Kyoto temple suffering from littering tourists claiming not to understand Japanese verbal warning

You can't have it both ways. Some littering and "bad" behavior comes with over 2 million visitors. Take what steps are necessary. The money is rolling in....put up a more substantial "fence" rather than a bamboo pole or two. Hire real foreign security. Not just a college student or two. Finally, pull your tourism budget.

Oh dear, oh dear.

Taking in bags and bags of yen, the Buddhist priest of Kyoto are complaining?

Simple and trivial problems, solved in a day or less lol.

Are there garbage cans? Then the temple knows what they can do...

Perhaps if they, oh I don't know, installed some of these nifty things called rubbish bins around the area...

And what is the purpose of the tourist tax that is imposed on travelers to Kyoto again? Kyoto: where have the billions gone?

Unfortunately, they probably do understand. They just don't give a damn.

Do it like they do in Singapore. Fine them, then it'll stop.

Looks like we are all getting tired of the hypocritical whining about tourists. On the one hand there is gloating about the tourist numbers with every tourist regarded as a vote for Japan's uniqueness and then every opportunity is taken to use a few of these tourists' behaviour to show the locals how special Japan is and how those barbarians will never understand its uniqueness.

I wish the J locals who frequent my local park in East Osaka would also heed some of this article. The trash problem was especially bad after last Monday's national holiday. The fly- tipping problem is also getting worse too.

They could try garbage bins.

Stop relying on retirees to volunteer to pick up litter and instead employ some people to maintain trash cans. Easy.

He then tries explaining the problem in English, he says, only go get the same reaction, that they can’t understand what he’s saying.

They might have a point. Charge entrance fees that are pre booked. This stops over crowding and keeps the bored tourists out.

Oh, and increase the English proficiency across the board would help as well.

See here’s the dilemma - if you buy something to eat or drink, it comes with plenty of packaging. If you look for a bin to place it in, THERE ARE NONE, anywhere. So you walk round holding the wrappers and the sticky cup for a while looking for somewhere to get rid of it ….

Go see how other cities deal with this problem.

Ban the consumption of all foods.

The majority of tourists domestic and foreign are not English speaking.

The hospitably industry sector is is vital to J economy.

Manage the miscreants accordingly, if measures are needed to introduce financial forfeit to discourage littering, deal with that, just as importantly provide clear waste disposal.

Those tax exempt priests can use some of their extra funds to install a few rubbish bins and extra clean up crew. Instead they bitch & moan.

They sell food and icecream within the temple grounds.

So yes, lots of trash cans, emptied two or three times daily, especiall near foo vendos. This justifies posted 30000 yen fines for littering for first offense, 50000 yen therafter. Use the fines to pay for garbage truck and drivers. The problem is fixable, but not through polite signs.

Especially near food vendors. Sorry.

They sell food and icecream within the temple grounds.

If that is true, then you are asking for a litter problem, eh?

The majority of tourists domestic and foreign are not English speaking.

Doesn't mean they are deaf, dumb and blind.

Even if we try to clean up the trash, [the area] never stays clean,” laments Aoyama, who’s clearly frustrated with the litterers

Seems our tourists are doing the a gaijin smash and

The largest groups of foreign tourists are Chinese and South Koreans. They don't usually speak English.

"Oh, and increase the English proficiency across the board would help as well."

How does that help?

It doesn't matter how much "tourist tax" one pays, there is not excuse for littering and desecrating sacred grounds. Personally I found Kyoto to be quite beautiful and I made every effort to leave it that way but I did notice that it's not a very "friendly" place to visit in Japan but to a certain extent I understand why with all those foreigners trying to sneak in shots of women in traditional clothing walking around. However, it was very unpleasant to be refused food service in a Bistro when other Japanese people were coming and going and having food service. They even resorted to taking away the menu and giving the flimsy excuse that it was an old menu and yet they wouldn't bring a new one to the table and all I could get was a beer and nuts. Consequently, one visit to Kyoto is enough for me. I prefer Tokyo and Osaka.

