The Japanese news has been buzzing with the news that the famous Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo has started to ban tourists from their morning tuna auctions. Apparently, tourists had been ignoring signs warning them not to use flash photography or to disrupt the auction process, so the people who run the auction decided it was best to keep tourists out of the auction area. Flashes can interfere with the bidding process and hundreds of thousands of yen are at stake.
My first reaction to this was that the people at Tsukiji were going too far. How bad could it be? Well, then I saw the videos roll in. People firing away with full flash. People going up to and touching the tuna. One guy even licked a tuna. The men guarding the fish tried their best to warn the tourists, but it was no good. Earlier this week, the signs went up, and it was announced that a month long ban was to go into effect. Many of the tourist who showed up displayed shock with many declaring that Tsukiji was on their list of major venues to visit in Tokyo.
After seeing a video of a guard trying to get two french tourists to stop joy riding one of the trucks near the auction site, I lost it. I have never felt so ashamed to be a foreigner. Many of these tourists were warned over and over again, and refused to behave. When confronted about it, some of them pretended they didn’t speak Japanese and played innocent, despite the fact most of the signs were written in easy to understand English.
I have a strong message for all foreign tourists coming to visit Japan in the near future. Please respect the rules in the tourist areas, and please be on your best behavior. You are guests here and you are being judged. I live in Japan and I work hard everyday to break down the myth of the rude foreigner. Even after five years of living here, local people are still sometimes uncomfortable around me and other foreigners. Sadly, I’m not sure what else we’ll be able to do to reassure them. So please, either act your age when you come here, or don’t come at all. Your actions have ramifications that go was beyond your cushy little vacations. These are people’s jobs that are at stake. Imagine if someone who didn’t speak your language came into your office, took pictures of you and ignored you when you set out some ground rules about what they could do in your office. You would be quite upset, I’m sure. Well, now you how the people at Tsukiji feel.
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