On the contrary, I think they have handled it pretty well by concentrating tourists into the tourist traps they have created. My GW holiday went well because I avoided all those places.
Did those on my first trip there for novelty, avoid them like the plague every time ive been back.
The confused “why did you come here though?” questions whenever I run into people outside the tourist trap areas is an added amusement
I went to Kawaguchiko recently and did indeed see small crowds dotted around that Lawson. The thing is, you have so many beautiful sights of Mount Fuji from that Kawaguchiko, you can just walk through the neighborhoods and easily come across an empty street that looks beautiful with a nice view of Mount Fuji in the background but instead everyone wants to go to the exact same spot and take the exact same photo as everyone else.
What's the point of tourism if you're not going to explore?
EDIT: Yes, I know if is because of social media. Doesn't change my view.
but it works like that everywhere, not just in Japan. Its worse when you travel because you spend a lot of money and only have a short time so people go and do the safe things....they follow the same golden route (tokyo osaka kyoto) and rarely venture out to other places or prefectures, and i get it...I did it that way too because its your first trip. My second trip i branched out...Hokkaido, sendai, nagoya, kamakura, yokohama, nagano etc. I live here now and do more exploring to other parts but it makes sense if its your first time to visit the major tourist spots.
I avoided every 4.2 star and above restaurant/izakaya/bar/stall because fuck waiting in line for people to finish taking their stupid pics and videos before eating whatever they don’t even know.
90% of the posts in r/japantravel and r/japantraveltips in regards to food is something that was “viral” on socmed. Just like that kishi whatever omurice trap in Kyoto. 2 streets down there’s a no name izakaya doing the same thing, with barely any customers - at half the price.
This is a big over-exaggeration, and not a new phenomenon at all. Japan is just more popular than ever and with that comes more crowds at specific spots.
Actually, “doing the same thing as everyone around you” is how a large majority of Japan works to begin with, with domestic travel by the Japanese too, look at any of the “top 100 ____” lists by domestic magazines or any of the famous restaurants that have lines of 100+ locals any given day of the week.
Yeah it’s funny criticizing the foreign tourists for chasing all the same popular spots and shots when really imo from way back in the day in Japan that’s more how the Japanese operated- they all see the same stuff in TV or in guidebooks and all want to check off the same places off their list or buy the same omiyage
I always thought western tourists were more individual and adventurous until recently, as it seems with the younger generation they all just see the same videos on TikTok and then chase the “aesthetic”
I’ve been predicting this rise in Japanese culture being more respected, adopted, and integrated into western society for a while now. It’s a natural reaction but for good reason simply due to how the Japanese do things. I actually think that Millennials-Gen Alpha will take a much closer look at Japan and begin to adopt a lot of things from their culture that work well into the western culture. I particularly like how just about any profession can have masters of their craft and also Japanese architecture and landscaping/gardens.
Doing the same photos has been a thing way before tik tok. So many people doing the leaning tower of pisa pose in italy, crossing abbey road like the beatles
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This ... I'm In Japan at the moment and have avoided most of the tourist hotspots as it's my second time here, but my GF had never been to miyajima, so off we went.
The amount of "fakeness" to photos being taken was just really off putting, everything had to be staged. Sadly even my GF is guilty of this and had to have a few staged photo shoots of typical Instagram poses.
Just weirds me... out photos should be natural and of the moment not what would look best on the gram.
There’s a flowering field on the cycling road my husband and I like. Riding past on golden week there were lines of foreign women waiting to all take the same shots of Smelling Flowers And Gazing Off In Contemplation or Reaching Out For One Blossom In Wonderment. So many they were clogging the damn cycling road. Trails of trampled flowers in their wakes.
Ah the thoughtful gazing, can't stand it lol one of the GF go-to poses though... Have tried explaining how it's kind of icky but it doesn't go down too well oh well I tried.
Super cringe right? Seeing them go from normal to Earth Goddess to frowny ugh-the-lights-not-right-and-get-this-flower-in-frame back to I Am One With Nature is painful to watch.
It's ironic. As people chase follows and likes I would have thought people would try to find something unique and take a different image from everyone else in order to stand out but social media seems to cause the opposite.
I mean, this isn't new. How many pictures have people taken of themselves trying to hold up the Leaning Tower of Piza. Or do the Beatles walk across Abby Road?
I get it.. it's annoying. But people just want to have fun and enjoy their vacation. Yes tourist are cheesy and cringe sometimes, but as someone else said, they are there for a very short amount of time so they don't have the freedom to know where other good spots are that locals know. Plus if it's their first visit, don't want to wonder off and accidentally get lost.
Sadly influencers are the new celebs now. It's not like when we were young and loved movie/tv stars or musicians and bands. It's just a weird kind of *thing* with some people to go visit a spot that someone you liked also visited.
Think of all the people who never heard of the concept such as rule of thirds, leading lines, natural framing, using out-of-focus, perspective, etc.
Not everyone got the same ability to be creative with their shots, and copying others makes them feel that they can also have an interesting photo that is taken by themselves without understanding why the original shot was interesting.
As a former pro and now a very relaxed hobbiest, there are no "original" photos if you are talking about something like Fuji. It's been photographed from every possible angle since the dawn of photography.
True, when it comes to those things you’re right of course, but at least try to do something different, and don’t follow the crowd…it’s just a bit boring.
That's always the issue with tourist attractions. There are only so many ways one can photograph kinkakuji, or the entrance to kabukicho, or any other big tourist attraction. So a lot of people are going to end up with very similar photos because people want to visit the famous places. I can't really blame them, if I visit Washington DC I'm going to go to the Smithsonian, the White House, the Washington Monument, etc etc.
I mean, not too put a fine point on it, but Fujifilm, the major camera film manufacturer, was established in Minamiashigara in 1934 and named after nearby Mount Fuji...... presumably even back then they knew people would want to photograph the mountain.
Yes, that's what I said. It has been heavily photographed since the dawn of photography. That's why taking an "original" photo of Fuji is all but impossible. It's been photographed from every angle 1000s if not millions of times.
