“At around 6:20 a.m. on June 24, an intoxicated American tourist entered a centuries-old Zen temple in Kyoto and broke part of it. The man, whose name has not been released, wandered into Shoden Eigen-in, a subtemple of Kenninji in Higashiyama ward. Rather than using the main entrance, he entered through a kitchen door on the south side. He stumbled through the gardens. Then, for reasons known only to himself, he attempted to climb a wooden railing enclosing the main hall.
That railing, along with the hall itself, was designated as a Kyoto Prefectural Cultural Heritage Site in 2015. The structure is fragile, historically significant and irreplaceable. The damage was immediate. The wood split and scraped under his weight. A nearby wooden door was also broken.”
I agree. “If the temple doesn’t ask for repair costs, things like this will just keep happening!”. There should be some punitive damages too.
At some point enough is enough.
Imagine if someone shot fireworks at Mt Rushmore as a prank and damaged some of it. Americans would never let him go after an ‘apology’
Death penalty for tourists please.
The idiot pays for the damage, spends jail time, and is banned from entering the country again. Stop letting these assholes ruin things for all of us.
fellow americans, we can start pleasantly surprising people ANY time now
“I just wanted to see the temple.”
….???????????
In US, if you want to see a historic building, do you drink, sneak in in the middle of the night, and damage property? Is that allowed?
There is FAR too much inconsiderate, jerky, idiot American tourist behavior everywhere.
Great, another reason to be ashamed to tell people I am American when I visit.
At least he was only drunk and not using drugs.
Rather than apologizing he should have taken the local approach and said he didn’t remember.
Of course it was an american
1) Arrest
2) Bill
3) Deport
4) Entry Ban
This is why, as a dual us/canada citizen, I pretend to be entirely Canadian when I travel
Im still getting angry replies from burger defenders in a post where a us marine raped a japanese woman.
It is just really sad to see people act like this and deny and deflect.
“The japanese are just as bad” insane cope
Drunk and visiting temples at 6:20am?!??
Yes, I’ve come across my fair share of drunk Ojisans during my morning commute, but come on man.
Not surprising at all.
The comedian Dylan Moron:
“America is the bad room mate of the world. Oh sorry did I break that I didn’t realize it was yours…I’ll replace it…With my stuff”
Straight up idiotic, lol. Being a Canadian, I apologize for how my neighbor behaved in your country.
I lived in Kyoto 20 years ago… Back then it was a great place to live in but since then with the increase of tourists, it’s nowhere near as nice. Entire districts switched to only catering to toursists. For example, nishiki market used to be nice to buy things before heading back home in the evening, now it’s only overpriced and only targeting tourists.
To be fair the priests’ reaction to this is exactly what I would expect from a Buddhist
No more louts:
Make Tourism Great Again
I got drunk in Tokyo every night and never damaged anything jfc.
Anybody know how to get the name of the perp, so we can bug him when he returns to the USA?
Half-joking….
Where’s the actual source of this it reads like some weird fabricated smear piece to continue the idealology that americans do shit like this, I am an american living in osaka and i almost never see americans behaving poorly, chinese cut and are rude with body language etc so are many europeans but most americans i see seem to be following etiquitte and enjoying japan.
As an American, I have to say this really bothers me. Why do we think that we can go to other countries especially beautiful ones like Japan and think we can just do whatever the hell we want? I realize it’s probably a dumb question but I for one as a person who loves the country of Japan for its beauty, culture, religious, and all around awesomeness this really bothers me. I know there isn’t much I can do, but I hope this comment makes sense. Another question I have is does Japan have laws regarding religious sites? Aren’t they protected by the government with this stuff happens they can prosecute? All in all the story makes me sad. I wish to visit Japan one day and do the opposite everything that this guy did. This sucks.
As a general rule of thumb, if you’re visiting someone else’s country, you’re a guest and you should be on your best behavior. Especially at historical sites. This formula works regardless of where you are from and where you are visiting.
Lock him up and make him pay the full amount.
Then line up like 20 Sumo Wrestlers and let them practice sumo moves on him.
SMHHHHHH
Can Americans just stop leaving their own country and disrespecting others. It makes the rest of us tourists who genuinely love and respect the countries we are visiting look bad.
GET THE FOREIGNERS OUT, JAPAN
Actually strict punishments would stop these fools really quick, American, Chinese, Australian, and everyone else.
They should put new sign that says “no breaking and entering under influence”. That will show ’em!
/S
Outside the USA, we change the term Florida (man) to American.
Why are you drunk and walking around ? If it is illegal in the US clearly it shouldn’t be done in another country. This is the reason why Japanese people are weary of tourist.
Why does he have to make Americans look bad if you can’t control yourself while drunk don’t drink
Visiting Japan is on my bucket list, but it’s unnerving the amount of idiotic tourists who will end up ruining things for the rest of us.
I’m not doing this to justify it, but it’s not just Americans. Chinese people do it too. Either way, it’s a crime.
[https://www.sankei.com/article/20250426-4X7KXA6W7ZKIZKWH3VEOIFBEO4/](https://www.sankei.com/article/20250426-4X7KXA6W7ZKIZKWH3VEOIFBEO4/)
「According to the Kyoto Prefectural Police, the arrested man was a Chinese male tourist (28), who confessed, “The temple was closed and the gates were closed, so I knew it was wrong but I climbed over the wall and entered without permission.”」
36 comments
“At around 6:20 a.m. on June 24, an intoxicated American tourist entered a centuries-old Zen temple in Kyoto and broke part of it. The man, whose name has not been released, wandered into Shoden Eigen-in, a subtemple of Kenninji in Higashiyama ward. Rather than using the main entrance, he entered through a kitchen door on the south side. He stumbled through the gardens. Then, for reasons known only to himself, he attempted to climb a wooden railing enclosing the main hall.
