# This is why we can't have nice things: asshole tourists in Japan **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 1, 2024, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-we-cant-have-nice-things-asshole-tourists-in-japan/1002391 "2024-06-01T21:03:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-we-cant-have-nice-things-asshole-tourists-in-japan/1002391/41 "2024-06-02T12:29:58Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Well, OK, but if convenience stores are so common, then it shouldn’t be necessary to crowd one specific spot to capture a picture of one specific convenience store. From [here](https://www.itmedia.co.jp/business/articles/2404/30/news161.html), translated into Japanese. > [@](#): > > “Mt. Fuji Lawson” has become a popular photo spot for foreign tourists, mainly from Asia, for the past two years after a popular Thai actor introduced it on social media. It is close to Kawaguchiko Station on the Fujikyuko Line, and there are always dozens of people around taking pictures. The picture in question is this (well, a picture of tourists taking that picture). [![](https://image.itmedia.co.jp/business/articles/2404/30/l_FUWYM4N7VRMMBBVS3CVGLTFRKQ_1.jpg) ](https://image.itmedia.co.jp/business/articles/2404/30/l_FUWYM4N7VRMMBBVS3CVGLTFRKQ_1.jpg) > [@Chronos](#): > > I mean, I can understand (not condone, because it apparently causes the same sort of congestion problems, but understand) things like people recreating the Abbey Road picture. Yes, it’s the same setting, but you’re getting yourself in the shot, not John, Paul, George, and Ringo. You’re taking something iconic, and putting your own personal mark on it. But trying to take a picture that looks exactly like someone else’s picture? You might as well just download their picture (as an aside, this is also what we told our students about the eclipse, and to their credit, they seemed to heed it). People have been taking pictures of famous landmarks ever since cameras became common place. I don’t support the bad behavior of the tourists, this is just human nature to take pictures of places one visits. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-we-cant-have-nice-things-asshole-tourists-in-japan/1002391/42 "2024-06-02T13:18:21Z")
Whenever I see a headline about _“tourists behaving badly,”_ I cross my fingers and hope to read something like: _“the [British/Canadian/Australian/Swedish/Argentinian…] tourists blah blah blah.”_ But my hopes are usually dashed faster than a kid’s dream of a pony on Christmas morning. More often than not, the perpetrators are good ol’ American assholes. It’s why I always tell people that although I was born and live in America, my ancestors hail from anywhere else. At this rate, I’m considering investing in a DNA test just to claim some obscure heritage and distance myself from the chaos! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-we-cant-have-nice-things-asshole-tourists-in-japan/1002391/43 "2024-06-02T14:09:09Z")
When I visited London, I climbed to the top of St Paul’s cathedral and took a few wholly unremarkable panoramic shots of the city. I also took some pictures of Stonehenge worse than what you can find online because tourists are limited to how close get. And I took roughly one million photos in the British museum, only a few of which aren’t (best I can tell) online in better quality. I’m sure we can all tell similar stories about our vacations. But vacation photos aren’t about quality or even a unique artistic tale. They’re totems and emblems of your experience. If somebody wants to make a trip to a famous (even Internet famous) photo spot to memorialize their trip, that’s not stupid. It’s being human. And so, unfortunately, is being a jerk. It’s cool to rag on people for being jerks, but “lol those idiots are taking a picture of something other people take pictures of” is silly and - I’d wager a few quatloos - hypocritical. Related: when I’m in a museum and I’m not allowed to take photos of something famous I get (mildly) anxious and upset. No I don’t want to buy a postcard. I want my shitty photo. I want a sense memory. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-we-cant-have-nice-things-asshole-tourists-in-japan/1002391/44 "2024-06-02T14:39:14Z")
