TL;DR Nanzoin temple in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, is charging foreign visitors 300 yen to enter, citing nuisance behavior and the need to cover cleaning and security costs. The policy, which exempts long-term residents, has sparked controversy and criticism, with some calling it discriminatory.
by SkyInJapan
34 comments
Taj Mahal charges 50 rupees to Indians and 1,100 rupees to foreigners, including Indian residents with foreign passports, so dual pricing is nothing new, I would say.
[And there are also cases of places that give discount to foreigners.](https://www.kankou-shimane.com/en/wp-content/themes/navi_en/brochure/Shimanediscount_EN.pdf)
I take it as a part of a travel. Just let me know in advance so that I can avoid you.
Having Staff and Security there having to check “if someone is a foreigner” in order to get a measly 300 yen fee seems like way more hassle than it is worth.
I mean, yeah, it totally has nothing to do with the growing political dissonance and the upcoming elections to fan the flames of xenophobia whilst also using foreigners as scapegoats. I get it. Some foreigners are bad but it’s always taken out of context and never the whole picture, similar to how Japanese authorities coerce and pressure people.
I’ve seen Japanese people behaving horrendously but the spotlight is conveniently facing in another direction. I think there should be another way rather than dual pricing, increase tourism taxes, get rid of tax free shopping. The money should be spread around wider to support and improve infrastructure that is being pushed to the limit by tourism, some of this money could also be sent wider afield to rural Japanese areas.
Do temples pay tax in Japan? Do they receive money from the government to “operate?”
As a taxpayer I’d like to know.
Perhaps if the sign was changed to read non-residents of Japan instead of pesky gaijin people might not be so miffed lol
We should do the same with our National Parks imo
It’s fine, it’s 300 yen.
What’s way worse is restaurants charging more. I can speak the language, I’m not paying more that some random salaryman.
It is perfectly normal to charge visitors a fee but allow residents of Japan to get in for free. They’re just morons when it comes to implementing the policy, and their approach belies the mild racism behind it.
And yeah most of the fee probably ends up going to the staff directing people at the entrance anyway.
I’d just make the sign explain more clearly in Japanese and English, get rid of the staff, and charge like 600 yen or even 1000 yen. Nobody would have said a thing.
Add at least one extra zero to the right and then maybe it’ll have an impact.
I think it’s honestly completely reasonable in Japan’s circumstances to seek supplemental fees from foreign tourists. Though it’d probably look better in the press to frame it as a fee locals are exempted from than a fee “charged to foreigners.”
This is a thing in Canada at many tourist sites, they want locals to come too and spend money, while charging tourists more. Same in many European countries.
As a Japanese I support this
This is a practice done all over the world
I was at Nanzo-in last month and they were super nice. I greeted in Japanese and the lady at the counter immediately asked if I was a resident and asked to see my Zairyu card and let me in for free. No racism detectable, one of the most pleasant temples I have ever been to. (I would have happily paid the 300 yen)
This is probably an example of not what you say but how you say it.
It’s common for places like museums, parks, etc to offer discounts or free entry to locals
Some countries like Malaysia also have a higher foreigner entrance prices than residents or citizens at tourist atttractions
Can we get some Japanese influencers to go do pull ups with Jesus on the cross in a Catholic Church and see how they react?
They would’ve saved a ton of flak by calling it a non-resident fee.
I can see this as reasonable if it is a big tourist attraction that’s getting busloads of tourists and they need to hire staff to guide the tourists.
I don’t think it’s xenophobic or racist to acknowledge that tourists don’t know the rules and often break them out of ignorance. I had a friend who, on visiting a catholic church for the first time on a hot day, almost dipped her bandana in the holy water by the doors because she had no idea of the significance.
I think this could have been marketed better as a “tour fee” or something, and maybe instead of having an obvious security guard type instead hire someone to walk visitors around giving a few interesting bits of information and general information about temple manners (if necessary just have them play pre-recorded clips from their phone). Now obviously they’re there to stop the visitors from touching stuff they shouldn’t, or walking in shoes where they shouldn’t, or dropping trash, but I think people would come across a lot better if they felt that they were getting a “service” for their 300 yen, rather than it being an entry fee.
