In a brochure called The Traveler's Etiquette Guide to Hokkaido, Japan advises tourists against openly farting and belching in public. The guide targets Chinese visitors.

The brochure is an updated version of a previous guide that was only published in Chinese. Tourists complained that the first edition was patronizing, prompting the revision.

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Chinese travelers may not feel much better about the new guide, which uses a Chinese proverb as a principle for tourists to follow. "A Japanese proverb of Chinese origin states, 'When you enter a village, act like its people do,'" the guide offers.

The guide wastes no time getting to bodily functions. On page two, the booklet informs tourists that "Japanese will avoid bodily functions such as belching or flatulence in public entirely, or perform bodily functions as discreetly as possible."

Other matters of etiquette covered by the guide include trash disposal, waiting in lines, and public smoking. There is even a section titled "The Importance of Punctuality," warning that being late could throw staff "into a panic."

There are 85,000 copies of the guide in circulation on Hokkaido, which hosted more than 218,600 Chinese tourists last summer.

Japan has benefited from Chinese tourism, and the Shanghaiist quoted one Chinese tourist in Japan as saying, "The Chinese are helping Japan. We've come to help solve their economic problems. The Japanese ought to thank the people of China!"

Chinese tourists, while definitely providing an economic boost to Japan, have also made news for their behavior. While taking selfies with Japan's famous cherry blossoms, they have climbed and shaken trees, causing damage.

One Japanese news report about the treatment of the cherry trees recommended that the Chinese tourists' access be restricted to certain areas. 

TagsJapan, Chinese Tourists, Japan etiquette guide, farting, belching, Japan-China relations, cherry blossoms, Selfie