A Japanese Hotel Apologizes After A Korean YouTuber Was Sent Away For Not Speaking Japanese.

A YouTuber recently said that, when visiting Japan, he was turned down for a room at a hotel that he had reserved in advance.

“Kkujun,” this YouTuber, has more than 64,000 subscribers. He chronicled in a video his 113-day voyage, which began in Fukuoka and ended in Sapporo after traveling 2.100 km (1,304 miles) on a kickboard.

He stopped in Ube, Japan on the second day of his journey, citing a “cheap place to stay” as the reason for his visit. He clarified that a bathtub-equipped capsule hotel was available for just over 30,000 KRW (~22.49 USD) each night.

That day, he rode his kickboard 60 km (37 miles) and arrived at the motel he had booked for 7 PM. When he told the employees he had a reservation when he first arrived, they inquired about his knowledge of Japanese.

He explained that he couldn’t speak Japanese well and that he had reserved a stay at a capsule hotel using an app for translation. The employees started talking among themselves and appeared hesitant.

After a while, a staff member said that he wouldn’t be able to handle any issues he could have without knowing Japanese, which resulted in his accommodation request being denied.

The hotel’s branch manager argued that he could not stay despite having to make reservations in advance since he was not familiar with Japanese language and traditions. Exasperated, he walked out of the hotel, claiming he couldn’t believe this was happening considering he had a reservation and an email confirmation as well.

After seeing the video, many online expressed their shock, with others wondering what would happen to visitors if they were turned away on the day of check-in. Concerns over the alleged discrimination were voiced by others. They said, “I’ve been to Fukuoka dozens of times and used numerous accommodations but I’ve never seen any place that’s like that?” and “How can they tell a visitor who has already booked plans to depart in that manner? Do they simply practice discrimination?”

After the matter gained public notice, the hotel released a formal statement in which it expressed regret for turning away guests who couldn’t understand Japanese and acknowledged that an untrained staff member was partly to blame for the inaccurate response.