it for the first time, "you don't avoid the cars, the cars avoid you." If you want to cross the road you just raise your hands before and start walking straight, in a stead pace. Don't turn, don't speed up or slow down. And cars and motorbikes will avoid you, like magic. It looks chaos at first, But it WORKS. It's the complete opposite of Japan. In Brazil you SHOULD wait, but it doesn't mean VEVERYBODY will. And THAT cannot wok. I think it could really be solved teaching visitors. Promoting ad campaigns in the target countries. The same way I was taught how to not get killed crossing a road in Vietnam. think abut it, it's an AUTMOATIC reaction. I know by experience that it takes some times and ,at the start a lot of awareness to do it differently. Because you do it (whatever the way you do it in your home country)without thinking. I was quite worried of simply forgetting it and avoiding a car and being run over. That definitely CAN happen for a while. If you are not thinking you reverse to the automatic mode.

It's that mentality that they're just there temporarily so some tourists might not care that they're causing chaos because it won't affect them and they can just leave in like a week.

7:19 along with roadblocks why don’t they build like a separate area like maybe like a little deck or something that tourist can climb up onto and take pictures of Mount Fuji without disrupting traffic and getting being able to get even more beautiful pictures because there won’t be any buildings in the way.

It is extremely frustrating!!!! I haven't visited Japan yet but I have been doing research to make sure I try to be a good tourist and person to the place I am visiting. Some of these tourist are so privileged that they don't recognize Japan and their people as living beings. As the Japanese government, I would have a few more officers on the Mt Fuji tours and increase a huge fine for any tourist that liters. Or force the tourist to help clean up the trail if there is a tour guide. This is an argument I share here in the US with their national parks.

Somebody made a VRChat map based off the idea of the photo of Mt Fuji Lawsons, was really neat!

wonder if they could just build a platform for designated pictures nearby

In my small town of Kochi, just yesterday, I saw two elderly white tourists cross a clear red light without looking or caring... When there were cars driving down said roads. Of course no one honked at them and no one wants to tell them the rules... So they just kept trolling along. It's this kind of behavior that creates frustration among locals. It was not a small crossing either, it was a busy one. I've been here for 8 years and it just seems like tourist behavior is getting worse and worse. When I went to Kyoto and Tokyo last month it was packed with tourists but everyone followed rules for the most part. I think the most obnoxious tourists are now trying to find more hidden gems in Japan. Small towns aren't prepared for these tourist behaviors so it's causing a lot of tension and Japan always sidesteps problems like you said.

I 100% get that tourists should be respectful when visiting Japan which has a different culture to most other countries, but Japan shouldn't be cutting its nose off to spite its face as regards welcoming tourists either, that's 2 instances now that have happened, this one and the authorities in Kyoto banning folk from walking down a walkway where the Geisha live and work because they harass them.

while I completely understand wanting to do something about this, I-also- think building a huge screen is not the BEST idea ^^" maybe indeed like in Venice: set up check-points where people need to pass through to pay a small fee to get to the 'best picture spots' or just 'viewing' spots, barriers to from some kind of queue (if that's not there already, I've never been so not sure how possible this would be), doing a 'how to behave in Japan' test for foreigners wanting to visit like someone else here suggested xD

When I was in Japan in january last year, I talked with a japanese woman and a few shop keepers about tourists and a lot of them said they miss the tourists but not the chinese 😅 i was always very welcomed a a swiss tourist but chinese where on travel ban still so it was pretty quiet and not a lot of tourists besides a few thai people and americans from what I saw

I think even in his condemnation, Joey's being generous. He was talking as if the reason people are disruptive and disrespectful as tourists is an inherent cultural difference, where they're just used to certain things being permitted or maybe overlooked in their countries and not being aware of the differences in Japan. But I'm gonna say that an overwhelming number of people who are disruptive tourists aren't unaware of the rules -- they just dont care. They want their picture, they dont want to carry their trash around, damn the rules. You see it a lot at national parks in the US. Even when rules are in place for their own safety, or to preserve the very beauty they came to visit, a certain type of tourist just doesn't care. Some people are just short-sighted and extremely selfish.

note to self: social pressure makes you a tool.

It's not that they don't understand, it's that they don't care.

And seeing Mount Fuji was on my bucket list, thanks a lot tik tokers!💢

Guaranteed there will be some foreign influencers or tiktokers that see this mesh wall and immediately think "Challenge Accepted"