A group of Malaysian tourists has come under fire after one of them was caught on camera carving onto a bamboo stalk at Kyoto’s iconic Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, a move that has drawn backlash from both Japanese and international netizens.
The incident first surfaced through a news segment aired on Japanese programme news23, later shared on Threads by user @charlotte_jpnews21.
The footage shows several tourists walking through the bamboo grove before one individual bends down, picks up a stone from the ground, and begins carving the letter “M” onto a bamboo pole.
A reporter quickly approached the group and confronted them, asking, “Do you know you’re not supposed to damage the bamboo?”
To this, the tourists claimed that they were unaware of the rule.
Suffering from years of vandalism
Arashiyama Bamboo Forest is one of Kyoto’s most photographed and visited spots, famous for its towering, emerald-green bamboo walkway. But its popularity has also made it a repeated victim of vandalism.
User @charlotte_jpnews21 stated in her post that more than 350 bamboo stalks have already been damaged due to tourists carving or scratching words, initials, and symbols onto them.
When lighter surface scratches and minor marks are included, the actual extent of damage becomes “almost impossible to estimate.”
Some bamboo stalks have become so structurally weakened from deep scratches that they will need to be cut down for safety reasons.
Watch the video here.
Backlash spreads across social media
The clip of the Malaysian tourists has since gone viral, with many netizens, from Japan and beyond, voicing their disappointment.
Most criticised the behaviour as disrespectful, urging tourists to stop treating cultural and natural landmarks as places to leave “souvenir graffiti.”
Others pointed out that Arashiyama is struggling to preserve its landscape despite increasing visitor numbers each year.
As of now, the video continues to circulate widely online, with many calling for stricter enforcement and more awareness campaigns to protect the iconic bamboo forest from further damage.
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