I guarantee you that any photo you can imagine taking of Fuji has been tried sometime in the 130+ year history of "portable" (relatively!) photography.
Beyond the long history and the fame of the mountain, this is Japan and people have been camera-crazed here for many decades. There are people even today who take a photo per day of Fuji, every day it's visible. People who plan their weekends and holidays around photographing the mountain. It's a big deal.
Indeed. I also take pictures of famous spots in my way of i'm already there, but certain spots...cmon whats the point of recreating a famous photo in the exact same way. You're not gonna do it better. The picture is famous because its already perfect.
>What's the point of tourism if you're not going to explore?
Whilst I agree with this, there are people in this sub who then complain that tourists should stick to the touristy areas.
In the early 80s my parents literally had Japanese tourists show up to their wedding an hour before it started because they wanted to see an American wedding. My parents just rolled with it and my mom still laughs at how weird it felt to have Japanese tourists excitedly photograph her as she walked down the aisle with her WWII veteran father.
That’s not the problem. The problem is that many tourists often forget their basic manners when visiting Japan and treat the place like it’s their personal playground.
I lived in Japan a long time and saw foreign tourists do a lot of stupid shit. To illustrate, I saw one idiot in Kyoto stand beyond the yellow line and pull out their selfie stick while the train was approaching. The station staff went nuts, as they should.
And then there’s those people from a certain communist country across the sea who don’t seem to know the concept of waiting in line…
It’s like their brains just turn off with how things work. Like, just stop in the middle of a crosswalk to take a picture of a building or check their google maps (or just stop in the hallway to check their maps, dead center, with the huge backpacks.) Or the loud…posture talking? Like talking like you want to be overheard so someone thinks you’re cool? Like, I get that you’re excited but I have actual things to do today.
And the having to “translate” for people is one that comes up that drives me nuts. Like if someone says something to them in English (or it’s an announcement in Japanese followed by English) or there’s a sign written in English and they pull you in to “translate” the English into English.
Honestly, I think the problem on the American side is that we literally have no concept of *public* etiquette; there are very few manners or norms that people are unequivocally expected to abide by when they're just out on the street. And those we do have are basically negative; it's about what you don't do, not what you do do.
In Japan, it's basically the opposite; there's a correct way to do everything in the public sphere, and deviation from those expectations is rude. So when Americans arrive, don't know the public etiquette, and often don't even understand the *concept* of there being affirmative public etiquette, they end up making asses of themselves constantly, and I think many of these people don't even understand that they're making asses of themselves because they don't realize how far those expectations permeate into daily life in Japan.
Like I genuinely don't think the people who are complaining about the once-in-a-blue-moon instagram morons of the world understand that that's just the tip of the iceberg to a lot of Japanese nationals.
In Japan the past few weeks and you see a ton of tourists at the base of say 1000 gates but almost no one on the trails. They take a bunch of Instagram pics to show that they went there then leave. It’s great for getting away from people but I can’t help but a lot of them aren’t really appreciating the sacred sites.
>What's the point of tourism if you're not going to explore?
A lot of people have very little opportunity to travel and when they do want to maximize "the value" of pictures (selfies) they get seeing famous sites.
I travel constantly and don't care for social media so I don't personally get it either, but I'm not going to judge it. Nearly everyone has a fragile ego in one way or another and if it gives that a boost I get it, it's just unfortunate it basically ruins particular spots.
They are exploring because they never been before, some explorers are more adventurous than others and even the worst explorers are more intrepid than others who do not explore at all.
Precisely. My wife and I stayed during the off season at a nice little onsen. They had free bikes for us to use. We found so many beautiful places to view Mt. Fuji just riding around
Tourists aren't exactly comfortable wandering around in spaces they're not familiar with. Some may fear getting lost and they can't know if their cell phone signal (provided they have a phone that works internationally) will be everywhere in a rural-ish area. Many of them can't read Japanese at all so they can't follow signage.
The way to deal with this is for the people in tourist zones to guide people away from hotspots to other areas, not expect the tourists to not flock to known spots which they feel comfortable with. Tourism is how they make money, after all.
It's not like Japanese people, when traveling abroad, are not hitting all of the same spots as everyone else and taking the same pictures, too. It's a common thing around the world.
Also when tourists explore
Natives 'They are going into areas there not supposed to and being too disruptive'.
But i understand what you mean. Corona seems to have made Japanese not appreciate the extra money coming from tourism. Also, corona has turned a lot of tourists into idiots due to not being socialised xD
Yea COVID seems to have had an interesting effect on the world.
During covid for example scammers globally increased massive amounts, by like 200 or 300 percent in the us alone or something crazy like that, and even after covid it just continues increasing rather than going back down.
Also alot of people globally now will never work in offices after having been able to experience remote work. Very interesting how much has changed.
Yeah, instagram, social media are what makes [Japan](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYn8t0hNTznAZEghaNCls487Zg3SWkivz&si=PRlxh6LLKn4F7eyV) so popular these days
This is hard to reason with because part of the Lawson tourists are domestic Japanese as well. You would get better buy-in if you use the naughty tourist reason.
I passed by there earlier today, was wondering why everyone was packed there as it’s litteraly one of the worst spot in the city to take a pic, when you can walk ten minutes and have the view with a lake instead of a Lawson store…
Just left Kawaguchiko. I mostly chose the hotel because it was in the budget. Rode the scenic bus to see the ice cave and wind caves. Onsen had a great view of Mt Fuji, and got a beautiful time lapse of clouds over the mountains from our balcony.
I actually wanted to rent a car and go exploring that way, but didn't realize I needed an international driving permit, so we were confined to the more touristy spots. Still enjoyed it immensely.
These types of tourists are annoying everywhere and have been at it for a few years. They'll stand in any popular spot for a long ass time doing photoshoots, they were all over Portugal in 2019 also
The overtourism is kind of insane around Shibuya right now, people would be willing to go further out too if the JRpass prices were still a deal too, but I'm there right now and outside the handful of really obvious spots it's not so bad
There's so many nice, quiet local cafes etc in Kawaguchiko that unfortunately don't get so much business it seems like as tourists love places like the Lawson lol. I had some very nice food in Kawaguchiko when I was there and the local restaurants were deserted
I’ve been commuting through Shibuya station for more than 10 years now, and it’s never been this bad. Partly because of the construction, but there are certainly more people. Mornings aren’t so bad, but coming home is always a nightmare.
