Best guests in the world: Japanese tourists collect rubbish – in Melbourne

WWe Japanese tourists have laughed at us for years. Because they were only found in packs in our city centers and in front of our sights. And because they rushed through half of Europe in less than two weeks. That was pretty narrow-minded in several ways. It was only about ten years ago that we first came up with the idea that we might be interested in Japan. In addition, to this day we often follow a guide in double dozen, just as stupidly, be it through the excavations of Pompeii or on pseudo-medieval night watchman tours.

Above all, there was simply nothing more generally acceptable in mass tourism than the Japanese tour groups: They didn’t want to rent apartments that we locals would have liked to live in. They didn’t want to meet any locals anyway, didn’t want to drink beer in their bars or eat at their favorite Italian restaurant. Unforgettable is the sight of a Japanese family in Heidelberg many, many years ago picking through a bowl full of sauerkraut and better offal, which they probably still have nightmares about today – a mistake that rarely happens to Japanese people when traveling. Basically, the groups of visitors didn’t get in the way of the locals’ everyday lives and were gone again as quickly as they arrived. Without leaving any traces.

Of course, this is all a matter of mentality. The majority of tourists definitely want their presence to be noticed. Russian holidaymakers had a corresponding reputation, at least as long as you still met them. The Germans, English and Scandinavians were only too happy to get angry about their supposed proletism, but they also don’t have a particularly good reputation when it comes to discreet behavior.

Japanese travelers, on the other hand, do not want to attract attention under any circumstances, especially not in an unpleasant way. On the other hand, they are obviously very orderly. And so, weighing the two against each other, a group recently caught the eye in Melbourne: The Japanese guests were filmed by a passer-by picking up large amounts of rubbish. Mind you: not your own. Japanese are simply the best tourists in the world.