The largest groups of foreign tourists are Chinese and South Koreans. They don't usually speak English.

How do you know?

No trash cans anywhere.

We have a park a stone throw away and we always find litter about. But what don't we find at all, a single trash bin! And BTW what don't we have any, foreign tourists so who to point the finger at? If you want the tourists and the yen they bring in, pony up and deal with the issues, put a few trash bins in convenient places and problem more or less solved. Maybe even pretend to be Eco-friendly and have separate bins for burnables, pet bottles and non-burnables and show them that good ol' Kyoto Protocol spirit, (京都議定書, Kyōto Giteisho)

Burning Bush

The largest groups of foreign tourists are Chinese and South Koreans. They don't usually speak English.

How do you know?

The figures are available from the Japanese Tourist Board.

The figures are available from the Japanese Tourist Board.

I would love to see the figures and how JTB came to such a conclusion as "Chinese and South Koreans. They don't usually speak English."

According to estimates, only around 10-25 million people in China speak English. 10% or about 5 million South Koreans speak English.

Overseas Residents' Visits to Japan

https://www.tourism.jp/en/tourism-database/stats/inbound/

According to estimates, only around 10-25 million people in China speak English. 10% or about 5 million South Koreans speak English.

If those estimates are accurate ( quite strange being quoted so I doubt it) That's a lot of English speakers.

*a range being quoted

If those estimates are accurate ( quite strange being quoted so I doubt it) That's a lot of English speakers.

They are a minority tourist group.

Signs at Kyoto tourist spots like this temple usually have signs in Japanese, Chinese, and English.

I'm never surprised when I see Japanese littering.

A big part of the problem is lack of public rubbish bins.

Most Japanese would never consider the obvious thing pointed out here. The reason why some people litter. Like lack of anywhere to dispose of trash. They are so conditioned to just memorizing and regurgitating "facts" or rules that basic reasoning escapes them. But whinging, that they can do.

The largest groups of foreign tourists are Chinese and South Koreans. They don't usually speak English.

They are a minority tourist group.

Can't have both. Regardless of language ability, the article quite clearly expresses some tourists are choosing to ignore etiquette. And it's a problem.

When I am in Japan, I carry all of my litter in my bag and either dispose of it at the train station or take it home and place it in the appropriate bag for trash day.

Really, no excuses for littering aside from you don't care.

Crucifixion? Won’t work. Attracts too many gawkers.

luthierinseattleToday 02:50 pm JST

When I am in Japan, I carry all of my litter in my bag and either dispose of it at the train station or take it home and place it in the appropriate bag for trash day.

Really, no excuses for littering aside from you don't care.

Maybe everyone should have clear plastic bags so they can show off what they had for lunch.

We generally don't gather any litter as go about our lives. Don't need to carry about a PET or a paper cup. If needs be we usually consume food as 店内 but that's just us I suppose. We also carry a flask with iced something 無酒 in it. It easy not to be a litterbug. Regardless of 行い nationality or linguistic skills.

Whatever litter we have we take it home or back to the hotel if we stay in one. Too many Japanese do litter, especially discharging stuff from their cars.

As Wallace says, it’s not only foreign tourist littering. During the covid lockdown there was more littering then ever. And no foreign tourists

Can't imagine Japanese littering a temple or shrine, especially an old Kyoto temple such as Kodaiji as per the article

Unless they throw it from their car into a shrine or temple.

Regardless of language ability, the article quite clearly expresses some tourists are choosing to ignore etiquette. And it's a problem.

Tourists across the world ignore local etiquette whether they are in Kyoto, Rome, or Paris. Tourists defacing the Coliseum in Rome. The Trevi Fountain in Rome is another.

The Kodaiji  Temple is located in an area with many other temples and shrines. Do they also suffer the same problems with litter and visitors not following the etiquette? How do they resolve those problems?

If you litter within a Beautification Enforcement Area, you can be fined up to 30,000 JPY.

For details, click here: http://www.bika-kyo.jp/en/

Tourists across the world ignore local etiquette whether they are in Kyoto, Rome, or Paris. Tourists defacing the Coliseum in Rome. The Trevi Fountain in Rome is another.