Anecdotal but as someone who is not Asian in any way and has visited this temple since this policy went into place I’ll say this: this fee is totally at the discretion of whoever is at the entrance. We went on a weekday around mid day in early June and were not charged a fee. I even tried to give the older woman in the booth coins in exact change because the sign said there was a fee and she declined it, she did verify for me my tattoos needed to remain covered the whole time I was there and offered a shawl to help me keep them concealed which was very nice of her.
The problem isn’t necessarily the charging of tourists. This is common in many museums and tourist attractions in the world. The problem is going to be the implementation. And Japan STILL doesn’t enforce all of their residents to carry ID.
For example, in new york you can get free entry to many museums if you are a resident, but you need to prove that with an ID card. I know Japanese don’t all carry ID or passport. So they wouldn’t be able to. Well… They will be, by looking Asian and speaking Japanese, and that’s where the discrimination comes in. What about Korean and Chinese tourists? I work in the hotel industry in Japan and I’ve met many Chinese and Korean who speak fluently in Japanese, behave like Japanese, and would not be distinguishable.
I’m a foreign resident in Japan, from Europe, but part Chinese, and I speak Japanese. I can ‘pass’ most of the time. Sometimes they ask me if I’m Japanese or half Japanese, in Japanese. I truly don’t believe you can tell apart Korean, Chinese and Japanese 100% just by people’s face. You CAN tell alot however by their styling (clothes, hair etc.) and behavior. So then we get into the profiling territory, which is bad.
Tldr: either make everyone, including natives show ID. Or don’t implement.
Weird I was there a couple months ago and was given fee entry
Spoke to the lady in Japanese but am obviously still a foreigner
I for one think the temple got rights to charge tourists people coming in. Tourists need extra surveillance because they don’t know the local way, forcing the temple to hire extra hands.
“Exempts long-term residents”. In other words, taxpayers. That’s all I need to know to say that I don’t disagree with this policy. It’s MUCH fairer than what other countries and cities in Japan are doing.
This is common practice in America what’s the issue
Pretty sure this is a “free entry for residents” situation. I get the local discounts for attractions where I live because I’m a resident. Nothing to debate.
When I went to India, they also had this at more tourist places too, so this is standard practice around the world if I’m being honest. Saw it in Europe too
I live in Fukuoka as a foreigner, taken visiting friends and family to nanzoin many times, and I’m actually pretty happy they’re finally doing something like this.
For those that do not know, nanzoin temple is in a very country side location, they didn’t even have modern toilets at the station until a year or 2 ago.
Went there many times before, and since this change. In the past it had visitors but outside of tours it was a very chill, easy to control area. In the last year, everytime I’ve gone I’ve seen people throwing trash on the ground, messing with the temple for social media posts. Taking pictures with a no pictures sign… Etc…
What a lot of people don’t realize when visiting is that this is still an active religious temple, it isn’t just a tourist site or an amusement park for foreigners. It may be free for Japanese people, but they also pay more doing the religious activities like the fortunes, stamp books, the game they have near the statue, and donations at various shrines. I can get in for free but I usually end up paying like 500-1000 yen per visit anyways.
As for people complaining about the entrance, I am a 6’5” white dude. I just walk up, answer in Japanese that I live in Fukuoka and they generally let me go without an issue. 1 time they asked to see my residence card, but that’s about it.
What about foreign residents then? This is discriminatory if just applied to anyone who simply looks foreign.
Charge everyone except locals and it will be alright without saying it
Fukugawa Fudōdō is now charging 1000 yen for tourists. Actually, I am not opposed to the idea that people who are not coming to worship or attend ceremonies should pay to contribute something to the upkeep, but specifically targeting *foreign* tourists feels like a political move.
[https://www.fukagawafudou.gr.jp/free13/index.html](https://www.fukagawafudou.gr.jp/free13/index.html)
Pretty common around here to charge people for entering churches if they aren’t part of the local community – so no issue with this at all. Visitors don’t pay for the upkeep that locals do with taxes, buying charms, offers,…
Sounds fair. Not sure howbitnis in Japan but where I live part of my taxes go to Museum and other historical sights.
So many entrance fees either are free or nearly. Tourists need to pay more
its ok, i will simply not visit it and others who dont like it, should also not visit it