It is quite common for cities with a high number of tourists to have signs in multiple languages.

But a guesthouse in Osaka is now in the spotlight for a notice about quiet hours for guests that was put up in multiple languages. This came to light after a Chinese netizen shared a photo from their stay.

The netizen posted on Xiaohongshu a photo of the notice in their room, which was written in English, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese, reminding guests to be quiet from certain hours at night.

Interestingly, in the English, Japanese, and Korean versions, guests were notified to stay quiet after 11pm.

However, in the Chinese version, guests were instructed to keep quiet earlier - from 9pm, to be exact.

The netizen was baffled by the two-hour difference and described the notice as outrageous.

Of course, Chinese netizens, after seeing the post, voiced their anger online at the discrepancy.

“If this happened in the United States, it would be considered discrimination, right?” someone commented. Another commenter asked the guesthouse to be named so “everyone can avoid this place”.

The post was later shared on a popular Taiwan-based Facebook page that shares budget travel tips for Japan.

“Maybe they just want the Chinese to sleep earlier as they are the ones usually causing trouble,” one netizen quipped.

Another even asked if it was because “they have different decibel levels?”

“Those who get it, get it. And writing the numbers in Chinese prevents non-Chinese people from noticing," another astute netizen pointed out.

Ouch.

In fact, this is not the first time Chinese tourists have encountered such treatment in Osaka.

Previously, a restaurant in the Japanese city displayed a sign written in Chinese at its entrance that read: “Due to many people being rude, we do not accept Chinese customers”.

The restaurant immediately received backlash online for being discriminatory, and its parent company, SASAYA Group, quickly removed it and issued an apology.

In the apology, it stated that the sign had been put up by the store manager without the company’s approval, and it did not reflect the company’s official stance.

Photos: HK01