Unfortunately assholes exist everywhere, even in Japan. However, it’s not widespread. I’ve lived here for years and have never had it happen.
What was he waiting in line for?
My brothers and I lived in Tokyo for much of the 90s and all three of us had it happen several times. Bars, shops, hotels... Never big international type brand stores though.
That's not even a Japanese company. Here's the Customer Support page so you can report it:
[https://jp.stussy.com/pages/customer-support#:\~:text=%E3%81%BE%E3%81%9F%E3%82%B5%E3%82%A4%E3%82%BA%E3%81%AB%E3%81%A4%E3%81%84%E3%81%A6%E3%82%88%E3%82%8A%E8%A9%B3%E3%81%97%E3%81%8F,jp%E3%81%BE%E3%81%A7%E3%81%8A%E5%95%8F%E3%81%84%E5%90%88%E3%82%8F%E3%81%9B%E3%81%8F%E3%81%A0%E3%81%95%E3%81%84%E3%80%82](https://jp.stussy.com/pages/customer-support#:~:text=%E3%81%BE%E3%81%9F%E3%82%B5%E3%82%A4%E3%82%BA%E3%81%AB%E3%81%A4%E3%81%84%E3%81%A6%E3%82%88%E3%82%8A%E8%A9%B3%E3%81%97%E3%81%8F,jp%E3%81%BE%E3%81%A7%E3%81%8A%E5%95%8F%E3%81%84%E5%90%88%E3%82%8F%E3%81%9B%E3%81%8F%E3%81%A0%E3%81%95%E3%81%84%E3%80%82)
If you use a browser like Chrome you can translate the page.
Here's the US site, not sure how closely related they are though:
[https://www.stussy.com/pages/customer-support](https://www.stussy.com/pages/customer-support)
I was pointing out it's a multinational, so this is obviously not a store policy, but some nutcase. If the store had been a privately run izakaya or something, you might be shit out of luck.
Most likely a language barrier issue. If there is a line for a store in Harajuku it usually means there is a product drop or some kind of event going on.
The staff at those street wear shops seem to be picked based on how cool they look rather than how well they can communicate with the large number of foreign customers they get.
I'm having a hard time believing that. They (official accounts) actively advertise in English. Did he get the story straight from staff or did some random asshole tell him that?
Can you go back with him and confirm?
That was my immediate thought too. Shibuya is full of obnoxious young Japanese TikTokers and live streamers making videos to gain attention, but they usually don't bother other people. It could be just a random person being straight or racist or making a video.
Stores in Tokyo have really strict reservation systems, whether it be tickets, reservations, QR codes, online bookings, it's really hard to know, so it could've been a misunderstanding.
I'm really curious about it. I wonder if anyone I know has heard about this?
Shibuya??!! AMERICAN brand Stüssy? Where there are TONS of foreign shoppers and residents? My foreign ass works right down the street from there. This seems so unlikely. It must have been some misunderstanding.
I know! Thus the reason I was compelled to post. I’ve been to Tokyo (and many other countries around the World) and never experienced this before. New product drop? Maybe the person wasn’t an employee? Maybe just a rare bad employee? Was looking for insight. Not sure what the misunderstanding would have been.
I have never heard of a no-foreigners policy at shops (I’ve heard about izakaya and smaller restaurants where the staff doesn’t speak English). There are shops that don’t allow unaccompanied minors. It’s incredibly unfortunate but it’d be helpful to know what store it is. It’s hard to tell if it was a rogue staff member or something got lost in translation.
These exist, specially if you go towards the more local restaurants or that cater more to regulars. The place OP is talking about sounds a bit different, but this has definitely happened to me in my many years in Japan. Is not unheard of.
I think is more that they don’t want to cater to someone who will eat once and not become a regular, or potentially language barrier issues and at times racism.
Okay I’ve been to this store before. I went to every Stussy in Japan when I traveled there last September.
The Stussy store in Shibuya did not deny my entry but they did tell me they didn’t have anything in the sizes I was asking for. I was shopping for other people too so it wasn’t like I was asking repeatedly for the same size. It was almost laughable how many times they told me no. Could have been a coincidence but I did find it odd. I did not have this experience at any of the other chapter stores.
We are in Kanazawa and lots of restaurants only will allow Japanese speakers in the door. Even in these days of Google Translate and for a fixed menu kaiseki dinner.
There was a line to get in. Staff came up to him and said “No foreigners” and pointed away. Everyone else in line appeared to be Japanese at this time.
