Israeli Couple Denied Lodging in Japan After Being Identified as Israeli

An Israeli couple planning a long-awaited trip to Japan were denied lodging after a guesthouse owner canceled their reservation upon learning they were from Israel, according to a report by N12. The incident occurred in the Kiso Valley in the Japanese Alps, a popular hiking region along the Magome–Tsumago trail.

Vered and Oren Deutsch, a couple from Rishon LeZion, said they had been in contact with a traditional guesthouse in the area and were initially told that accommodations were available for their planned dates. The owner asked them to fill out a form with their personal details, and the booking was approved. “At first he was polite and friendly and only asked us to fill out a form with our details. After he saw that we were from Israel, everything changed,” the couple told N12. Shortly afterward, the reservation was canceled.

The couple said the owner did not offer a logistical explanation or propose alternative dates. Instead, he sent a message explaining that he refuses to host Israelis. In the message they received, the owner wrote: “Hello. I am very sorry that I caused you such an unpleasant experience. I oppose war, and therefore I do not accept guests from Israel or from Russia. I do not understand how people can enjoy their vacation while killing people. This is only my personal opinion and does not apply to all Japanese people, so I ask that you find another place to stay. Thank you.”

The couple said they were shocked by the response and had not expected such treatment in Japan. They noted that Japan is widely viewed by Israelis as a safe and welcoming destination, and said they had never experienced anything similar anywhere they had traveled before.

After receiving the message, the couple chose not to respond directly to the guesthouse owner and continued searching for alternative lodging. They later shared the message in an Israeli Facebook group for travelers to Japan, hoping to warn others and process the experience.

According to the couple, the post generated significant reactions, and other Israelis independently contacted the business and left critical messages. Following that backlash, the guesthouse owner contacted them again. He wrote that he was disturbed by the volume of protest messages he had received, asked that the post be removed if they had exposed him publicly, and hinted that he might publish the couple’s personal details that he had obtained through the booking form.

The incident is not the first time Israelis have reported being denied accommodations in Japan in recent months. In late 2025, an Israeli traveler said he was refused lodging at a guesthouse in Nagano Prefecture after identifying himself as Israeli, a case that prompted intervention by Israel’s ambassador to Japan. Following the complaint, authorities stated publicly that refusing guests based on nationality violates Japan’s Hotel Business Act and instructed local lodging operators to comply with the law.

In a separate case reported in spring 2025, an Israeli tourist in Kyoto reported being asked by a guesthouse to sign a declaration related to alleged war crimes before being allowed to stay. That incident also prompted a diplomatic protest from Israel, after which local officials said the matter was under review and reiterated that accommodation providers are not permitted to discriminate against guests based on nationality or political views.

In the Kiso Valley case, the couple said they are still looking for a place to stay and have not indicated whether they plan to file an official complaint. For now, they say the experience has cast a shadow over a trip they had planned for a long time.