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Japanese Pro Snowboarder Rides Through Shinto Shrine, Sparking Debate
It’s not just foreigners being obnoxious. Some in Sapporo are fuming after a Japanese snowboarder used a shrine as a slope.
There have been a lot of reports of foreign tourists doing stupid and disrespectful things while visiting Japan. From doing pull-ups on a Shinto shrine’s torii gate to urinating on shrine grounds, every week seems to bring a new story of traveler shame.
But as we should all know by now, “stupid and disrespectful” is a character flaw that transcends borders. One man drove that home recently with a stunt in Hokkaido at a Shinto shrine that’s causing heartburn for the head priest and city officials.
The report from HTB News in Hokkaido says that the Japanese pro snowboarder (whom it doesn’t name) uploaded a video of himself in December to his social media. The clip shows him boarding down a hill within Oyachi Shrine in Sapporo’s Atsubetsu District. At one point, he rides up a wall, generating sparks from his board. The video also shows him jumping a sign before boarding off onto the street.