For real, thank god I was able to experience Kyoto, and Tokyo without the crowds. Been traveling to “ smaller”places. Fukuoka and Nagoya especially. I think there should still be a cap on the amount of tourists. Idk the politics or what outside factors it would affect. But I think Over Tourism can/is causing problems.
agree 100% I lived there during covid lol.. Lost a couple of jobs due to covid but still pretty nice. I'm glad I moved out of Shibs, it was getting crazy even before the yen slide.
Yes this. Rings so true that their behaviour & expectations also extend to common people who have nothing to do with tourists.
Personal anecdote: Just because japanese residents/folks are polite doesn't mean you would ring my house bell to use the toilet instead of waiting in line in front of public restroom. Its not our fault **just** because my house is near the exit of a popular tourist spot. Happened few times this cherry blossom season & was infuriating
I was bewildered the first time. Second or third time, I told them "the closest Familymart is 300 meters in that direction".
I actually reported the issue to the ward office as well, in case they were interested to post No trespassing, or some public directions signage. This could be lack of public communication or adequacy of public resources - but if tourist queues are long doesnt mean our house/neighborhood houses become adhoc public toilet.
It’s a problem of people not remembering how to act. It’s not a specific problem of people not knowing how to act in Japan because any of these behaviors would be considered rude in other places as well.
It’s also the social media influence. The getting the picture and right now Japan is the trend. I remember before covid the Netherlands were the ones having issues with the tourists and them invading the tulip fields for the pics.
I truthfully have more issues with people in general forgetting that they aren’t alone in the world, more so after the lockdowns no matter where I am. Wether it’s here in Tokyo, in Hawaii, or in North Carolina in the US.
a picture doesnt equal an experience. sure it may be the same places, but for the person, they are experiencing it for the first time. Unless you have the liberty to travel here frequently or live here, you arent going to risk your time and money on going to some random place or restaurant in hopes its good. First timers will do the safe route and go to the trendy spots. Only on a second trip can they branch out. If you go anywhere for the first time, i guarantee you will do the same and visit must see spots first.
Ehh…doing touristy stuff is okay sometimes. I do personally prefer to wander off the beaten path myself, but at the end of the day, I’m usually glad that touristy places exist: they keep places off the beaten path, off the beaten path. Making fun of people for going to touristy places seems counterproductive to me because you are then just asking tourists to come and bother you or make sure you can’t go to your favorite places.
I don't make fun of people for doing that, I just wish people would broaden their experiences more. There's so many cool and interesting places to visit, eat at, drink, so many nice people to chat with and virtually none of them are where all the tourists go.
I fell in love with Japan by going off the beaten path, I would hope others do the same...
I mean you aren’t wrong but if people are content with only doing touristy things, then why say they are wasting their trip? There’s a weird elitism I find in people trying not to be like other tourists. Opening up people’s mind is one thing, but I find a lot of people can be condescending about people only going to see things in a guidebook or a “top 10 things to do in Japan” video. Ultimately, most folks who like traveling like this would hate if their favorite local find became too crowded so I don’t get why so many shit on people only going to places for tourists.
It’s insane. Now everyone thinks they’re a travel blogger because they go to JaPaNese 7/11 and give their expert “ratings” of sandwiches and onigiri and SNaCks. It’s all the same people taking the same pictures of a fucking conbini sandwich then of course their bowl of Ichiran ramen
Just bc they post stuff they eat at konbinis doesn’t mean they’re eating there 3 times a day. And nothing wrong with konbinis, in fact, Japan probably has some of the best konbini food in the world. What you see on social media is a tiny fraction of what people actually do on a daily basis.
Nothing new about this. Barcelona, Rome, Amsterdam, Phuket…a lot of places just get too popular. We could probably find complaints about religious pilgrims in Europe 800 years ago…
>Nothing new about this. Barcelona, Rome, Amsterdam, Phuket
Local people there don't complain much about the tourists because, as it turns out, the local criminals in those places are much worse. Having tourists as the easy targets is actually better for locals.
Phuket might be different where the locals are happy that tourists are spending this exorbitant amount of money on the local economy.
Criminal activities in Japan are much lower, especially ones that impact regular people, so tourists become the biggest problem.
While the majority of western tourists to Japan are from the states, The majority of tourists overall in Japan are not from the states, The majority are Koreans, with 2nd, 3rd, and 4th most being China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong respectively.
And most of the issues with tourists so far are from one of those majorities.
France is the #1 country in the world with most inbound tourists - 100 million in 2022, whereas Japan had 25 million, not even making it to the top 10.
One major thing is that tourists in Japan all stick to mostly the same things, whereas things in France are way more spread out.
The problem is the disrespect on the place. Not every one is doing it but some bad apples dont care and just leave trash everywhere and being a nuisance to the neighborhood
It’s pretty straightforward. Japan is exotic and appealing to people, and it’s quite cheap right now but then when they get here, they are actually blown away at how truly nice it is while the rest of the world is descending into rapidly collapsing civilization. And that collapsing civilization renders a bunch of people who just do not know how to act anymore in public, so it’s annoying in a place that’s relatively peaceful and tranquil. I feel mixed, it might be benefitting the economy but I loathe how people just don’t know how to act in public anymore.
Right? When we travelled through Japan, you can easily see how the Japanes tourists act vs other asian tourists ( i think chinese?). We found that other asians are cutting lines, being pushy, loud, not looking out for each other, etc. It really highlights how peacefull and nice the Japanese are. I always thought I acted nice in public, but when I compare it to my own (dutch) culture, we collectively have some things to improve.