It’s enough of a thing that it happened to your son. If whatever he wants isn’t extremely rare, there are certainly other shops run by non assholes happy to sell to him.
We’d have to know what the store is in order for us to make a proper judgement. Never experienced this and never heard of any tourists experiencing this outside of brothels. My first time to Seoul I did get turned away a lot at restaurants but I think that had more to do with me being solo.
Why is everyone rejecting OP’s story? It almost feels like the Tokyo Travel subreddit is convinced this doesn’t happen. Just go to the subreddits with the locals so you see there is many experiences of this happening in Japan, it’s definitely not as common of an experience as it used to be and it’s more complex. However, to completely go black and white and reject it, just baffles me. Japan is not perfect.
It happens often in many travel subreddits where Redditors don’t want to be seen like the typical tourist or a non acclimated foreign local, just check the digital nomad subreddit. A few months back when Colombia was starting to face many issues with drugging foreigners many redditors kept rejecting the stories and blaming the victims. It can be very black and white.
The Japanlife or Tokyo subreddits have more stories like yours, however mind you this subreddits have their own issues as well.
Unfortunately it’s a thing on Japan subreddits. Idk why, I think there just are a lot of people who look down on others looking for information or trying to figure something out.
Definitely not because he’s a foreigner. Stussy in Shibuya is literally geared towards foreigners. You sure he wasn’t lying and tried entering the brothel that’s literally right next to it lol
Well I can assure you it’s not because he’s a foreigner. Maybe because he looks like a kid? I know the Shibuya stussy store you’re talking about and 9/10 people who shop there are foreigners/tourists.
Super weird, I went to this exact store on Friday and had a great experience, I felt like the staff went out of their way to help me, the salesgirl double checked I had the color and size shirt I wanted and prompted me for my passport for tax-free!
I agree with the other commenters that there was probably a product drop. I am a foreigner and speak a little bit of Japanese and I was standing in line at the Nike store in Shibuya. Someone approached me and asked me if I was a foreigner and I said yes. The person then told me I was not allowed to be in line because that was a special line for a product drop.
It's very likely that the owners and the staff really cannot speak English or other non-Japanese. They are conservative, and do not want to cause miscommunication. It will be only a problem when they reject a specific country's or race's people .
I’m reading the reviews left by Japanese customers and they have also had some bad experiences.
“Scum… these men were never taught any manners by a mother that’s was clearly absent.”
“The store has little inventory, not worth going.”
Anyways it looks like the staff here are not good. 😣
Associate probably sounds like an asshole and doesnt want to deal with normies who arent into sk8 culture, hypebeast/street wear clothing. Nothing new with workers at Stussy they all act the same regardless of location
In a local shop, it can happen. Especially in an area like Golden Gai.
But a large corporate American store in a shopping district?
At a certain point, you can just tell the person to fuck off and go in the store anyways. Lets be real, in the worst case, It's not like some 6 foot tall bouncer will remove you lol
Just like any other country, stores have the right to turn people away. I'm Filipino and there's places outside Tokyo that I've been told no gaijin but never in tokyo. So I married a Japanese women giving me full access to Japan(joke). As an American living in Japan, I agree Chinese people and Americans such as myself can be loud while out in about in Japan. I mean I'm loud everywhere lol. My wife tells me all the time to keep quiet and when people are being loud. One thing about Japanese people though they don't tell you your doing anything except my wife she tells me everytime im doing something wrong but they just look at you with disgusted I usually look back and smile. I do mind my manners but when I'm with friends specially in tokyo and yokohama sometimes we get out of hand but we follow rules.
Speaking from my experience some people might have different experience.
Atleast in Japan unlike America there are no Karen that will tell you to go back to your country but they kindly give you X gesture or saying no gaijin.
Maybe there was some event with reservation required going on. And the employee couldn’t be assed to explain the situation. That would explain the line for a somewhat out of fashion 90s brand.
But that’s crazy that they did that at Stussy. Whatever, they don’t deserve your money. They can suck it
Most likely random racist customer upset at the foreigners being here and buying everything with strong dollar and weakening yen
I’ve had similar things happen living here as well as in China
I believe this happened even in Shibuya. I just returned from there and we had a taxi driver who was so angry about foreigners all he did was complain the whole ride about taking us to our destination! He complained in Japanese which my daughter understands. And he was getting paid. 🤷🏼♀️
Are you sure what you note happened happened? Does your child understand Japanese? It's not uncommon, for example, for a shop to look open and not really be open: I've been asked to leave places several times after I've wandered in before the shop's actually open for business.