Once I did some unauthorized exploration of off-limits parts of an ultra-famous and popular site. But it never occurred to me to take pictures of myself doing so, nor did I litter any cigarette butts, carve my name into the walls, or otherwise leave a trace. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-we-cant-have-nice-things-asshole-tourists-in-japan/1002391/45 "2024-06-02T14:41:43Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > More often than not, the perpetrators are good ol’ American assholes. Your feelings are not backed up by[“research”](https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/reviews-and-advice/most-disliked-tourists-by-country-revealed-in-new-research-20190918-h1i4qq.html). > [@](#): > > Once upon a time it was the Ugly American who was the most unloved traveller, probably because there were more of them than any other. > > These days American tourists have faded into the background – and they’re mostly polite, they tip like pros and only rarely do they drink to excess, disrobe and smash everything in sight. 😆 A probable undercurrent to current resentment towards tourists in Japan is good ol’ xenophobia. There has long been [prejudice against “gaijin” among many Japanese](https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/focus/en/features/z0508_00213.html); attitudes toward immigration may be even more negative than in America. Assholish behavior by tourists isn’t helping matters. Obligatory musical theme for the thread by Nick Lowe (who evidently got along well in Japan). https://www.youtube.com/embed/Vci9T60KujM?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&list=RDVci9T60KujM ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-we-cant-have-nice-things-asshole-tourists-in-japan/1002391/46 "2024-06-02T18:47:12Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Your feelings are not backed up by[“research”](https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/reviews-and-advice/most-disliked-tourists-by-country-revealed-in-new-research-20190918-h1i4qq.html). True. I may be guilty of confirmation bias. I think the takeaway is that _all_ humans should be banned from public spaces. Public (and most private) spaces should be the domain of wild animals, who, except for killing and maiming, are generally well behaved. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-we-cant-have-nice-things-asshole-tourists-in-japan/1002391/47 "2024-06-02T18:54:36Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > It’s cool to rag on people for being jerks, but “lol those idiots are taking a picture of something other people take pictures of” is silly and - I’d wager a few quatloos - hypocritical. The difference is that you didn’t just go someone just to get the photo. That’s what is being described as silly. Not maybe capturing a photo while you were there for some other reason. The assumption here is that people are specifically choosing to travel to this location just to get that particular photo. And that’s why it gets so full and blocks traffic. If they were there for other reasons, you’d expect them to be more spread out. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-we-cant-have-nice-things-asshole-tourists-in-japan/1002391/48 "2024-06-02T19:47:49Z")
Just got back yesterday from Eastern Europe, and now I feel better about taking so few photos. And most of them were just quick shots of a rooftop or a bridge. And none of them could be captioned “Look, here’s an average Slovenian shopkeeper sweeping in front of his store while a tourist takes a dozen portraits of him until the perfect blend of humility and frustration shows on his artistically wrinkled brow…” ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-we-cant-have-nice-things-asshole-tourists-in-japan/1002391/49 "2024-06-03T09:35:50Z")
> [@digs](#): > > And none of them could be captioned “Look, here’s an average Slovenian shopkeeper sweeping in front of his store while a tourist takes a dozen portraits of him I should hope not. What sort of ungracious tourist would refer to Slovenia as Eastern Europe? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-we-cant-have-nice-things-asshole-tourists-in-japan/1002391/50 "2024-06-03T10:05:15Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > I should hope not. What sort of ungracious tourist would refer to Slovenia as Eastern Europe? Sorry. Balkan. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-we-cant-have-nice-things-asshole-tourists-in-japan/1002391/51 "2024-06-03T11:13:34Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > The assumption here is that people are specifically choosing to travel to this location just to get that particular photo. Right. I (a virtuous human) went to a place to see a thing and take photos of it. They (the unvirtuous humans) went to a place to take photos of a thing and see it. We are not the same. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-we-cant-have-nice-things-asshole-tourists-in-japan/1002391/52 "2024-06-03T11:40:15Z")