Yes. That's a given. But focusing on Japan, graffiti has been the main scourge in recent times. A quick google will add to your knowledge

I remember how shocked I was, when visiting the Confucius Temple in Qufu, Shandong -- the equivalent of the Vatican for followers of Confucianism -- and seeing people fling fruit skins and spit date pits on the grounds. Is this a cultural thing, or just poor child upbringing? And what would Confucius say?

Do they also suffer the same problems with litter and visitors not following the etiquette?

Probably. In fact I'd say yes. Law of averages

How do they resolve those problems?

How do they do it in Himeiji Castle ( a place you are familiar with)? Is it pristine or do tourists leave "leave behind cigarette butts, drink containers (some still partially filled with liquid), and sticks from ice cream bars atop stones and behind structures" as per the article? That might shine light on your question.

Is this a cultural thing, or just poor child upbringing? And what would Confucius say?

From my experience of the assumed nationality in question, and sorry to generalise, but to answer the question; I'd say it's cultural. Stemming from the 1940s part of the political movement of that time

"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance." My favourite Confucius quote...

Here we go again. Foreigners getting panned by the Japanese media. A few bad apples giving us all a bad name. Time to start ranting about the foreign invaders again.

Encouraging to see many comments here targeting the utter lack of trash bins.

I was in Paris recently, and simple hanging trash bags were everywhere! Very little street litter. Let's hope the new LDP Ishida PM will push for the return of "gomibako"/trash bins and provide a bit of employment for workers.

"Kyoto temple suffering from littering tourists claiming not to understand Japanese verbal warning... and Japanese who DO understand the warning."

Fixed it. Took my sister and her family to Yasaka Shrine, Maruyama Park, Ni-nenzaka/Sannenzaka (the day that old tree fell), and Kiyomizu Temple among other places, and some old Japanese dude just tossed the garbage from the sausage and fries he'd been eating from a small restaurant there pretty much into the pond. He then took a photo of the Pokemon manhole cover a bit in front of him and walked on towards Kodaiji Temple as if nothing had happened.

Sorry, but it's not all foreigners doing it, if any of the latter truly are.

Burning Bush

How do they resolve those problems?

How do they do it in Himeiji Castle ( a place you are familiar with)? Is it pristine or do tourists leave "leave behind cigarette butts, drink containers (some still partially filled with liquid), and sticks from ice cream bars atop stones and behind structures" as per the article? That might shine light on your question.

I am also very familiar with Kyoto having visited many tens of times when we lived in Kobe. To answer your question about Himeji Castle.

 Eating and drinking inside the castle is prohibited. However, you may bring your plastic bottles and water bottles with a lid.

They do not sell food and ice cream inside the castle grounds.

On the park grounds, there are litter bins in some places.

Tourism has ruined Japan. Pity.

im still able to find a few places where you don’t see any of them.

I am also very familiar with Kyoto having visited many tens of times when we lived in Kobe

So why the question on Kodaiji and it surrounds? Send you know the answer to your question...

Rhetorical.

Tourism has ruined Japan. Pity.

Only the major tourist places. Like Kyoto. Which I avoid. Even Kamakura is out of the question for me. Japan should do the French model and get the hordes to spread out.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/07/11/japan/beattie-overtourism-myth/

Rhetorical

Limp

Some people are just classless and, for whatever reason, don't know how to behave. They lack any sense of common courtesy and assume that wherever they are, they have the right to do whatever they want. The trouble is, it's not easy to know who they are before they've come to your temple, shrine, or whatever, and left their trash there.

If you want tourists to come, you have to resign yourself to the fact that not all of them will be decent, civilised human beings. It then comes down to whether you value their tourist money more than you dislike their behaviour.

Insufficient rubbish bins. Most nations have them and people are unaccustomed to carrying their own garbage around until they get home.

And proper signage in major languages like English and Chinese. I dont speak or read Japanese so if its not in English I have no idea what the message is.

I remember when I first moved to Japan back in the late 80s, Japan was too expensive for most tourists. I preferred it that way.