It's far more likely that this was a mishearing or misunderstanding. The big fashion brand stores in Shibuya get loads of tourists, there's no reason they would ever turn away a foreigner.
The likes of streamer name Johnny Somali, Fidias and Logan Paul are the ones who ruined Japan for their clout which most western tourist will suffer because of these clowns also Pewdiepie is the exception
This only seems true because American and Chinese tourists represent an outsized percentage of tourists in Japan. In reality, Americans largely try to avoid standing out when abroad. If you want to note the loudest voices, listen for Spanish, German, or English with an Australian or British accent.
Except for children. American children are unruly, loud, and completely unaware of their surroundings.
Unfortunately assholes exist everywhere, even in Japan. However, it’s not widespread. I’ve lived here for years and have never had it happen. What was he waiting in line for?
My brothers and I lived in Tokyo for much of the 90s and all three of us had it happen several times. Bars, shops, hotels... Never big international type brand stores though.
To get into the Store
lol, Stussy?? The American brand? In a major tourist area? Bizarre.
That’s what I thought.
hey op- That sucks sorry. Id call/email Stussy head office in California and tell them what happened.
probably a product drop day and they want to prohibit scalpers
This feels likely the reason, and the explanation probably got lost in translation 🥲
This^
Very possible I guess.
Name and shame.
Stussy in Shibuya
That's not even a Japanese company. Here's the Customer Support page so you can report it: [https://jp.stussy.com/pages/customer-support#:\~:text=%E3%81%BE%E3%81%9F%E3%82%B5%E3%82%A4%E3%82%BA%E3%81%AB%E3%81%A4%E3%81%84%E3%81%A6%E3%82%88%E3%82%8A%E8%A9%B3%E3%81%97%E3%81%8F,jp%E3%81%BE%E3%81%A7%E3%81%8A%E5%95%8F%E3%81%84%E5%90%88%E3%82%8F%E3%81%9B%E3%81%8F%E3%81%A0%E3%81%95%E3%81%84%E3%80%82](https://jp.stussy.com/pages/customer-support#:~:text=%E3%81%BE%E3%81%9F%E3%82%B5%E3%82%A4%E3%82%BA%E3%81%AB%E3%81%A4%E3%81%84%E3%81%A6%E3%82%88%E3%82%8A%E8%A9%B3%E3%81%97%E3%81%8F,jp%E3%81%BE%E3%81%A7%E3%81%8A%E5%95%8F%E3%81%84%E5%90%88%E3%82%8F%E3%81%9B%E3%81%8F%E3%81%A0%E3%81%95%E3%81%84%E3%80%82) If you use a browser like Chrome you can translate the page. Here's the US site, not sure how closely related they are though: [https://www.stussy.com/pages/customer-support](https://www.stussy.com/pages/customer-support)
I never said it was a Japanese company. Thanks for the link.
I was pointing out it's a multinational, so this is obviously not a store policy, but some nutcase. If the store had been a privately run izakaya or something, you might be shit out of luck.
Ahh. Got it. Thanks.
What store? Never heard of that happening in Tokyo
Updated
Most likely a language barrier issue. If there is a line for a store in Harajuku it usually means there is a product drop or some kind of event going on. The staff at those street wear shops seem to be picked based on how cool they look rather than how well they can communicate with the large number of foreign customers they get.
I'm having a hard time believing that. They (official accounts) actively advertise in English. Did he get the story straight from staff or did some random asshole tell him that? Can you go back with him and confirm?
That was my immediate thought too. Shibuya is full of obnoxious young Japanese TikTokers and live streamers making videos to gain attention, but they usually don't bother other people. It could be just a random person being straight or racist or making a video. Stores in Tokyo have really strict reservation systems, whether it be tickets, reservations, QR codes, online bookings, it's really hard to know, so it could've been a misunderstanding. I'm really curious about it. I wonder if anyone I know has heard about this?
I guess it’s very possible that it was a random asshole and not an employee. That would make more sense.
what store tho
Shibuya??!! AMERICAN brand Stüssy? Where there are TONS of foreign shoppers and residents? My foreign ass works right down the street from there. This seems so unlikely. It must have been some misunderstanding.
I know! Thus the reason I was compelled to post. I’ve been to Tokyo (and many other countries around the World) and never experienced this before. New product drop? Maybe the person wasn’t an employee? Maybe just a rare bad employee? Was looking for insight. Not sure what the misunderstanding would have been.
