It’s currently cherry blossom season in Japan, with the trees flowering all over the nation! This special time of year has also resulted in a controversy for the internet personalities Tokyo Sims.
Made up of the duo of Kole and Swhite, Tokyo Sims have taken off over the past year with their Tokyo street interviews of both Japanese people and foreigners, in English and Japanese with subtitles. They have amassed 1.2 million followers on Instagram and 805,000 on TikTok.
This controversy first surfaced on April 4, when Twitter user Shibuya Kaho, in a tweet that now has over two million views, tweeted that she had seen “a video of content creators I’ve met before doing pull-ups and gymnastic tricks on a sakura tree’s branches, inevitably shaking cherry-blossom petals off.” She said that “it just broke my heart to see someone I actually know doing such things in Japan; it’s always been unknown people on social media.”
She also said that the video had appeared to disappear, probably out of regret. But this being the internet, nothing is truly ever gone. The video resurfaced, and it was revealed that the cherry blossom abusers were none other than Tokyo Sims and fellow internet personality Mizkif.
Tokyo Sims have now taken to Twitter to apologize for their acts. In a tweet titled “Sakura”, Kole wrote, “As Japanese, we’d like to apologize for the reckless behavior involving something significant in our culture. We feel ashamed to have made climbing recklessly on these sacred trees seem okay. Looking back, we are honestly disappointed with ourselves for not catching this act as being highly disrespectful.”
Recognizing their large international fanbase and the growing tourism numbers in Japan, he added, “We don’t want to set a precedent for tourists that it’s acceptable to behave in such a shameful manner when visiting Japan. It was simply ignorant and careless. We hope this can be a learning opportunity about respecting all cultures.”
