When traveling to new countries, getting used to cultural differences and customs can be difficult but entirely necessary. This viral TikTok proves just how obnoxious it can be to be ignorant of new cultural customs and the exact reason why locals often detest travelers.

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An Australian travel content creator posted a video about his travels through Japan. In the clip, he’s taking a train to his next location and notices a woman-only car. It’s clearly labeled in Japanese and English, but for some reason, he felt the need to walk through the car himself to see if it really was just women. The signage was proven correct by the panoramic video he took of every woman in the train car while he walked through it. He commented that he was shocked to see such a “conservative” concept in a country like Japan, even saying “It’s like Saudi Arabia in here,” and calling himself a woman inspector.

@shearingshedvlogs

This “women-only” carriage is the last thing I would expect to be seeing in such a free country like Japan and reminds me of something I would see in a country with strict segregation rules. Japan was the last place I expected to be seeing strict male-female segregation in public #segregation #segregatedsociety #gender #sexuality

♬ original sound – ShearingShedVlogs

As you may be able to guess, his actions did not fare well with his TikTok audience. Several people pointed out that people like him give tourists a bad reputation agreeing that a woman-only car is really for the best. Others pointed out that the whole point of the car was to make women feel safe, and his actions probably made them feel quite the opposite. Commenters were seriously quick to tell off the TikToker for his actions, “What a disrespectful and condescending white dude. The purpose is for women to feel safe, it’s not mandatory segregation,” someone commented.

The video even made its way over to Twitter where people were ready to double down on viewers’ scolding, one person even suggesting that the TikToker get booted from Japan.

Hi, Japanese Immigration Agency? Yes we’d like to request one deportation, please

— Unseen Japan (@UnseenJapanSite) September 7, 2023

Women-only train cars have existed in Japan for nearly 20 years, according to Jobs in Japan. After complaints of groping and unsolicited photos reached a record high in 2004, the Japanese government rolled out the pink labeled cars which operated daily during rush hour beginning in 2005. The carriages did receive some controversy and a lot of men complained that they had made the rest of the train more crowded. However, lots of people came to their defense and women have used them ever since. There are now women-only carriages on 87 lines and within 32 railway companies.

Violating a safe space like this one is the exact reason that doing research before traveling to a new country is a vital step in avoiding faux pas like this one. Hopefully, when you travel, you have a little more common sense than this guy. But if you don’t, it may be best just to stay home.