You shall not pass: Singapore influencer in cute outfit nearly gets turned away by Universal Studios Japan

Everyone's heard of the saying when in Rome, do as the Romans do. 

But Singaporean influencer Sherrine (aka Shunicorn) had to learn about it the hard way during her recent trip to Universal Studios Japan.

The fitness and beauty content creator shared her experience of how her outfit nearly cost her entry into the Osaka theme park in a TikTok clip uploaded yesterday (Dec 29).

While getting her ticket scanned to enter the park, Sherrine was stopped by the female park staff. The female staff spoke with her colleague who came over and begun speaking to her in Japanese and "pointing at [her] skirt".

Sherrine was dressed in a hot pink crop top, skirt, skin-coloured leggings and knee-high boots — an outfit she described as "what [she] would have worn in Singapore". But since it was winter, she also had on a scarf and winter coat.

As she didn't understand Japanese, the two theme park staff returned with an English-speaking colleague who asked Sherrine to "pull down [her] skirt" and "zip up [her] winter coat".

At this point, Sherrine shared that she was "quite shocked" as she "didn’t know that USJ had a dress code" and tried explaining to the staff that she had leggings on.

Thankfully, she did manage to gain entry but not before admitting that she was "so scared that [she] was gonna really be rejected from entering [sic]" as she was "looking forward to having fun at USJ".

[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@shunicorn_/video/7182525704926465281[/embed]

AsiaOne has reached out to Sherrine for comment, but has yet to hear back at the time of publication.

Japanese fashion sensibilities 

A quick look at Universal Studios Japan's dress code policy online reveals that "costumes that may offend public order (such as excessive skin exposure deemed unfit for the park)" are prohibited. 

And after googling the rules herself, Sherrine admitted that she "kinda understand why they didn't let [her] enter [sic]" at first.

She hoped her story can serve as a "PSA for anyone going Japan to follow the dress code [sic]" and "not make the same mistakes that [she] did".

Just two months ago, the theme park tweeted about how guests in overly revealing outfits may be asked by staff to leave the park.

[embed]https://twitter.com/USJ_Official/status/1582652125901107202?s=20&t=foJumANDTUu5VCXf2VXjPA[/embed]

The tweet followed an incident in which a group of five women dressed in lingerie-like outfits shared a series of photos that they took at the park online.

[embed]https://twitter.com/takigare3/status/1581822616847147008[/embed]

In Japan, because of their conservative dress sense, any excessive skin exposure is a no-go, so no revealing tops or short shorts, and no flip flops, according to Tokyo-based YouTuber internationally me.

Leggings or yoga pants — while good on its own in some countries — are normally worn with shorts or a skirt on top of it. They are regarded as stockings, and Japanese women wouldn't wear it on its own.

In the comments section of Sherrine's TikTok video, some netizens were similarly surprised to learn of Universal Studios Japan's dress code with one commenter saying that "it makes sense since it's a family place". 

While another netizen commented that we should respect other people's culture by following their rules. 

Others defended Sherrine with one commenter saying that she saw other visitors in short skirts when she was there at the theme park. Another netizen added that he would normally not read up on any dress code for theme parks.

Recently, another woman was in the headlines for being barred entry into the Louvre Museum.

Taiwanese influencer Iris Hsieh was visiting the museum in Paris when she was driven away by local police because of her "bra top".

She shared on Instagram on Nov 3 that she was asked to put on her black coat on to continue taking photos of the historic landmark by "concerned" French police officers.

Though there isn't a dress code on the Louvre Museum website, it does advise visitors not to wear "inappropriate clothing" like swimsuits. 

ALSO READ: Malaysian influencer MsPuiyi poses in ao dai without pants, draws ire for disrespecting Vietnamese culture

timothywee@asiaone.com

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