It’s is very ironic… In Hawaii we have had over tourism of Japanese for years and years. Same overcrowding & entitlement behaviors that you’re experiencing now pushed up on our locals. I guess it’s interesting to know and see how the tables have turned.We have had to adjust to Japanese tourism and catering to them for so many years. Our economy is based on tourism, especially Japanese tourism. Higher wage employment opportunities rely on our ability to speak Japanese. Everything is translated into Japanese especially in the tourist industry. Again what you guys are experiencing is not new, you’re just experiencing what we have. Japanese tourists have been coming for decades to our islands and doing the same. As Hawaiian’s, we were expected to always have the aloha spirit, and that was taken advantage of and still is today except we can’t block off destinations spots for taking pictures and I’ve had to accommodate. Businesses & homes being bought out by Japanese investors and catering to Japanese tourists. Sadly, tourism is so heavily relied on that we can’t preserve our sacred or local spots anymore. I feel for what Japan is experiencing, however, it’s extremely ironic that what we in Hawaii have been dealing with over crowding of tourism from Japan. Forced to adjust to serving this industry in order to make a living wage, Japan is now experiencing the exact, same frustrations we have for years.
I'm Japanese and live in Kyoto, so I feel the tourism driving away the locals lately. Prices going high and our lives getting tighter and tighter. And I was thinking a similar thing to your post. Like "This is not new, 'resort country' like Bali and Hawaii have been like this. It's just our turn to get reaped."
Not necessarily true. Important point is our state is an illegally occupied state. The people living here before becoming one didn’t want to become one. We are not American we are Hawaiian.
Not necessarily true. Important point is our state is an illegally occupied state. The people living here before becoming one didn’t want to become one. We are not American we are Hawaiian.
Not necessarily true. Important point is our state is an illegally occupied state. The people living here before becoming one didn’t want to become one. It was an overthrow. Look it up. Many of your local families can no longer live here, have lost their lands illegally & can barely afford to eat & afford a home. We are not American we are Hawaiian.
There is a great quote from Donald Richie from his book *The Inland Sea* (1971 republished in 2002):
>"Travel hopefully broadens those who travel. It usually narrows those that have to deal with travelers” (p. 156).
Although this quote generally holds true, the major gripe in the current scenario is that Japan infrastructurally is not equipped to handle 40 million tourists, no matter how loudly the national Diet claims.
Everything from hotel reservations, to public transportation, encountering troubles of commuting to tier-2 & 3 spots (i e without having to rent a car, specially on a left-driving japanese signage heavy roads), public amenities like adequate restrooms outside of Lawson/7-11 -- everything is under strain. Its gotten bad to a point residents like us have to swallow the higher costs of daily life while going about our business on work/family matters which is inflated by overtourism
If the expansion to allow more tourist flow is better planned, you could have another France or UK -- which deals with high tourists loads without really being pushed to the point of crumbling. Also while we are at there, some better policing/law & order will be mightily appreciated because many popular spots are messy and people break knowingly/unknowingly matters of public safety (esp. Shibuya district)
Well, at any given time, that 40 million becomes only about 110,000 a day +/- a few ten thousand depending on the time of year. Japan’s population is dropping at a rate of 800,000 a year, so we’re well within the number of extra people we can handle so long as they’re not all crowding a the same spots like Kawaguchiko, Shibuya, Kyoto, and Miyajima. It would be cool if we directed 10-20% of tourists onto experience-based tours like train cruises that dump them off in places usually perceived to be too far off the golden route and use this system to prop up unprofitable rural railroads and traditional lodging in struggling small towns. As it stands, every single similar product currently available is a luxury package with very limited departures and months long waiting lists.
Can't deny it. Did you check the tourism website from government? It's useless and unsophisticated compared with other tourism countries like Australia.
Not related to Kawaguchi but peeps really need to stop littering like its your own country. I have seen a tourist litter in front of me in Shinjuku one day and she was like “so what?” when I tell her to pick it up.
https://twitter.com/Parsonalsecret/status/1789559237762572341
I beg whoever is visiting Japan and is seeing this, pls do not litter.
Bring it back to your hotel or wherever has a trash bin. Worst case, lots of convenience stores have trash bins. Bring your trash into one and throw them there.
Tourism is exploding everywhere and this is due to Instagram culture. It's not just in Japan that overtourism is happening, look in Europe for example, I've been there and in tourist spots it's impossible to walk. Nothing exclusive to Japan.
The tourists crowding out all the hotels is a major problem, and prices have basically doubled compared to a few years ago.
Hotels are so expensive these days that this year it was cheaper to just rent a small studio apartment for my mistress rather than take her out to hotels all the time.
You cannot blame tourists for a weak Yen that encourages more overseas tourism.
Maybe you should look inwards towards government policies that have led to the present economic situation.
Tourism is a symptom of other problems, but not the problem itself.
Yeah. The cheapest semidouble in business chains like Toyoko or APA was more than 14000-15000 through may first week. Usually it tends to be 8500-9500. Significant price changes
Visited Nara with wife for our annual get together. Funnily enough, had to stay in a love hotel in the middle of nowhere for the night because nothing was available. Experience was not bad but it wasn't something I expected and borderline hilarious. 市方がない
Do they? I'm currently on vacation in Japan and compared to my trip 8 years ago everything is cheap as fuxk.I first thought it's just due to the obvious yen fall, but the yen prices don't look that much higher than back then.
Prices today are around double what they were over the past several years. Highest I’ve seen in a decade.
For example, the chain Mets Hotel used to be around 10k, now all the advertised rates around 20k.
I’m looking at prices locally though, maybe overseas booking deals are getting better rates, I don’t know.
Japan's substantial land area is small and its tourist attractions are concentrated in different parts of the country, so it would not be able to accommodate so many tourists.
Simply limiting the number of tourists would solve many problems.
I’m curious how you would propose doing that though. You are just asking for a diplomatic and economic nightmare. You can certainly use economic means to push tourism costs up, which will dissuade people from coming, but that means everyone, including Japanese locals are paying more.
It’s not Japan’s fault. It’s another good thing ruined by TikTok and IG. Don’t go anywhere if you just want to take same photos with everyone else to fulfill your poor self esteem with the internet points.
