A young European man has revealed how having tattoos has made his visit to Japan more difficult and a little bit uncomfortable.
Speaking to a roving Japanese reporter, the unnamed man said he loves going to the gym, but has to lie about his tattoos to be let in.
‘I like to go to the gym every day, to go to the gym I need to cover myself and to lie to them. I don’t like to lie,’ he said with a smile.
He said the person at the counter will ask him if he has tattoos before letting him into the gym.
‘Otherwise they don’t let me go,’ he said.
A young traveler has revealed how having tattoos has made his time in Japan more difficult
This means wearing long sleeves and slacks to the gym – despite the hot weather.
‘It is very difficult, you know,’ adding that he doesn’t mind. ‘It is the only way, I think we need to respect [that].’
He added that his tattoos and large frame also seem to make locals uncomfortable on the train.
‘We use perfumes, we are large and people don’t like it, I understand, but I also know because of the tattoos people don’t like it,’ he said.
The reporter asked him if he likes onsen – but he admitted he hadn’t been to the spas.
‘It’s not possible for me, I tried a few times but they don’t accept me,’ he said.
He added that the onsens that will accept him are ‘a long way away’ and he has been too ‘lazy’ to travel there.
‘Even in my hotel there is an onsen I can’t go there,’ he said.
The video was posted to Reddit where a thousand people commented.
Onsen’s are another place people often can’t go of they have a tattoo
‘I have nothing but positive memories of Japan and being heavily tattooed didn’t affect the few trips I’ve had there at all,’ one man said.
‘I went earlier this year, and as a white male with tattoos, I faced very little discrimination. honestly I think they judge you more as a foreigner, than as a person with tattoos,’ said another.
Some revealed their experiences having tattoos in Japan.
‘I have a small tattoo and went to an onsen in Noboribetsu. I asked if it was okay and then told me to go to the onsen after 22:00,’ one person wrote.
‘I had the whole place to myself which was nice. Then a young man walked in and saw me covering my tattoo with my small towel and he said ‘don’t worry, that’s just old men that care about that stuff’.’
‘It’s getting a lot better every time I go. I just got back form a month long trip and I got into like 5 or 6 different onsen and sento, and I have full Japanese sleeves and chest. In the last place the attendant said he can’t say yes but would pretend he didn’t see,’ said another.
This confused many.
‘I always thought that they hated tattoos because of the yakuza bur why do they care if it’s a foreign who is clearly not a gangster,’ one person asked.
But people were quick and blunt with their answers.
‘Because Japan doesn’t like foreigners either, it is an easy excuse to deny them. If you aren’t Japanese and are not travelling in a place frequented by tourists you will be surprised how many places point blank refuse to serve you or let you in,’ one man said.
This comment had 2,000 likes and was quickly followed up by others.
‘See signs everywhere that say stuff like ‘No Westerners’ it’s really weird,’ said another.
‘I have been in Japan several times. In many occasions I am far away from any other tourists. The Japanese are surprised to see me. They tell me they are surprised to see me. In 2 occasions in high end restaurants I was told that they cannot accommodate my requests, but I have not even said anything I was at the door.
‘My wife talked in my behalf and they let us in. Also, deep inside japan most Japanese assume you speak Japanese, but I don’t and they get mad. An old man got crazy mad at me because I could not talk to him in the ferry,’ said another.
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