Ein 20-jähriger Amerikaner wird in der Stadt Kyoto vermisst – James West Higginbotham, ein 20-jähriger amerikanischer Staatsbürger, besuchte Japan auf einer Familienreise, als er am 29. Mai gegen 18 Uhr allein sein Hotel in Kyoto verließ. Sein Aufenthaltsort ist noch unbekannt
https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/student-missing-japan-family-pleading-163717945.html
40 Kommentare
Still amazed at the reddit detectives who were crying scam because a family in distress didn’t have a polished PR statement for them
My heart breaks for this family.
I hope he is found safe.
This is so sad 😞 I hope he is ok
Clearly he didn’t fall victim to a crime … in Kyoto. I sincerely hope he did not have self-harm in mind.
It made on the news this morning in Tokyo so hopefully they will find him soon.
Some comments in a another reddit post claiming it’s fake but that’s not the case.
I feel for the family. Anyone know why this was taken down earlier?
The amount of comments I saw, lambasting the original OP in the Kyoto sub etc were crazy.
I feel very anxious about reading that he got on a train and shut off his Life 360. Have people checked Aokigahara?
Unfortunately there is something about the countryside of Japan that is overwhelming,,if he went hiking, if you are at all susceptible to feelings of possibly doing yourself in, it is a dangerous place to be wandering.
Why this is the case I have no idea but there is something that comes over you when you are hiking in the hills there alone.
Was in Kyoto while this happened. It was rather rainy due to the typhoon passing by. I hope he is found soon
Hopefully he will be found but he is 20 maybe he wants to stay in Japan , other westerners have disappeared here never found .
I hope he is found safe. Though the fact he only left with 10000 yen in his card and I’m assuming that figure hasn’t moved is really worrying
IIRC in an article it said if he is spotted, alert police and don’t contact Weston – anyone else read that? Why would that be?
Man, he’s STILL missing? I really hope he shows up safe, and if he just doesn’t want to be found to at least notify authorities so they let the family know he’s ok.
I had a neighbor who several years ago, their son had „disappeared“ while backpacking Europe. Thankfully it ended up he just decided to not check in with anyone for a few weeks and was doing fine, but not before it became a news story. I hope that this has a similar outcome.
Sorry
He went to a hardware store beforehand. I fear he might have taken his life in the woods of Yamashina. I pray I’m wrong. 🙏🏼
Hope someone finds this dude. If he’s outside touristy areas he will be very recognizable
People were so rude to his family when they were trying to raise awareness about this. I hope he is found quickly.
The mother and him had an argument before going missing hopefully he is found.
When I was working over in Tokyo we were only given 12hrs of liberty to do whatever we wanted. And people were supposed to go out in groups of 2 or more to avoid issues. One guy disappeared completely. Showed up a day or two later with his bank account completely drained and couldn’t remember anything. Only recalled having a drink or two, thinks he was drugged and toured around the more seedy areas.
And I know people that have never been to those areas think it’s the safest place in the world. My group had a really small skinny guy they veered away from our group, decided to try checking out the girly bars, and then decided against it after a bouncer tried overcharging him by a huge amount. That bouncer followed him down the road yelling and trying to pull him into his club, to a point where a bartender at the place where I was at had to defend him when he finally caught up with us.
Don’t tour seedy places alone, and especially not if you don’t know the language or risks
Kyoto is a very old community. Japan is already safe and Kyoto probably tops the list. Only time will tell what happened.
Saw two kind ladies yesterday in Yamashina with posters of him looking for him. Hopefully, they find him.
Even in tourist heavy places like Kyoto, he would stand out. That goes way up the second you are outside of touristy part of the city or Japan (I speak from personal experience). If he is alive, someone will report him to the police and I hope that happens.
Hope he is found safely.
As a side note; weebs (like the ones mocking his disappearance) are in general, terrible people, and I am so glad my own country doesn’t attract such…*fans.*
If they released the news about what items were purchased at the home center, it would likely clear up his intent…hopefully it was a tent and other hiking supplies.
It’s clear his family love him, but who his account follows on instagram (Femtanyll/ 100 Gecs etc.) and the recent photos he’s tagged in make me wonder whether he felt seen/supported too? Life can be hard (in Alabama, anywhere really) if you don’t feel seen/ supported 🙁 I don’t know that he was lgbtq, but it seems like he might have been, and if he didn’t feel seen/ supported, or was made to feel badly about it (ashamed), that could make you want to self harm. And 20-year-old boys -well, their brains aren’t fully developed. I wish there was some way to let them know it can always get better. I hope they find him. He seems really kind and smart- beautiful really. But I don’t think you’d disappear over an argument concerning ChatGPT.
I hope he’s properly trained to survive in the wilderness. I was once deceived by Kyoto’s beautiful scenery, only to discover that the hiking conditions around Ukyo Ward are actually quite rough. That area is just a couple of kilometers from Yamashina.
It’s very possible he’s in this non-touristy, forested part of Kyoto especially if he’s been walking at a decent pace since May 30th
The Alabama family had been traveling in Japan for a week by then. But travel frictions arose: Weston, a passionate naturalist, had butted heads with his mother over her use of ChatGPT – and the natural resources [such AI requires](https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/22/climate/ai-prompt-carbon-emissions-environment-wellness) – to navigate their journey. Needing some space, he decided to explore Kyoto on his own while the rest of the family visited a nearby temple, Higginbotham said.
[https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/04/us/weston-missing-american-student-japan-hnk](https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/04/us/weston-missing-american-student-japan-hnk)
I’ve seen this on many news outlets. I’m worrying about him now. That poor family.
Why would he go to the country side of Kyoto around 8pm to shop at a small home-depot type store? What was he buying there? Anybody know? The store’s name is Konan. They close at 8pm. Big stores near Kyoto Station had much better options and were opened until 10pm.
He seems like such a smart and caring young man 🙁 I hope he is found soon
Hopefully he gets a good kick in the rear when his parents find him. (And that this situation isn’t worse than it appears.)
On CNN they noted the last conversation he and his mom had was a dispute about the negative environmental effects of ChatGPT. It’s an emotionally devastating time to be someone who wants to fight for nature. Given his visit to a hardware store beforehand and his sensitive disposition, I suspect suicide. I hope my intuition is wrong.
IMO – I wonder if this poor young man was hiking, and got caught in a mud slide or sliplpery slope, due to the typhoon, and is lying somewhere with injuries.
Sure want things to turn out Okay for family and friends.🙏
Awful story… praying he gets found safely…
I just want them to find him alive.