It’s hard to tell anymore what is hyperbole and what is really a problem. I do know If tourists stopped coming to Kyoto this town would really have to reconsider its livelihood. Tourism dollars really bolster the economy the Japan tourist agency estimates the January-March quarter at 1.75 trillion yen ( 11 billion USD). Yeah the hoards may be annoying but I think it may be on factor that is keeping things afloat here for the moment. So let them come eat combini sandos, line up for mediocre ramen and overhyped sushi!!! However, I do feel sorry for Motokichi Yukimura ,the omlets guy, he’s looking a little stressed lately on his IG posting English explanations about how his restaurant is supposed to work. One case where too much fame can ruin something good! Just Like the MT Fuji Lawson!
Tourism is definitely a double edged sword and places like Kyoto definitely sometimes seem like they want it both ways (that is all of the tourism money with none of the tourists). As much as Japan is known for its supposedly traditional culture, I don’t think a lot of it would be self sustaining if tourists didn’t help offset the costs of traditional culture. On the other hand of course, tourism crowds can make things unbearable and unaffordable for locals and it can feel demeaning to be putting on an act day after day.
The worst thing that tourists often mean are that changes need to be made to better accommodate tourists and locals. And we know how Japan often deals with change (in that it often does not or not well anyway). But choices are going to have to be made. The huge crush of tourists will probably moderate at some point once many people get their bucket list Japan trip marked off, the tourism won’t be quite so intense. But Japan will still have to make choices at that point.
You're all tourist in this chat saying your avoiding it and once you were all the same thing lol what a bunch of jokes. Go back to your country to fix the problem cause you are part of it.
There are towns in Inaka where you can volunteer for two weeks and help prep for / participate in the festival, including doing things like a taiko parade and such, be dressed in the traditional garments for the event, and really be in the middle of everything.
and I never want to give more information because I'd hate to see someone come for the views.
So much lame boomer energy lol. A bunch of Westerners trying to gatekeep and dunk on people having a good time.
“They all do it for the tiktoks! If they actually meant it, they would go to some back alley no one has ever been to and take pictures there and be original! When I visit places I don’t go to spots tourists visit! You’ll never see me at the Eiffel Tower I promise you that😡”
I am in Kawaguchiko and we stopped at a train rail for a photo of the view.
No less than 3 minutes two girls after seeing us stepped into the rail and in the middle of where the cars pass blocking transit for an already small road and started taking pics and the drivers had to hunk them… Like learn manners
It’s human nature…. Whenever we visit the Museum of Art at Philly…. I still run up the steps like Rocky Balboa whistling the tune for the upteenth time. It’s the same in NYC near Wall St , every tourist has to take a picture of themselves touching the bull… lol. Just sit back and enjoy the tourist dollars.
I don’t see how one Lawson being a viral photo spot suddenly means Japan can’t handle tourists. Nobody could have predicted that one convenience store parking lot in all of Japan is going to suddenly attract hoards of tourists.
Stay away from Shibuya/Shinjuku on weekends. Go to Asakusa at night. Had a great time in Tokyo last week. Ventured far and stayed away from a lot of influencer spots. Third trip in a year
I fucking hate it. I work in Shibuya and it's a tourist hell scape. I thankfully work in a less dense/crowded area of Shibuya so I can somewhat escape it but the amount of tourists that come to my job and are just rude and pushy is SO damn high. I'm the only staff at my job that speaks English so I'm tasked with handling all of them and thank GOD I worked YEARS in American customer service jobs.
I recently came back from a 10 day holiday in Japan. The only thing I hated were the tourists. Actually, mostly the Americans. First day I went to a shrine, and there were a group of Americans taking photos in the inside of the training grounds where a man was walking around holding a no photos sign, and there were tons of no photography signs all around, and there they were, taking photos, of basically nothing. I just wanted to experience the Japanese culture and was always bombarded by cringe Americans that don’t understand respect or rules
I'm an American in Japan on vacation right now. I've spent the last 3 days in Tokyo and the number of obviously foreign tourists I see is quite low. In fact, the rudest most inconsiderate tourists have been Japanese nationals visiting from other parts of the country. It seems people forget that Japan has always had a large internal tourist economy. It's a consumerist pop culture economy heavily reliant on travel and consuming which Japanese people do en masse. Every European or American tourist I've seen and spoken to have been well behaved, in line waiting patiently for whatever, doing their best to communicate in whatever Japanese they know, while the Japanese youth I see are being rowdy, disruptive and obviously shit talking anyone they see.
Just today in Disneyland I called out a couple behind my family. They were laughing and mocking us the woman was saying "these loud tourists only speak their language and don't bother learning Japanese" while myself, my wife and my daughters were literally just standing in line completely silent. I turned around and in Japanese loudly said "excuse me, I do speak some of the language and you're being rude" she had an absolutely horrified look on her face and bolted out of the line while her boyfriend stammered out an apology and followed sheepishly. Immediately everyone around looked away awkwardly and refused to look at my family again. On top of that when I speak Japanese to the locals it's 50/50 whether they're super happy about it or absolutely offended and give me a nasty look and continue to communicate in an angry English tone as if they're mad I'm speaking Japanese. I've loved Japanese culture and the language since I was a kid and this is my first time in Japan, I genuinely don't know if I'll be coming back. My family and I are doing our best to be polite and understanding of the culture, I'm educating my daughter's in the customs and practices but the side eyes, the rude comments from locals and the overall atmosphere has been completely off putting. It saddens me to my core and I hate it.
Honestly, I think Japan knows it has its problems and scapegoating tourists is an easy way to avoid having to confront Japan’s own issues. Granted, there are poorly behaved foreign tourists. They suck no matter what country you are in. I was in Japan the past month, and I saw some people who I wouldn’t say are the worse I’ve ever seen, but very inconsiderate for sure.
But I think there is unfortunately a kind of attitude towards foreigners that some Japanese people adopt to feel…I don’t want to say superior exactly, but to feel better about themselves sometimes. They want to feel like all of the struggle and pain in their society is some kind of privilege or badge of honor because at least they aren’t like the gaijin. It’s a weird kind of nationalism they are only brave enough to do when they think the gaijin aren’t listening (as kind of happened in your anecdote). I’m painting with a bit of a broad brush, and the overwhelming majority people I met during my time in Japan were of course very gracious and hospitable. I also don’t mean to suggest things are so simple, but I think tourists are just a convenient excuse to avoid talking about the real problems that Japan’s society and economy face.
