A Thai travel blogger living in Japan has apologised following backlash from Japanese social media users over a video she filmed inside a protected national park.
The criticism began after the X account @masanews reposted a video featuring the blogger, identified as Nat, accusing her of damaging vegetation by lying on alpine plants on Mount Komagatake in Towada-Hachimantai National Park in Akita Prefecture.
According to the X account, the plants shown in the footage are protected, and visitors are prohibited from entering the area where they grow. The post also shared a Japanese news report stating that park officials regularly patrol the site because some visitors have previously crossed barriers and damaged the vegetation.
The video was originally posted on Nat’s Facebook page and Instagram account under the name No Plan Trip, where she has more than 130,000 Facebook followers and over 22,000 Instagram followers. The footage showed her lying among white flowering plants on the mountainside.
The post prompted criticism from Japanese social media users, with many commenting that Nat, who lives in Japan, should have been aware of local regulations and respected them. Some users also called for authorities to deport her.
Nat later removed the video from her social media accounts and issued an apology in both Thai and Japanese on Tuesday, July 7.
In her statement, she acknowledged her mistake, said she respected the criticism she had received and pledged to exercise greater care when creating photographs and online content in the future.
Nat also said she continues to love Japan and encouraged people to visit the country, describing it as a destination with many beautiful places to explore.
Despite the apology, some Thai social media users questioned whether it fully addressed the incident. They argued that the statement focused on posting the video rather than expressing regret for the negative impact on the environment.
Other users also shared an earlier post by Nat in which she encouraged travellers to respect local rules at tourist attractions. In that post, she criticised a foreign visitor for ignoring restrictions to take photographs in a flower field.
Many other Thai online users encouraged Nat. They urged her to learn from the incident and thanked her for promoting travel destinations in Japan.
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