A tourist’s pull-up stunt at the torii gate in Japan sparks outrage and debate over visitor etiquette

The clip was shared on Instagram by Marimar Perez, a Chilean woman living in the United States. According to her profile, Perez is a former gymnast who won a silver medal at the 2019 South American Championships. She describes herself as a digital creator and has around 140,000 followers on the social media platform, where she apologized for the incident in Spanish.

“I apologize for my behavior, I didn’t mean to be rude. “I’m really sorry for what I did without thinking,” she said, adding that she wants people to stop messaging her. The clip that sparked the controversy has been deleted.

The torii gate is a sacred symbol in Japan and marks the boundary between the physical world and the spiritual realm in Shinto shrines. Using it for physical activities such as pull-ups is considered deeply disrespectful as it violates the gate’s role in maintaining the purity and sanctity of these spaces.

While some commenters expressed appreciation for Perez’s apology and said she would like to return, many others were outraged and accused her of disrespecting Japanese religion and culture.

“Too many foreigners with no manners come to Japan and the Japanese are fed up,” one comment said. Another simply said, “Don’t come back to Japan.”