That railing, along with the hall itself, was designated as a Kyoto Prefectural Cultural Heritage Site in 2015. The structure is fragile, historically significant and irreplaceable. The damage was immediate. The wood split and scraped under his weight. A nearby wooden door was also broken.”
I agree. “If the temple doesn’t ask for repair costs, things like this will just keep happening!”. There should be some punitive damages too.
At some point enough is enough.
Imagine if someone shot fireworks at Mt Rushmore as a prank and damaged some of it. Americans would never let him go after an ‘apology’
Death penalty for tourists please.
The idiot pays for the damage, spends jail time, and is banned from entering the country again. Stop letting these assholes ruin things for all of us.
fellow americans, we can start pleasantly surprising people ANY time now
“I just wanted to see the temple.”
….???????????
In US, if you want to see a historic building, do you drink, sneak in in the middle of the night, and damage property? Is that allowed?
There is FAR too much inconsiderate, jerky, idiot American tourist behavior everywhere.
Great, another reason to be ashamed to tell people I am American when I visit.
At least he was only drunk and not using drugs.
Rather than apologizing he should have taken the local approach and said he didn’t remember.
Of course it was an american
1) Arrest
2) Bill
3) Deport
4) Entry Ban
This is why, as a dual us/canada citizen, I pretend to be entirely Canadian when I travel
Im still getting angry replies from burger defenders in a post where a us marine raped a japanese woman.
It is just really sad to see people act like this and deny and deflect.
“The japanese are just as bad” insane cope
Drunk and visiting temples at 6:20am?!??
Yes, I’ve come across my fair share of drunk Ojisans during my morning commute, but come on man.
Not surprising at all.
The comedian Dylan Moron:
“America is the bad room mate of the world. Oh sorry did I break that I didn’t realize it was yours…I’ll replace it…With my stuff”
Straight up idiotic, lol. Being a Canadian, I apologize for how my neighbor behaved in your country.
I lived in Kyoto 20 years ago… Back then it was a great place to live in but since then with the increase of tourists, it’s nowhere near as nice. Entire districts switched to only catering to toursists. For example, nishiki market used to be nice to buy things before heading back home in the evening, now it’s only overpriced and only targeting tourists.
To be fair the priests’ reaction to this is exactly what I would expect from a Buddhist
No more louts:
Make Tourism Great Again
I got drunk in Tokyo every night and never damaged anything jfc.
Anybody know how to get the name of the perp, so we can bug him when he returns to the USA?
Half-joking….
Where’s the actual source of this it reads like some weird fabricated smear piece to continue the idealology that americans do shit like this, I am an american living in osaka and i almost never see americans behaving poorly, chinese cut and are rude with body language etc so are many europeans but most americans i see seem to be following etiquitte and enjoying japan.
As an American, I have to say this really bothers me. Why do we think that we can go to other countries especially beautiful ones like Japan and think we can just do whatever the hell we want? I realize it’s probably a dumb question but I for one as a person who loves the country of Japan for its beauty, culture, religious, and all around awesomeness this really bothers me. I know there isn’t much I can do, but I hope this comment makes sense. Another question I have is does Japan have laws regarding religious sites? Aren’t they protected by the government with this stuff happens they can prosecute? All in all the story makes me sad. I wish to visit Japan one day and do the opposite everything that this guy did. This sucks.
As a general rule of thumb, if you’re visiting someone else’s country, you’re a guest and you should be on your best behavior. Especially at historical sites. This formula works regardless of where you are from and where you are visiting.
Lock him up and make him pay the full amount.
Then line up like 20 Sumo Wrestlers and let them practice sumo moves on him.
SMHHHHHH
Can Americans just stop leaving their own country and disrespecting others. It makes the rest of us tourists who genuinely love and respect the countries we are visiting look bad.
GET THE FOREIGNERS OUT, JAPAN
Actually strict punishments would stop these fools really quick, American, Chinese, Australian, and everyone else.
They should put new sign that says “no breaking and entering under influence”. That will show ’em!
/S
Outside the USA, we change the term Florida (man) to American.
Why are you drunk and walking around ? If it is illegal in the US clearly it shouldn’t be done in another country. This is the reason why Japanese people are weary of tourist.
Why does he have to make Americans look bad if you can’t control yourself while drunk don’t drink
Visiting Japan is on my bucket list, but it’s unnerving the amount of idiotic tourists who will end up ruining things for the rest of us.
I’m not doing this to justify it, but it’s not just Americans. Chinese people do it too. Either way, it’s a crime.
[https://www.sankei.com/article/20250426-4X7KXA6W7ZKIZKWH3VEOIFBEO4/](https://www.sankei.com/article/20250426-4X7KXA6W7ZKIZKWH3VEOIFBEO4/)
「According to the Kyoto Prefectural Police, the arrested man was a Chinese male tourist (28), who confessed, “The temple was closed and the gates were closed, so I knew it was wrong but I climbed over the wall and entered without permission.”」