A group of tourists experienced the bitter taste of discrimination while dining at a popular restaurant in Japan.
The Chinese tourists were verbally assaulted and kicked out of the establishment over their clothing, which the owner deemed “too revealing.”
On social media, many speculated that the owner may have had other unspoken motives for turning them away.
Highlights
- Two Chinese tourists were kicked out of a restaurant for wearing sport vests and trousers deemed "too revealing" by the owner.
- The manager snatched their chopsticks and removed their food mid-meal, one of the tourists claimed.
- Numerous Google reviews accuse the restaurant owner of discriminating, particularly against Chinese customers.
Two Chinese tourists were kicked out of a restaurant in Japan over their "revealing" outfits
Image credits: Alex Shaw/Unsplash (Not the actual photo)
One of the tourists, a blogger, said the unpleasant incident took place in August at the popular Thai restaurant Baan Thai Market in Kobe, Japan.
She said she visited the restaurant with a friend, but the owner greeted them disrespectfully at the door.
The owner reportedly told them, “Summer is over. You don’t need to come out n*ked any more.”
Image credits: Google Maps
The blogger explained that their outfits were not revealing and consisted of sport vests paired with trousers.
Despite the rude comment, the tourists decided to go ahead with their plan and dine at the restaurant.
However, their experience took another unpleasant turn when the restaurant manager interrupted their meal, snatched their chopsticks, and took away their food from the table.
The tourists' outfits consisted of sport vests and trousers
Image credits: sohu.com
The blogger claimed that the manager abruptly cleared their plates without even asking whether they had finished eating.
The mistreatment reportedly continued when it was time to pay.
“When I went to pay the bill, I asked the manager how much it was. He completely ignored me, just glanced at the computer screen as if to say we should check it ourselves,” the woman wrote.
The restaurant manager escalated the incident by removing their food, one of the tourists claimed
Image credits: 163.com
She later checked the restaurant’s Google reviews and discovered that her experience wasn’t an isolated incident; instead, a number of customers had complained about “discrimination” from the manager.
“The number of negative reviews is staggering,” she shared.
The reviews focused on the owner’s alleged malicious behavior and even included accusations of discrimination toward Chinese customers.
Image credits: semanticvision/TripAdvisor
One reviewer claimed they were kicked out of the restaurant for wearing perfume, as per the South China Morning Post.
Another claimed that the manager seemed “extremely enthusiastic” when they dined at the restaurant with Japanese friends, but his attitude changed drastically when he heard them speaking Chinese.
A third reviewer said they felt “discriminated against” after being told the restaurant was full and that they would have to wait 90 minutes for a table, despite seeing empty seats. They also claimed that staff “refused” to show them a menu.
Reviewers alleged that the manager showed favoritism toward Japanese customers while treating Chinese customers rudely
Image credits: baanthai.restaurant
Someone else wrote that the owner seems to be rude to foreigners and only “speaks politely with the Japanese,” adding, “The last time I went there, I decided to not go there again as he rudely asked us to go back as the restaurant was full.”
A separate reviewer gave the restaurant one out of five stars, writing that the manager "should take anger management lessons ASAP.”
Image credits: TripAdvisor
Image credits: TripAdvisor
Japanese citizens stood in solidarity with the tourists, taking to social media to condemn the manager’s alleged discriminatory behavior.
“It wasn’t about the clothes at all. He changed his attitude the moment he realised they were Chinese,” one person wrote.
“That manager is genuinely rude. His reputation has been bad for a long time,” another commented.
“Discrimination only hurts the country’s image. He doesn’t understand that his business depends on tourists,” a third noted.
Japanese citizens expressed support for the tourists on social media, condemning the manager’s behavior
Image credits: baanthai.restaurant/mc2_info
Image credits: TripAdvisor
A Chinese user said the blogger should have “walked out” as soon as she heard the comment about her outfit, writing, “Why tolerate humiliation when you’re the one paying for the meal?”
This year, Japan overtook Thailand as the most popular overseas travel destination for Chinese tourists, driven by factors such as relaxed visa policies, a weak yen (Japan’s national currency), and a growing interest in food tourism, the SCMP reported.
Image credits: Jack T/Unsplash (Not the actual photo)
A report by the Pew Research Center found that China and Japan harbor mostly negative stereotypes of one another, disagree on Japan’s WW2 legacy, and worry about future confrontations.
Only 11% of the Japanese express a favorable opinion of China, while 14% of the Chinese say they have a positive view of Japan. In Japan, roughly eight in ten citizens describe the Chinese as arrogant, while seven in ten Chinese see the Japanese in that light.
The report also noted that Japanese animosity toward China varies somewhat by generation, with those aged 50 and older holding particularly unfavorable views toward China compared with younger Japanese.
Bored Panda has contacted Baan Thai restaurant for comment.
The incident sparked mixed reactions, with some defending the owner and others supporting the women
