Content creators apologized on Monday after being criticized for doing pull-ups and gymnastic routines on a cherry blossom tree in Japan. The video, which was uploaded on April 4, featured American Twitch streamer and YouTuber Matthew Rinaudo, better known as Mizkif, street interviewer Kole, who appears on the Tokyo Sims’ TikTok and YouTube sites, and musical artist Swhite. The footage was taken down, but not before many people saw it, including media personality and former porn actress Kaho Shibuya. She then decided to post about it on her X page.
Content creators Mizkif and Tokyo Sims are drawing criticism for doing pull-ups and gymnastic tricks on a Japanese cherry tree. One Japanese language post about it has already received over 200k views.pic.twitter.com/XEAeQO2Hty https://t.co/rVbSMMIr2j
— Jeffrey J. Hall (@mrjeffu) April 6, 2025
“I saw a video of content creators I’ve met before doing pull-ups and gymnastic tricks on a sakura tree’s branches, inevitably shaking cherry-blossom petals off,” she wrote. “It just broke my heart to see someone I actually know doing such things in Japan; it’s always been unknown people on social media. Fortunately, the post was gone the next day, so they probably regretted and deleted it. But please, if you ever want to flex your muscles to show how much testosterone you’ve got… go touch your own wood. Leave ephemeral cherry blossoms with flowers living for only 2 weeks alone.”
She added that she didn’t know them personally — they’ve never met off–camera — so she felt posting about the incident publicly rather than directly messaging them was more appropriate. “It’s about warning others not to repeat the behavior, since influencers’ actions can be influential,” wrote Shibuya. She also claimed that one of the content creators sent her angry DMs on the instant messaging platform, Discord. Several people online, however, felt she overstepped the mark in revealing this. “Leaking dms now? After he tried to settle this with you privately. This is a very sad clout chasing attempt Kaho,” posted one X user.
Mizkif and Kole Apologize
On Monday morning, Mizkif apologized for his actions via his X account. “Hey guys, I wanted to make a quick statement on the situation regarding the cherry blossom tree,” he wrote. “A few days ago, I did pullups on a cherry blossom tree. I posted the video and went to bed. The moment I was informed by a friend on the severity of the situation, I immediately deleted the post and regretted my decision… To any viewers, or tourists coming to Japan, please understand these trees are sacred to Japan. Do NOT touch Cherry Blossoms. They are sacred to the Japanese culture and are extremely delicate.”
Kole from Tokyo Sims did likewise. “For those who aren’t aware, Swhite and I took a video recently doing pull-ups on a cherry blossom branch in a park,” he posted. “As Japanese, we’d like to apologize for the reckless behavior involving something significant in our culture. We feel ashamed to have made climbing recklessly on these sacred trees seem okay. Looking back, we are honestly disappointed with ourselves for not catching this act as being highly disrespectful. We don’t want to set a precedent for tourists that it’s acceptable to behave in such a shameful manner when visiting Japan. It was simply ignorant and careless. We hope this can be a learning opportunity about respecting all cultures.”