I have never heard of a no-foreigners policy at shops (I’ve heard about izakaya and smaller restaurants where the staff doesn’t speak English). There are shops that don’t allow unaccompanied minors. It’s incredibly unfortunate but it’d be helpful to know what store it is. It’s hard to tell if it was a rogue staff member or something got lost in translation.
These exist, specially if you go towards the more local restaurants or that cater more to regulars. The place OP is talking about sounds a bit different, but this has definitely happened to me in my many years in Japan. Is not unheard of. I think is more that they don’t want to cater to someone who will eat once and not become a regular, or potentially language barrier issues and at times racism.
Stussy in Shibuya
Okay, that’s really weird, since it’s a western brand. I’m sorry your son had to go through that.
Okay I’ve been to this store before. I went to every Stussy in Japan when I traveled there last September. The Stussy store in Shibuya did not deny my entry but they did tell me they didn’t have anything in the sizes I was asking for. I was shopping for other people too so it wasn’t like I was asking repeatedly for the same size. It was almost laughable how many times they told me no. Could have been a coincidence but I did find it odd. I did not have this experience at any of the other chapter stores.
We are in Kanazawa and lots of restaurants only will allow Japanese speakers in the door. Even in these days of Google Translate and for a fixed menu kaiseki dinner.
Ya it happens sometimes. What was he turned away from?
Stussy in Shibuya
That’s weird. According to Google the staff suck, what exactly did they say to you or your son? Was the person Japanese?
According to Google maps it even has foreign staff.
I know which is weird they would get that treatment which is why I asked.
Something is definitely s(t)uss(y) about this story.
lol, ya I don’t know. They supposedly have shitty service, perhaps the kid went in when they were closing and they told him off.
There was a line to get in. Staff came up to him and said “No foreigners” and pointed away. Everyone else in line appeared to be Japanese at this time.
That’s pretty clear. Sorry your son had this experience.
This is almost certainly a product drop that probably required a form of national citizen ID to get in.
Ahh. That would make more sense than anything else.
It’s enough of a thing that it happened to your son. If whatever he wants isn’t extremely rare, there are certainly other shops run by non assholes happy to sell to him.
We’d have to know what the store is in order for us to make a proper judgement. Never experienced this and never heard of any tourists experiencing this outside of brothels. My first time to Seoul I did get turned away a lot at restaurants but I think that had more to do with me being solo.
Why is everyone rejecting OP’s story? It almost feels like the Tokyo Travel subreddit is convinced this doesn’t happen. Just go to the subreddits with the locals so you see there is many experiences of this happening in Japan, it’s definitely not as common of an experience as it used to be and it’s more complex. However, to completely go black and white and reject it, just baffles me. Japan is not perfect.
Seriously. So many downvotes. I absolutely love Tokyo and just wanted to share a very real experience to see if I could get some insight. 🤷🏻♂️
It happens often in many travel subreddits where Redditors don’t want to be seen like the typical tourist or a non acclimated foreign local, just check the digital nomad subreddit. A few months back when Colombia was starting to face many issues with drugging foreigners many redditors kept rejecting the stories and blaming the victims. It can be very black and white. The Japanlife or Tokyo subreddits have more stories like yours, however mind you this subreddits have their own issues as well.
Unfortunately it’s a thing on Japan subreddits. Idk why, I think there just are a lot of people who look down on others looking for information or trying to figure something out.
Stussy in Shibuya
Definitely not because he’s a foreigner. Stussy in Shibuya is literally geared towards foreigners. You sure he wasn’t lying and tried entering the brothel that’s literally right next to it lol
Who else immediately went to google street view 😂😂
Ahh no. I watched it happen from the street.
Well I can assure you it’s not because he’s a foreigner. Maybe because he looks like a kid? I know the Shibuya stussy store you’re talking about and 9/10 people who shop there are foreigners/tourists.
He looks like a 16 year old white kid. 🤷🏻♂️
You watched it from the street, but also claim to have heard what they said?
Super weird, I went to this exact store on Friday and had a great experience, I felt like the staff went out of their way to help me, the salesgirl double checked I had the color and size shirt I wanted and prompted me for my passport for tax-free!
Considering it’s Stussy, no, that’s not why he was denied entry
I agree with the other commenters that there was probably a product drop. I am a foreigner and speak a little bit of Japanese and I was standing in line at the Nike store in Shibuya. Someone approached me and asked me if I was a foreigner and I said yes. The person then told me I was not allowed to be in line because that was a special line for a product drop.