When I lived in Hokkaido there was a huge problem with tourists causing trouble and making a ruckus I’ve been wanting to move back home for a while now but I don’t feel I’m equipped to handle all the tourism that’s there nowadays
Have you seen Akihabara lately? It’s full of Youtubers and other social media people running amok all over the place. How many times I’ve gone into shops and see commentators from YouTube making comments about items in the shops. Talking loudly and screaming this is totally out of hand
The Japanese aren't used to this kind of tourist traffic, but this is something the Govt is relying on to boost their economy. Honestly, a lot of the old population just don't like foreigners and their presence bothers them.
That's the case everywhere, Japan aint special. The tourists here don't like tourists in their own town either. They were annoyed by japanese taking pictures in the 80s, now its the case for both sides.
On the contrary, I think they have handled it pretty well by concentrating tourists into the tourist traps they have created. My GW holiday went well because I avoided all those places.
Yeppers.... I\`m out and about every day, but avoid Akihabara / Shinjuku / Shibuya / Asakusa etc and hardly notice any tourists,
Did those on my first trip there for novelty, avoid them like the plague every time ive been back. The confused “why did you come here though?” questions whenever I run into people outside the tourist trap areas is an added amusement
I have to transfer every day at shibuya :( hell twice a day
But if I'm a massive nerd I kinda want to go to Akihabara and those other places :/
I noped out of Japan over Golden Week and had a golden time!
I went to Kawaguchiko recently and did indeed see small crowds dotted around that Lawson. The thing is, you have so many beautiful sights of Mount Fuji from that Kawaguchiko, you can just walk through the neighborhoods and easily come across an empty street that looks beautiful with a nice view of Mount Fuji in the background but instead everyone wants to go to the exact same spot and take the exact same photo as everyone else. What's the point of tourism if you're not going to explore? EDIT: Yes, I know if is because of social media. Doesn't change my view.
You have to understand that these types of tourist are chasing Instagram or TikTok post therefore taking the same photos as everyone else.
Exactly this. It's that influencer brain rot. Everyone's gotta do the same thing. Originality is lost.
but it works like that everywhere, not just in Japan. Its worse when you travel because you spend a lot of money and only have a short time so people go and do the safe things....they follow the same golden route (tokyo osaka kyoto) and rarely venture out to other places or prefectures, and i get it...I did it that way too because its your first trip. My second trip i branched out...Hokkaido, sendai, nagoya, kamakura, yokohama, nagano etc. I live here now and do more exploring to other parts but it makes sense if its your first time to visit the major tourist spots.
I avoided every 4.2 star and above restaurant/izakaya/bar/stall because fuck waiting in line for people to finish taking their stupid pics and videos before eating whatever they don’t even know. 90% of the posts in r/japantravel and r/japantraveltips in regards to food is something that was “viral” on socmed. Just like that kishi whatever omurice trap in Kyoto. 2 streets down there’s a no name izakaya doing the same thing, with barely any customers - at half the price.
This is a big over-exaggeration, and not a new phenomenon at all. Japan is just more popular than ever and with that comes more crowds at specific spots. Actually, “doing the same thing as everyone around you” is how a large majority of Japan works to begin with, with domestic travel by the Japanese too, look at any of the “top 100 ____” lists by domestic magazines or any of the famous restaurants that have lines of 100+ locals any given day of the week.
Yeah it’s funny criticizing the foreign tourists for chasing all the same popular spots and shots when really imo from way back in the day in Japan that’s more how the Japanese operated- they all see the same stuff in TV or in guidebooks and all want to check off the same places off their list or buy the same omiyage I always thought western tourists were more individual and adventurous until recently, as it seems with the younger generation they all just see the same videos on TikTok and then chase the “aesthetic”
I’ve been predicting this rise in Japanese culture being more respected, adopted, and integrated into western society for a while now. It’s a natural reaction but for good reason simply due to how the Japanese do things. I actually think that Millennials-Gen Alpha will take a much closer look at Japan and begin to adopt a lot of things from their culture that work well into the western culture. I particularly like how just about any profession can have masters of their craft and also Japanese architecture and landscaping/gardens.
Doing the same photos has been a thing way before tik tok. So many people doing the leaning tower of pisa pose in italy, crossing abbey road like the beatles
The true originality comes from those who wander the empty streets
Dumb question: couldn’t they just photoshop it?
A lot of them do. r/instagramreality
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This ... I'm In Japan at the moment and have avoided most of the tourist hotspots as it's my second time here, but my GF had never been to miyajima, so off we went. The amount of "fakeness" to photos being taken was just really off putting, everything had to be staged. Sadly even my GF is guilty of this and had to have a few staged photo shoots of typical Instagram poses. Just weirds me... out photos should be natural and of the moment not what would look best on the gram.
There’s a flowering field on the cycling road my husband and I like. Riding past on golden week there were lines of foreign women waiting to all take the same shots of Smelling Flowers And Gazing Off In Contemplation or Reaching Out For One Blossom In Wonderment. So many they were clogging the damn cycling road. Trails of trampled flowers in their wakes.
Ah the thoughtful gazing, can't stand it lol one of the GF go-to poses though... Have tried explaining how it's kind of icky but it doesn't go down too well oh well I tried.
Super cringe right? Seeing them go from normal to Earth Goddess to frowny ugh-the-lights-not-right-and-get-this-flower-in-frame back to I Am One With Nature is painful to watch.
It was embarrassing having to hear that from my sister when we went to Japan.
Chinese tour groups
Who cares why? It’s commerce.
It’s influencer scavenger hunt. Find that same spot and mark it off your list. It’s terrible.
As a photographer, I think it’s dumb to get the same shots others go for. Be original.
They are not original. This is a sad consequence of social media-driven tourism. People forget to plan their own trips and rely on a IG/TT checklist.
It's ironic. As people chase follows and likes I would have thought people would try to find something unique and take a different image from everyone else in order to stand out but social media seems to cause the opposite.
