A YouTuber is getting dragged for saying he traveled across Japan for 'free' by begging and hiding in train toilets to hitch free rides
25.10.2023 - 13:03
/ insider.com
YouTuber Fidias Panayiotou has been dragged online after he said he traveled across Japan "for free" — by begging for cash and hitching free rides on trains.
Panayiotou, who is better known by his YouTube username "Fidias," uploaded the video titled "I Travelled Across Japan For Free" on October 20.
The video, which was viewed by Insider, showed Panayiotou and three other YouTubers competing in an "Amazing Race"-style challenge across Japan. Panayiotou did not specify when the video was filmed, or if he and the other content creators are still in Japan.
YouTube has since removed Panayiotou's video, saying it violated the platform's community guidelines. Excerpts and screengrabs from the original video, however, have been reposted on YouTube and X, formerly known as Twitter.
While part of Panayiotou's journey across Japan was done by hitchhiking at bus or gas stations, the YouTuber also filmed himself riding on Japan's public transportation system, saying he did so without paying.
Earlier in the video, Panayiotou said he'd been detained at a police station after he told officers he didn't have enough money to pay for his bus fare. A stranger had previously given Panayiotou 600 Japanese yen — around $4 — but he was still 50 cents short of the full fare.
Panayiotou also told viewers about his hack for riding Japanese trains for free.
"I'm entering the train, and I will find a toilet, and go straight to the toilet," he continued, before cutting to a shot of him locking himself in the bathroom.
Later, Panayiotou said he was caught by a train conductor for traveling without a ticket. He told viewers that he feigned illness before making a run for it, and boarding another train, where he also hid in a bathroom to dodge train conductors.
Panayiotou also filmed himself getting what he said was a free breakfast at a hotel he wasn't staying at.
"I went up to the rooms to check the number so that I could use it as a passcode for the breakfast," Panayiotou told viewers.
"And it worked. I just have access to a five-star Japanese buffet," Panayiotou narrated over footage of himself eating in the hotel's restaurant. "And we're leaving the hotel without getting caught and without any problem."
Panayiotou's actions have been slammed by people online, with some criticizing the YouTuber for giving the Japanese people a bad impression of Westerners.
"I hate it. Popularizing cunning and thievery. And transferring it from Western culture and presenting it as something cool, completely pisses me off," one person wrote on X.
Some pointed out that this isn't the first time Panayiotou has talked about his hacks for hitching free rides on public transport. In October 2022, Panayiotou uploaded a video titled "I Traveled