What Do Japanese Consider the Most Annoying Tourist Behaviors? Revealed by Saily Survey
A survey by NordVPN's eSIM app 'Saily' reveals that 'loud arguing' and 'littering' are the top annoyances for Japanese travelers, who also ranked as having the best travel manners globally.
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- 📰 Published: April 15, 2026 at 19:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 15, 2026 at 10:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 19, 2026 at 13:11 (98h 39m after Collected)
Saily, an eSIM app for overseas travelers developed by the development team of NordVPN (Headquarters: Amsterdam, Netherlands; Japan Representative: Takuro Ohara), has revealed through a survey the behaviors of other travelers that cause stress for Japanese tourists on their trips. With Golden Week just around the corner, 51% of Japanese travelers are already feeling gloomy.
This survey was planned by Saily and conducted by external research companies Cint and Norstat from November 17 to December 2, 2025. The respondents were residents aged 18 to 74 in Japan, the US, the UK, Australia, France, Germany, and Spain (based on the demographic composition of each country). The sample was extracted from internet users in each country by setting quotas for age, gender, and residence. A total of 6,800 people participated in the survey, collecting 800 responses from Spain and 1,000 each from other countries including Japan.
Vykintas Maknickas, CEO of Saily, said regarding the survey, "We wanted to hear real voices about manners during travel."
"Golden Week is one of the times of the year with the most human movement. Precisely because large numbers of people move at once, it's the perfect time to reflect on what causes stress and whether we ourselves are causing trouble to those around us."
What do Japanese travelers find most annoying?
When asked about behaviors that ruin the travel experience, the two most common answers from Japanese respondents were "arguing loudly" and "littering on the beach." Both were cited by 51% of travelers, tying for first place.
The rest of the ranking was mostly occupied by items related to noise and social manners. This was followed by loud conversations (49%), occupying extra seats with luggage (46%), speaking loudly in quiet places (45%), playing music or videos without earphones (44%), and excessive seat reclining (44%). In addition, not covering the mouth when coughing or sneezing (42%), loud music in public places (41%), and bringing in strong-smelling food (40%) entered the top 10.
These results highlighted the Japanese cultural values of harmony in shared spaces and respect for others. On the other hand, common annoying travel behaviors like reserving poolside chairs for hours or being late for tours ranked relatively low. For Japanese travelers, the most unforgivable behaviors seem to be those that disturb the peace of the surroundings, such as noise, littering, and monopolizing space.
Japanese have the best travel manners.
Regarding politeness during travel, Japan took the top spot. 53% of Japanese respondents answered that they do not engage in annoying behaviors, suggesting that Japanese travelers set high standards for themselves. Only 2% admitted to having argued in public, and only 2% had raised their voices in quiet places.
This result is a stark contrast when compared to other countries. For example, in the UK and Germany, over 90% of travelers admit to having some kind of annoying travel habit. 32% of Spaniards responded that they have relieved themselves in lakes, seas, or oceans, and 18% of Americans admitted to talking on speakerphone while moving.
On the other hand, as a difference from travelers of other countries, only 30% of Japanese travelers answered that they would tell the person to stop when they found another traveler's behavior annoying. In Spain, France, the UK, the US, Germany, and Australia, the percentage of people who answered they would ask the other party to stop the behavior reached about 60%, double that of Japanese travelers.
A little consideration makes a big difference.
Maknickas notes there are ways to make the travel experience smoother.
"Nobody wants to be the star of someone else's 'worst travel episode' at the start of their trip. Just being considerate of your surroundings, doing a little preparation, and bringing a few useful goods and travel items makes a big difference."
Four points for a comfortable trip are as follows:
1. Be smart about belongings. Bring earphones, tissues, and low-odor snacks that can be eaten on planes or trains.
2. Be mindful of space. Store luggage quickly and do not block aisles.
3. Prepare in advance. Set up eSIM and download offline maps before departure.
This survey was planned by Saily and conducted by external research companies Cint and Norstat from November 17 to December 2, 2025. The respondents were residents aged 18 to 74 in Japan, the US, the UK, Australia, France, Germany, and Spain (based on the demographic composition of each country). The sample was extracted from internet users in each country by setting quotas for age, gender, and residence. A total of 6,800 people participated in the survey, collecting 800 responses from Spain and 1,000 each from other countries including Japan.
Vykintas Maknickas, CEO of Saily, said regarding the survey, "We wanted to hear real voices about manners during travel."
"Golden Week is one of the times of the year with the most human movement. Precisely because large numbers of people move at once, it's the perfect time to reflect on what causes stress and whether we ourselves are causing trouble to those around us."
What do Japanese travelers find most annoying?
When asked about behaviors that ruin the travel experience, the two most common answers from Japanese respondents were "arguing loudly" and "littering on the beach." Both were cited by 51% of travelers, tying for first place.
The rest of the ranking was mostly occupied by items related to noise and social manners. This was followed by loud conversations (49%), occupying extra seats with luggage (46%), speaking loudly in quiet places (45%), playing music or videos without earphones (44%), and excessive seat reclining (44%). In addition, not covering the mouth when coughing or sneezing (42%), loud music in public places (41%), and bringing in strong-smelling food (40%) entered the top 10.
These results highlighted the Japanese cultural values of harmony in shared spaces and respect for others. On the other hand, common annoying travel behaviors like reserving poolside chairs for hours or being late for tours ranked relatively low. For Japanese travelers, the most unforgivable behaviors seem to be those that disturb the peace of the surroundings, such as noise, littering, and monopolizing space.
Japanese have the best travel manners.
Regarding politeness during travel, Japan took the top spot. 53% of Japanese respondents answered that they do not engage in annoying behaviors, suggesting that Japanese travelers set high standards for themselves. Only 2% admitted to having argued in public, and only 2% had raised their voices in quiet places.
This result is a stark contrast when compared to other countries. For example, in the UK and Germany, over 90% of travelers admit to having some kind of annoying travel habit. 32% of Spaniards responded that they have relieved themselves in lakes, seas, or oceans, and 18% of Americans admitted to talking on speakerphone while moving.
On the other hand, as a difference from travelers of other countries, only 30% of Japanese travelers answered that they would tell the person to stop when they found another traveler's behavior annoying. In Spain, France, the UK, the US, Germany, and Australia, the percentage of people who answered they would ask the other party to stop the behavior reached about 60%, double that of Japanese travelers.
A little consideration makes a big difference.
Maknickas notes there are ways to make the travel experience smoother.
"Nobody wants to be the star of someone else's 'worst travel episode' at the start of their trip. Just being considerate of your surroundings, doing a little preparation, and bringing a few useful goods and travel items makes a big difference."
Four points for a comfortable trip are as follows:
1. Be smart about belongings. Bring earphones, tissues, and low-odor snacks that can be eaten on planes or trains.
2. Be mindful of space. Store luggage quickly and do not block aisles.
3. Prepare in advance. Set up eSIM and download offline maps before departure.