An Australian tourist is defending his actions after being called out over a video of his breaking the rules at an interactive museum in Tokyo.
TikTok user Lil Mid, who describes himself as a sheltered rapper and wannabe dancer, swam through the ankle-deep water at teamLab Tokyo for an online video which shows him quickly being stopped by a staff member over the prohibited action.
But after being criticised over the stunt, Lil Mid is defiant, arguing that it was acceptable given the venue’s status as a tourist attraction and claiming some Japanese people found it humorous.
Foreign tourists causing nuisance in Japan and breaking rules is a serious issue that has forced the country to change some of its customs.
Lil Mid wears what appears to be a pounamu – or fake pounamu – necklace in the video, which he captioned The Moana necklace drew me in; a reference to the popular Disney film.
Customers at teamLab Tokyo must remove their footwear, socks and any foot-covering tights to explore the ‘body-immersive’ works.
In Japanese culture, clothing must be completely removed for public bathing, in part due to hygiene reasons as clothes could potentially trap dirt, oils, and bacteria that can contaminate the water.
A fellow Australian TikToker who lives in Japan named Sandy is among those lashing out at Lil Mid, expressing her disappointment at his stunt being pulled in the same year as Kyoto cracks down on rude tourists in its geisha districts and a town near Mt Fuji erects a huge fence to thwart thoughtless selfie seekers.
Japan is not your Disney Lala Land… have some respect, Sandy says in her video, entitled ‘starting a petition to deport meiwaku gaijin (annoying foreigners) after one strike’.
This is the type of gaijin that ruins it for everyone. Gaijin will eventually get banned from more things – it’s inevitable.
Lil Mid responded to her video saying: This place is a tourist attraction, no? Also I got multiple messages from Japanese people saying this was funny?
While Sandy herself doesn’t appear to have replied to him, dozens of others have, with one asserting: Don’t come back to Japan ever again dude – stay away from this country forever.
It’s rude and not funny at all. Japanese people are too kind to say what they really think, said another.
If you intend to swim in art do it in your own country, said another, while one noted: Stop lying, I can assure you Japanese people don’t find this funny at all.
This is obnoxious behaviour – tourist attraction or no, said another.
You’re literally ruining it for everyone else… for clout, said another.
Mate I’m Aussie and you pakeha make me feel embarrassed. I’m currently in Japan and you see so many tourists being disrespectful like you, said another.
Lil Mid’s social media stunt in Japan comes after perhaps the most notorious rude tourist in Japan ever, Youtuber Logan Paul, shocked with many offensive actions in the country in late 2017, including sharing a video of his laughing and joking beside the corpse of a suicide victim.
