Aussie bloke’s controversial act at a Japanese art exhibit teamLab Tokyo sparks outrage

A defiant Australian tourist has hit back after being criticized online for an outrageous stunt at a popular art exhibition in Japan.

The man was filming while visiting the water art exhibition at teamLab Tokyo in February when he decided to take a dip fully clothed, despite the fact that swimming was prohibited.

“I’m going swimming at teamLab Tokyo,” the man known as Lil Mid told his viewers on TikTok.

He dove into the water and started swimming towards one of the installations before he was stopped by what appeared to be an employee.

Two months later, footage of his antics continues to go viral online, prompting a fellow Aussie content creator Sandy in Japannn to blow up the stunt earlier this week.

“This is why we can’t have nice things,” Sandy captioned the original video.

“This is the kind of gaijin that ruins it for everyone.”

Gaijin is a Japanese word meaning foreigner or person from outside.

“Sure, not all gaijin. But if there’s one too many and there are enough, then it’s more trouble than it’s worth. Gaijin will end up being banned from even more things,” Sandy said.

Many of her followers agreed, calling the stunt disrespectful.

“Gaijin here. I’m also tired of the behavior of gaijin tourists,” one person wrote.

“Average disrespectful Australian tourist,” said another.

‘I am absolutely shocked, my husband and I went to Tokyo last May and teamLABS was one of the most amazing sensory experiences. This is just ridiculously sad and pathetic. Screw it [for] everyone else,” one person wrote.

Others on social media were offended by Sandy’s use of the word gaijin.

“Why does she call them gaijin? You are a gaijin yourself,” one person wrote.

“Is gaijin the same as the word gringo in Japanese?” said another.

However, Lil Mid was defiant and commented on the content creator’s post about the criticism of his stunt.

“This place is a tourist spot, isn’t it?” He wrote.

‘I also received several messages from Japanese people saying this was funny?’

To answer, Sandy edited his response to a clip of his video.

“Yes, I see they really appreciated your appreciation for their tourist attraction,” she wrote.

The teamLab website states that swimming is not allowed at the exhibition.

Viewers suggested that Lil Mid might have received the ultimate punishment.

‘I have sensitive skin after going to teamLab’s water department. I got a rash on my legs. I also saw mold on the wall of that section and this guy wants to swim in that,” one viewer wrote.

“That’s what I thought too, marinating in a shared puddle of foot soup doesn’t sound like a good idea,” said another.

In her video, Sandy also mentioned the places where tourists have already been banned in Japan for bad behavior, including certain alleys in Kyoto’s Geisha district, Gion.

‘Because of rude foreigners harassing geisha and maiko, shoving cameras in their faces, damaging their kimonos and trespassing on private property.’

Sandy also spoke about plans to build a “huge a**e barrier” to block the view of Mount Fuji in a tourist hotspot due to “rude gaijin.”

“Have some respect, this is not your backyard,” she said.

Many other Asian tourist spots have recently addressed inappropriate tourist behavior.

Bali introduced rules a year ago that include banning foreigners from posting offensive and vulgar messages on social media.

Tourists should also avoid indecent behavior in public and respect local culture.