Food influencer’s shocking behavior at Tokyo seafood restaurant “gives tourists a bad name”

An influencer has caused a stir amongst his own countrymen, after he posted a video showing him bingeing on seafood at a restaurant in Japan.

The Chinese man, who has around 4.32 million followers on social media where he goes by the name “King of Big Eats”, visited a high-end seafood restaurant in Tokyo which has an “all you can eat” section.

In the video, the man was filmed stating he was going to “wipe out the salmon” and “leave no food behind for others”.

He also made a rather derogatory claim before entering the restaurant, stating “I’m going to teach the Japanese a lesson”, a claim that could only be taken as acknowledgement that he knew his actions would be seen as inflammatory. 

Whilst the “all you can eat” nature of the restaurant technically allows customers to eat as much as they see fit for a set price, it’s also generally assumed that customers will not take this to extremes.

Behaviour such as taking all of a specific item, or taking excessive amounts, can be seen as being socially unacceptable.

The man is shown to load his plates with extreme amounts of seafood, such as the aforementioned salmon, before beginning to film himself swallowing it as fast as possible, using chopsticks to pick up large amounts and slurp the seafood down in a manner described by witnesses as “disgusting”.

Staff from the restaurant and other customers were reportedly shocked by his actions, with one waiter approaching the man to inform him that if he left any food on his plate he would be charged separately.

He was also warned to only take a moderate amount, so as to leave some food for other customers, however this warning seems to have gone unheeded as the man’s behavior continued unabated.

In interviews after the incident, the restaurant stated that the man’s actions were not technically against their policies, and that the issue of the man taking excessive amounts were more of a “moral issue” and that they watched the man closely and would have intervened if he began to significantly affect other customers.

Some would argue that taking large amounts and denying other customers access to specific items would be enough to expect the restaurant to take more firm action.

Either way, the influencer’s actions did not go down well with other users of Chinese social media, with many accusing him of bringing the country’s name into disrepute.

Comments included “this is how Chinese tourists’ image is tarnished overseas” and “when you’re overseas, you should be mindful of your image – you are the face of the country and should act accordingly”. 

Whilst food influencers are well known for taking on food challenges that often see them eat excessive amounts, doing so unannounced and in a fairly rude manner isn’t recommended.

This incident is set to join other cases of influencers behaving badly, such as a German influencer who filmed himself playing music loudly and performing backflips on public transport in Tokyo.

Many are questioning what steps the Japanese government can take to address these issues, as technically if creators are using Japan as a “backdrop” to create content that they monetise, they should have a relevant visa that allows them to engage in paid work.

With many creators visiting Japan on a tourist visa, many locals and other tourists who are outraged by the actions carried out by a small minority appear to be in favor of the implementation of stricter entry conditions.

Source: FNN