How about installing some rubbish bins? Oh that's right you're too cheap to pay someone to empty them!

Some people are pigs, pure and simple.

Tourists across the world ignore local etiquette whether they are in Kyoto, Rome, or Paris. Tourists defacing the Coliseum in Rome. The Trevi Fountain in Rome is another.

Japanese tourists ignore local etiquette, which you'd see if you went to a big city.

Pigeons do too,

Whatever litter we have we take it home or back to the hotel if we stay in one. Too many Japanese do litter, especially discharging stuff from their cars.

Yes, and foreigners stay in hotels, and the next article will discuss all those bags of trash that foreigners bring to hotels. Admittedly, some people are pigs, but having a place for responsible citizens with no home to dump trash would be nice. And really, most Japanese do take their trash home, but it would be easier for them as well to be able to dump food trash near where they bought it.

Japan used to have lots of public trash cans. But then residential trash collection went from a very minimal fee (or perhaps nothing at all) to requiring trash be disposed of in prescribed bags by locality. The charge for those bags was such that people wanted to find a way around paying for them, which meant people began to deposit their trash in public receptacles till they were overflowing. Local governments, in turn, began removing public trash cans to prevent that sort of run around. (Conveniently enough, this happened in the post-9/11 world, in which trash cans were seen as just waiting for terrorists to drop bombs inside them for a terrorist attack, so governments had a ready excuse for removing them.)

The result is that it is virtually impossible today to find a public trash can in Japan. I'm all in favor of packing out as much trash as possible, but let's be reasonable: No one wants to spend a whole day of tourism walking around with a greasy bag that holds the remnants of the day's lunch. If Kyoto could be realistic and put out a few more trash cans for the general public, I think you'd be surprised to see this problem disappear as quickly as it appeared.

NewsmanToday 02:14 am JST

An interesting history of how a country can go awry. Terrorists target people, not empty areas. I think the US has solved this by strategically relocating only a few trash cans.

It seems strange to me that polluters don't understand that throwing trash on the ground in a public place is wrong. I never threw trash on the ground when I was at the Vatican, Versailles or Chichen Itza. To do so would've been borderline sacrilege from my point of view.

So why do these dumb people have to be educated about the fact that littering is wrong? Don't they already know that?!

"I found Kyoto to be quite beautiful"

Then maybe you needed to open your eyes when not in the temples. It's a dump of generic ugliness. Maybe if the disappointed foreigners come and see that the Japanese have little respect for the beauty of their own surroundings they might wonder why they have to.

Yeah. I never found Kyoto that nice to be honest on the four times I have visited. Not the kind of place I would visit "many tens of times" to quote a well documented Kyoto-devotee.

Having read all the Japanese classics set in 平安京 and visited most of the sites of interest (The sound of the Gion Shōja bells echoes the impermanence of all things... for example ), for all it is, there really are much better places to visit in Japan.

I did managed to buy lots of inexpensive 水墨畫 one time in Kyoto and still enjoy them to this day. However the hype Kyoto brings always seems to hinged on ignorance of what else is out there.

Burning Bush

Yeah. I never found Kyoto that nice to be honest on the four times I have visited. Not the kind of place I would visit "many tens of times" to quote a well documented Kyoto-devotee.

I guess you are including me again. I wouldn't call myself a Kyoto devotee. Living in Kobe made it an easy place to visit. There are very good art museums with international exhibitions. Compared with Tokyo museum entrance fees are much lower.

Did you ever visit one?

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g298564-Activities-c49-t28-Kyoto_Kyoto_Prefecture_Kinki.html

A quick trip from Kobe on the S-Rapid was about ¥1,000'

Kyoyo is about more than temples and shrines.

A quick trip from Kobe on the S-Rapid was about ¥1,000'

That's expensive. Was it for the round trip?

Burning Bush

A quick trip from Kobe on the S-Rapid was about ¥1,000'

That's expensive. Was it for the round trip?

Yes, I can understand. Probably for you but much cheaper than what you paid for your visits.