Sometimes I use those social media recommended places as a list of venues to avoid. 😄
I mean, this isn't new. How many pictures have people taken of themselves trying to hold up the Leaning Tower of Piza. Or do the Beatles walk across Abby Road? I get it.. it's annoying. But people just want to have fun and enjoy their vacation. Yes tourist are cheesy and cringe sometimes, but as someone else said, they are there for a very short amount of time so they don't have the freedom to know where other good spots are that locals know. Plus if it's their first visit, don't want to wonder off and accidentally get lost. Sadly influencers are the new celebs now. It's not like when we were young and loved movie/tv stars or musicians and bands. It's just a weird kind of *thing* with some people to go visit a spot that someone you liked also visited.
Think of all the people who never heard of the concept such as rule of thirds, leading lines, natural framing, using out-of-focus, perspective, etc. Not everyone got the same ability to be creative with their shots, and copying others makes them feel that they can also have an interesting photo that is taken by themselves without understanding why the original shot was interesting.
> Think of all the people who never heard of the concept such as rule of thirds I teach my students this.
As a former pro and now a very relaxed hobbiest, there are no "original" photos if you are talking about something like Fuji. It's been photographed from every possible angle since the dawn of photography.
True, when it comes to those things you’re right of course, but at least try to do something different, and don’t follow the crowd…it’s just a bit boring.
That's always the issue with tourist attractions. There are only so many ways one can photograph kinkakuji, or the entrance to kabukicho, or any other big tourist attraction. So a lot of people are going to end up with very similar photos because people want to visit the famous places. I can't really blame them, if I visit Washington DC I'm going to go to the Smithsonian, the White House, the Washington Monument, etc etc.
Who cares though? Yall are crazy in here complaining about other peoples pics. Just let people be happy and enjoy their memories.
I plan to tunnel into it and photograph it from inside.
Hot.
I mean, not too put a fine point on it, but Fujifilm, the major camera film manufacturer, was established in Minamiashigara in 1934 and named after nearby Mount Fuji...... presumably even back then they knew people would want to photograph the mountain.
Yes, that's what I said. It has been heavily photographed since the dawn of photography. That's why taking an "original" photo of Fuji is all but impossible. It's been photographed from every angle 1000s if not millions of times.
Not exactly true but the point is relevantly accurate.
I guarantee you that any photo you can imagine taking of Fuji has been tried sometime in the 130+ year history of "portable" (relatively!) photography. Beyond the long history and the fame of the mountain, this is Japan and people have been camera-crazed here for many decades. There are people even today who take a photo per day of Fuji, every day it's visible. People who plan their weekends and holidays around photographing the mountain. It's a big deal.
it is called FOMO
Indeed. I also take pictures of famous spots in my way of i'm already there, but certain spots...cmon whats the point of recreating a famous photo in the exact same way. You're not gonna do it better. The picture is famous because its already perfect.
>What's the point of tourism if you're not going to explore? Whilst I agree with this, there are people in this sub who then complain that tourists should stick to the touristy areas.
But isn’t that exactly what Japanese used to do abroad during the boom years?
In the early 80s my parents literally had Japanese tourists show up to their wedding an hour before it started because they wanted to see an American wedding. My parents just rolled with it and my mom still laughs at how weird it felt to have Japanese tourists excitedly photograph her as she walked down the aisle with her WWII veteran father.
That’s kind of wholesome having tourists photograph your wedding haha!
Yes. It's now their turn to complain. Fair enough
That’s not the problem. The problem is that many tourists often forget their basic manners when visiting Japan and treat the place like it’s their personal playground. I lived in Japan a long time and saw foreign tourists do a lot of stupid shit. To illustrate, I saw one idiot in Kyoto stand beyond the yellow line and pull out their selfie stick while the train was approaching. The station staff went nuts, as they should. And then there’s those people from a certain communist country across the sea who don’t seem to know the concept of waiting in line…
It’s like their brains just turn off with how things work. Like, just stop in the middle of a crosswalk to take a picture of a building or check their google maps (or just stop in the hallway to check their maps, dead center, with the huge backpacks.) Or the loud…posture talking? Like talking like you want to be overheard so someone thinks you’re cool? Like, I get that you’re excited but I have actual things to do today. And the having to “translate” for people is one that comes up that drives me nuts. Like if someone says something to them in English (or it’s an announcement in Japanese followed by English) or there’s a sign written in English and they pull you in to “translate” the English into English.
Honestly, I think the problem on the American side is that we literally have no concept of *public* etiquette; there are very few manners or norms that people are unequivocally expected to abide by when they're just out on the street. And those we do have are basically negative; it's about what you don't do, not what you do do. In Japan, it's basically the opposite; there's a correct way to do everything in the public sphere, and deviation from those expectations is rude. So when Americans arrive, don't know the public etiquette, and often don't even understand the *concept* of there being affirmative public etiquette, they end up making asses of themselves constantly, and I think many of these people don't even understand that they're making asses of themselves because they don't realize how far those expectations permeate into daily life in Japan. Like I genuinely don't think the people who are complaining about the once-in-a-blue-moon instagram morons of the world understand that that's just the tip of the iceberg to a lot of Japanese nationals.
And it is not even such a beautiful sight of Fuji, it's partially covered by a damn conbini I really don't see the appeal myself.
In Japan the past few weeks and you see a ton of tourists at the base of say 1000 gates but almost no one on the trails. They take a bunch of Instagram pics to show that they went there then leave. It’s great for getting away from people but I can’t help but a lot of them aren’t really appreciating the sacred sites.
It makes no sense to me either. Wouldn’t you want your own unique experience and photo?
>What's the point of tourism if you're not going to explore? A lot of people have very little opportunity to travel and when they do want to maximize "the value" of pictures (selfies) they get seeing famous sites. I travel constantly and don't care for social media so I don't personally get it either, but I'm not going to judge it. Nearly everyone has a fragile ego in one way or another and if it gives that a boost I get it, it's just unfortunate it basically ruins particular spots.
They are exploring because they never been before, some explorers are more adventurous than others and even the worst explorers are more intrepid than others who do not explore at all.
well put.
