The Japanese take pride in the mostly-impeccable timekeeping of their Shinkansen bullet train, yet it only took a group of snap-happy Indonesian tourists to blemish that reputation, according to a viral post.
Recently, a Facebook user going by the name Kucing Putih (which translates to “white cat”), who appears to be an Indonesian national on holiday in Japan, posted images of a group of what he said were Indonesian tourists holding up a Shinkansen train bound for Tokyo.
In the post, which has now been deleted but was widely shared online, including by the mainstream Indonesian media, Kucing Putih said that the Indonesian tourists delayed the train by about 10 minutes as some of them had encroached on the yellow line on the edge of the platform while they took group photos.
According to Kucing Putih, the tourists ignored train station officials’ request that they get behind the yellow line. The train finally departed after it sounded its horn, jolting the tourists away from the danger zone on the platform.
Viral Turis Indonesia Bikin Shinkansen Telat 10 Menit, Gara-Gara Ini! pic.twitter.com/3nbinP2E1I
— KOMPAS TV (@KompasTV) January 1, 2020
While officials have not explicitly confirmed that the Indonesian tourists delayed the train, the Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo did post a tweet addressing the incident after Kucing Putih’s post went viral.
Bagi WNI yg sedang berlibur di Jepang, harap mengikuti tata tertib & peraturan di Jepang. Aparat setempat memiliki hak sepenuhnya untuk menahan WN Asing yg melanggar ketertiban maupun hukum Jepang.
Mari kita jaga nama baik Indonesia 🇲🇨. Selamat berlibur! @Kemlu_RI #IndonesianWay— Indonesia in Japan (@KBRITokyo) December 31, 2019
“For Indonesians holidaying in Japan, please observe rules and regulations in Japan. Local authorities have the right to arrest foreigners who disobey Japanese customs and laws. Let us preserve the good name of Indonesia. Happy holidays!” the tweet reads.
This is not the first faux pas allegedly committed by Indonesian tourists in Japan to go viral. In 2017, a social media post went viral showing a messy dining table left behind by Indonesian tourists in Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, highlighting Indonesians’ “culture” of stubbornly refusing to clean their tables after themselves.