In Burma (Myanmar) neither local people nor foreign visitors can enter the compound of a Buddhist temple, pagoda or monastery without taking off their shoes and socks. Only barefoot visitors are allowed. This is the case even when the areas outside the buildings are hot stones, gravel or other uncomfortable things to put bare feet on top of. Since Burma is a hot country, stepping on a stone pagoda platform can be like putting your feet into a frying pan.

Buddhist temples in Kyoto could enforce a NO FOOTWEAR policy and the number of foreign and Japanese visitors would probably plummet. Of course, they wouldn't get money from admission, or sale of souvenirs. But then, Buddhism is supposed to be a world renouncing religion, isn't it?

It's a popsicle stick. Just pick it up.

Whatever litter we have we take it home or back to the hotel if we stay in one. Too many Japanese do litter, especially discharging stuff from their cars.

They want the revenue from foreign tourists but are unwilling to pay a few hundred yen for stickers for trash. Put out trash cans and the littering will be reduced.

I was just in Kyoto. Never seen it so crowded. Crazy busy. Not fond of the big crowds, so I never visit Kyoto tourist areas. Lol. I only stay in Kyoto because it is strategically located, easier/shorter access to many locations I want to go to (Lake Biwa, Osaka, Kobe, etc) and easier access to from Osaka airport.

Japanese want the tourists from other countries but don’t want to take account of the difference in cultures nor act to protect their monuments-grumbling doesn’t do it!

According to estimates, only around 10-25 million people in China speak English. 10% or about 5 million South Koreans speak English.

No, 300 million or so Chinese can speak English.

More than Europeans.

I can't forget arriving at Kyoto shinkansen station in 1987 and thinking, "What is this? Where is Kyoto?" I'd internalised the hype but I am not the kind of tourist who then only sees what I expect to see, as most seem to be as they look for the defining photo shot they have seen in some brochure or now on social media. I see the reality and most of Kyoto was so awful I was appalled. I ended up living there for some years and could even witness a daily transition to even more generic ugliness. There are some scenic spots, even away from the crowds, and I know them better than most, but let's not pretend that the city government has sought to help Kyoto reach any aesthetic potential. They should be ashamed, except now the number of tourists living the cliche seem to have vindicated them. But do these tourists chance to look out over what could be any city in Japan when the visit Kiyomizu-dera? It's hardly breathtaking.

How Many People in China Speak English?

According to estimates, only around 10-25 million people in China speak English. In terms of English proficiency, China ranked #82 out of 113 countries in 2023.

According to the same survey data, nearly 16% of Chinese people know English at a basic level, being able to hold a simple conversation on everyday topics. 

https://www.thehistoryofenglish.com/how-many-people-in-china-speak-english

According to estimates, only around 10-25 million people in China speak English. In terms of English proficiency, China ranked #82 out of 113 countries in 2023.

Need to update your research skills "wallace:

"Learners and Users of English in China," concluded that China had a "huge English-knowing population of 200-350 million,"

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2011/aug/19/jon-huntsman/jon-huntsman-says-more-english-speakers-china-unit/

 Of that, around 82 million people can speak English, which is 6% of the population.

https://higherlanguage.com/do-people-speak-english-in-china/

Not Understand Japanese? What about English?

Regardless of Language warnings for you tourists, you donot want LITTER where you visit in foreign countries. am I right? common sense. Right?

"Kyoto temple suffering from littering tourists claiming not to understand Japanese verbal warning... and Japanese who DO understand the warning."

Fixed it. Took my sister and her family to Yasaka Shrine, Maruyama Park, Ni-nenzaka/Sannenzaka (the day that old tree fell), and Kiyomizu Temple among other places, and some old Japanese dude just tossed the garbage from the sausage and fries he'd been eating from a small restaurant there pretty much into the pond. He then took a photo of the Pokemon manhole cover a bit in front of him and walked on towards Kodaiji Temple as if nothing had happened.

Sorry, but it's not all foreigners doing it, if any of the latter truly are.