The only solution to the Instagram, “lots of people want exactly this photo taken from a very small place” problem is to fence off that place from tourists, at least for a little while. Or possibly to make it cool for your photo to be different. The solution to the “repeatedly block a woman walking down the street to get exactly the right photo of her” problem is for tourists to stop being assholes. I am not like that tourist. I hope none of you are, either. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-we-cant-have-nice-things-asshole-tourists-in-japan/1002391/53 "2024-06-03T11:46:41Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Color me confused as to why taking a picture of the same thing someone else took a picture of is supposed to be clout-worthy. Yeah, as a photographer, my general rule tends to be – see where everyone else is taking a photo? Good. Now don’t go there. Find a shot that is different than everyone else’s. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-we-cant-have-nice-things-asshole-tourists-in-japan/1002391/54 "2024-06-03T12:05:51Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, as a photographer, my general rule tends to be – see where everyone else is taking a photo? Good. Now don’t go there. Find a shot that is different than everyone else’s. But this isn’t about photography, or even about tourism, really - it’s about meme culture, and the name of the game in meme culture is conformism. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-we-cant-have-nice-things-asshole-tourists-in-japan/1002391/55 "2024-06-03T12:06:25Z")
Oh, I understand where this sits in culture generally. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-we-cant-have-nice-things-asshole-tourists-in-japan/1002391/56 "2024-06-03T12:29:04Z")
Arrest and deport them immediately. Problem solved. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-we-cant-have-nice-things-asshole-tourists-in-japan/1002391/57 "2024-06-03T12:45:54Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Seeking different views of Fuji has been around for a while. A print with a view of Mt. Fuji behind a Lawson Kawaguchiko conveniernce store sounds like the ultimate Masami Teraoka work of art. > **[Masami Teraoka](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masami_Teraoka)** > > Masami Teraoka (born 1936) is an American contemporary artist. His work includes Ukiyo-e-influenced woodcut prints and paintings in watercolor and oil. He is known for work that merges traditional Edo-style aesthetics with icons of American culture. > Teraoka was born in the town of Onomichi in Hiroshima Prefecture. He studied from 1954–59 at the Kwansei Gakuin University in Kobe, Japan where he received his B.A. in Aesthetics. He moved to the United States in 1961. From 1964 to 1968 he attended ... ---
**Author:** ![Xocomil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xocomil/32/14927_2.png) [@Xocomil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xocomil)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-we-cant-have-nice-things-asshole-tourists-in-japan/1002391/58 "2024-06-03T22:14:14Z")
I shall also like to signal my virtue as well, too. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-we-cant-have-nice-things-asshole-tourists-in-japan/1002391/59 "2024-06-04T06:59:16Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > > [@BigT](#): > > > > The assumption here is that people are specifically choosing to travel to this location just to get that particular photo. ⁢ > > Right. I (a virtuous human) went to a place to see a thing and take photos of it. They (the unvirtuous humans) went to a place to take photos of a thing and see it. We are not the same. ⁢ I think I made a pretty decent case that for the assumption I mentioned. If this is just people who came to this city for other reasons and grabbed a pic while they were there, it wouldn’t be just one place that was crowded. If you see a bunch of people all crowded around a single location, blocking traffic and making things less safe, all doing the same one thing? I don’t think it’s unreasonable to assume that doing that thing is what they are there for. Also, I hate this attitude that anyone who disagrees with me must be “virtue signaling.” Yeah, you avoided the term, but you used the concept. And that concept does the very thing it decries. There’s a reason my post is longer than the one sentence. I make a case for what I’m saying. I would prefer if people who disagree with my arguments would refute the arguments, not imply I just think I’m better than everyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-we-cant-have-nice-things-asshole-tourists-in-japan/1002391/60 "2024-06-04T10:27:26Z")
For the record, I think I’m better than everyone else. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-we-cant-have-nice-things-asshole-tourists-in-japan/1002391.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-we-cant-have-nice-things-asshole-tourists-in-japan/1002391.md?page=4)