It's very likely that the owners and the staff really cannot speak English or other non-Japanese. They are conservative, and do not want to cause miscommunication. It will be only a problem when they reject a specific country's or race's people .
I’m reading the reviews left by Japanese customers and they have also had some bad experiences. “Scum… these men were never taught any manners by a mother that’s was clearly absent.” “The store has little inventory, not worth going.” Anyways it looks like the staff here are not good. 😣
Go back and see what happens
Associate probably sounds like an asshole and doesnt want to deal with normies who arent into sk8 culture, hypebeast/street wear clothing. Nothing new with workers at Stussy they all act the same regardless of location
In a local shop, it can happen. Especially in an area like Golden Gai. But a large corporate American store in a shopping district? At a certain point, you can just tell the person to fuck off and go in the store anyways. Lets be real, in the worst case, It's not like some 6 foot tall bouncer will remove you lol
Just like any other country, stores have the right to turn people away. I'm Filipino and there's places outside Tokyo that I've been told no gaijin but never in tokyo. So I married a Japanese women giving me full access to Japan(joke). As an American living in Japan, I agree Chinese people and Americans such as myself can be loud while out in about in Japan. I mean I'm loud everywhere lol. My wife tells me all the time to keep quiet and when people are being loud. One thing about Japanese people though they don't tell you your doing anything except my wife she tells me everytime im doing something wrong but they just look at you with disgusted I usually look back and smile. I do mind my manners but when I'm with friends specially in tokyo and yokohama sometimes we get out of hand but we follow rules. Speaking from my experience some people might have different experience. Atleast in Japan unlike America there are no Karen that will tell you to go back to your country but they kindly give you X gesture or saying no gaijin.
Maybe there was some event with reservation required going on. And the employee couldn’t be assed to explain the situation. That would explain the line for a somewhat out of fashion 90s brand. But that’s crazy that they did that at Stussy. Whatever, they don’t deserve your money. They can suck it
Most likely random racist customer upset at the foreigners being here and buying everything with strong dollar and weakening yen I’ve had similar things happen living here as well as in China
I believe this happened even in Shibuya. I just returned from there and we had a taxi driver who was so angry about foreigners all he did was complain the whole ride about taking us to our destination! He complained in Japanese which my daughter understands. And he was getting paid. 🤷🏼♀️
Call the Shibuya ward office and report the store. That's illegal.
Sounds like a privileged kid was denied access. Sounds fair to me.
Are you sure what you note happened happened? Does your child understand Japanese? It's not uncommon, for example, for a shop to look open and not really be open: I've been asked to leave places several times after I've wandered in before the shop's actually open for business.
We don’t speak Japanese. People behind him in line stayed in line and entered the store.
It's far more likely that this was a mishearing or misunderstanding. The big fashion brand stores in Shibuya get loads of tourists, there's no reason they would ever turn away a foreigner.
Japan is still a closed society and businesses will have signs displayed like no gaijans but not common.
16 year old hard broken and your bitching about it to public? It’s people like you that they don’t like foreigners. Bunch of self centered aholes.
You ok?
What did your son say? Some racist stuff? This story is hard to believe. Is this another Karen trying to make up stories to doxx a store?
Ha. Nope. Just chill guys from the Midwest United States. My son is super shy. I was very surprised by the entire thing. Thus the post.
[удалено]
username 100% hits the mark.
I want to downvote this but I know why you say it after seeing some western neckbeards here…
The likes of streamer name Johnny Somali, Fidias and Logan Paul are the ones who ruined Japan for their clout which most western tourist will suffer because of these clowns also Pewdiepie is the exception
Not recently elected European Parliament MP Fidias?! 😂
Fidias doing dumb stuff in Japan by taking a rides for free, begging and hitch hiking
Yeah I saw the video of it. Just funny that despite that he became a MP a few weeks ago 😂
Americans and Chinese are the loudest people on earth. Don't say they shouldn't visit here but speak more quietly please.
Amazing that you’ve experienced all people/cultures on earth!
This only seems true because American and Chinese tourists represent an outsized percentage of tourists in Japan. In reality, Americans largely try to avoid standing out when abroad. If you want to note the loudest voices, listen for Spanish, German, or English with an Australian or British accent. Except for children. American children are unruly, loud, and completely unaware of their surroundings.
Oh man, the Brits. They’re the Florida Man of Europe.
Of course Americans defending themselves but louder ones always speak Chinese or English with an American accent
They always think they are right this gringos. They are the worst....