Oh YEAH, Japanese litter, pee, scrrible, and then upload to his channel in SNS later, and you know many of them. WWWW

And yet Japan is still burning household waste in incinerator towers in residential areas nationwide

What do you do with your refuse Japan?

You think breathing in tobacco everywhere and burning trash is respectful etiquette?

Not Understand Japanese? What about English?

Unfortunately English is foreign so it's not well understood un Japan

And xenophobia is a difficult issue to admit to

I see that many commnetators in here are very young (mid 20s to 30s)? To not know the reason why there are no trash bins in Japan... perhaps revising some history could be useful... and no 9/11 was no the main reason.

Also trash bins in a temple???... I haven't been there but the Sistine Chappel, or La Sagrada Familia or any Sophia Mosque do they have trash bins withing they premises?

As I mentioned I haven't been in those plases, but I have been in some Curches catholic, protestant, even Mormons, as well as some Mosques and Sinagoges and I have not seen trash bins within their premises.

(Given some curches in south america and africa tend to be pretty dirty on the outside as in the inside).

Also, I think there are no trash bins in near the Lincon memorial nor the Buckingham palacem, the Rome Colossseum or the Teotihuacan pyramids.

Why there are so many people demaning for trash bins in these areas?

And once again a problem is blamed on the very people who are propping up the economy. Yes, some tourists litter, but so do local people too. Don't bite off the hand that feeds you. Just put some bins in public areas where there's a lot of foot traffic.....it really is THAT simple. Stop moaning about it, and just do it.

TaiwanIsNotChinaSep. 28  07:31 am JST

Are there garbage cans? Then the temple knows what they can do...

> purple_depressed_baconSep. 28  07:40 am JST

Perhaps if they, oh I don't know, installed some of these nifty things called rubbish bins around the area...

And place signs in Japanese and English denoting what they are. Maybe using the universal 'pitch in' symbol with arrows pointing to the trash cans.

It's just common sense.

I live in rural Japan where never any tourists ever visit and there is trash strewn about in the rice fields and sides of the street.

Not to mention all the cigarette buts where drivers empty their car ashtrays onto the road.

Murakami Haruki even had scenes in one of his novels that showed locals emptying their car ashtrays onto the street regularly.

All your woes aren't because of tourists.

Get more trash cans in public.

There are lots of vending machines. Usually there is a bin to throw your bottles in. When you buy things you need to throw them somewhere. So you need bins! It is a basic things which citizens and tourists should have access to.

Yeah. I am sick and tired of those posts like " So do local people do too".

If this temple had been suffuring from those litterings by locals, or more by locals , they wouldn't raise voices

NOW. Short movies capturing kicking　deers in the park, dumping clam shells or peeing in the pond, peeing and sccribling stone pagoda are everywhere in SNS.

Just DO NOT use usual phrase " so do local people" Even worse, some of these jersks upload to SNS and be proud of their behaviors

The tourists visiting Kyoto are from neighbouring cities/towns in Japan and overseas visitors. Both are capable of littering and they do! The problem at the moment is that travel is so cheap that, let's face it, Japan is receiving the downside of that. Overtourism, bad mannered tourists who dress like they've shopped at the down and out secondhand shops are the norm now. They lug their dirty backpacks onto buses, wheel their noisy luggage down the quiet streets, they pick fights with locals, they smoke everywhere and throw their rubbish on the streets, or in front of businesess and houses. I've seen it all. What upset me most is the way they are destroying the cleanliness and peace of the temples. These temples are free to enter, and so the nasty cheap traveller is having a field day in Japan. I don't see any resolution other than to make travel to and in Japan very expensive.

Worked for a Japanese iconic company as an American, had access to many things...from all my time, I can tell you this is 2 groups. All of the issues I witnessed were Americans and Chinese. The Chinese are loud and oblivious nor do they care about anyone around them, my daughter is Chinese....the Americans are so impressed with their humor that only they laugh at, and for some reason seen to solicit attention from any external source possible loudly very insecure and ego centric, raised in an individualistic environment, code for selfish. I am American and embarrassed on each trip to Japan by what we have shown them as our true character flaws.