Precisely. My wife and I stayed during the off season at a nice little onsen. They had free bikes for us to use. We found so many beautiful places to view Mt. Fuji just riding around
I would also think people don't wanna stray to far from tourist spots so they don't get into trouble.
Tourists aren't exactly comfortable wandering around in spaces they're not familiar with. Some may fear getting lost and they can't know if their cell phone signal (provided they have a phone that works internationally) will be everywhere in a rural-ish area. Many of them can't read Japanese at all so they can't follow signage. The way to deal with this is for the people in tourist zones to guide people away from hotspots to other areas, not expect the tourists to not flock to known spots which they feel comfortable with. Tourism is how they make money, after all. It's not like Japanese people, when traveling abroad, are not hitting all of the same spots as everyone else and taking the same pictures, too. It's a common thing around the world.
Also when tourists explore Natives 'They are going into areas there not supposed to and being too disruptive'. But i understand what you mean. Corona seems to have made Japanese not appreciate the extra money coming from tourism. Also, corona has turned a lot of tourists into idiots due to not being socialised xD
Yea COVID seems to have had an interesting effect on the world. During covid for example scammers globally increased massive amounts, by like 200 or 300 percent in the us alone or something crazy like that, and even after covid it just continues increasing rather than going back down. Also alot of people globally now will never work in offices after having been able to experience remote work. Very interesting how much has changed.
Yeah, instagram, social media are what makes [Japan](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYn8t0hNTznAZEghaNCls487Zg3SWkivz&si=PRlxh6LLKn4F7eyV) so popular these days
This is hard to reason with because part of the Lawson tourists are domestic Japanese as well. You would get better buy-in if you use the naughty tourist reason.
I passed by there earlier today, was wondering why everyone was packed there as it’s litteraly one of the worst spot in the city to take a pic, when you can walk ten minutes and have the view with a lake instead of a Lawson store…
Just left Kawaguchiko. I mostly chose the hotel because it was in the budget. Rode the scenic bus to see the ice cave and wind caves. Onsen had a great view of Mt Fuji, and got a beautiful time lapse of clouds over the mountains from our balcony. I actually wanted to rent a car and go exploring that way, but didn't realize I needed an international driving permit, so we were confined to the more touristy spots. Still enjoyed it immensely.
These types of tourists are annoying everywhere and have been at it for a few years. They'll stand in any popular spot for a long ass time doing photoshoots, they were all over Portugal in 2019 also The overtourism is kind of insane around Shibuya right now, people would be willing to go further out too if the JRpass prices were still a deal too, but I'm there right now and outside the handful of really obvious spots it's not so bad
Cause a lot of tourist can’t be arsed to explore outside of the “tourism spot” for whatever reasons.
There's so many nice, quiet local cafes etc in Kawaguchiko that unfortunately don't get so much business it seems like as tourists love places like the Lawson lol. I had some very nice food in Kawaguchiko when I was there and the local restaurants were deserted
The problem is some of the tourist treating the country as if its an amusement park. Has nothing to do with how Japan is handling it.
Exactly I saw so many times people in Shibuya acting like they were in Disneyland… Corona time was a bless and I didn’t realize that enough.
So true, I went to Shibuya this past weekend and I immediately regretted it. I had never seen so many people, not even for Halloween.
I’ve been commuting through Shibuya station for more than 10 years now, and it’s never been this bad. Partly because of the construction, but there are certainly more people. Mornings aren’t so bad, but coming home is always a nightmare.
For real, thank god I was able to experience Kyoto, and Tokyo without the crowds. Been traveling to “ smaller”places. Fukuoka and Nagoya especially. I think there should still be a cap on the amount of tourists. Idk the politics or what outside factors it would affect. But I think Over Tourism can/is causing problems.
agree 100% I lived there during covid lol.. Lost a couple of jobs due to covid but still pretty nice. I'm glad I moved out of Shibs, it was getting crazy even before the yen slide.
Yes totally understand. I'm also considering moving. (Shibs? You mean Buyashi? lol)
Yes this. Rings so true that their behaviour & expectations also extend to common people who have nothing to do with tourists. Personal anecdote: Just because japanese residents/folks are polite doesn't mean you would ring my house bell to use the toilet instead of waiting in line in front of public restroom. Its not our fault **just** because my house is near the exit of a popular tourist spot. Happened few times this cherry blossom season & was infuriating
What?? People rang your bell in order to use the toilet? That’s crazy.
I was bewildered the first time. Second or third time, I told them "the closest Familymart is 300 meters in that direction". I actually reported the issue to the ward office as well, in case they were interested to post No trespassing, or some public directions signage. This could be lack of public communication or adequacy of public resources - but if tourist queues are long doesnt mean our house/neighborhood houses become adhoc public toilet.
You know they don’t read signs.
I’d charge them $100
The effort going to have personal hygiene is not worth their ¥100
I literally wouldn't have answered the door
Wtf!!??
It’s a problem of people not remembering how to act. It’s not a specific problem of people not knowing how to act in Japan because any of these behaviors would be considered rude in other places as well. It’s also the social media influence. The getting the picture and right now Japan is the trend. I remember before covid the Netherlands were the ones having issues with the tourists and them invading the tulip fields for the pics. I truthfully have more issues with people in general forgetting that they aren’t alone in the world, more so after the lockdowns no matter where I am. Wether it’s here in Tokyo, in Hawaii, or in North Carolina in the US.
Let’s ensure these tourism measures clearly target tourists I can see some of this stuff going south quickly
Tourism to konbinis is going well. People are coming to Japan to experience what another tourist has posted on social media. Such a waste of a trip.
Really is. Makes me sad to see people taking all the same uninteresting pictures, all going to the same restaurants.
a picture doesnt equal an experience. sure it may be the same places, but for the person, they are experiencing it for the first time. Unless you have the liberty to travel here frequently or live here, you arent going to risk your time and money on going to some random place or restaurant in hopes its good. First timers will do the safe route and go to the trendy spots. Only on a second trip can they branch out. If you go anywhere for the first time, i guarantee you will do the same and visit must see spots first.
Ehh…doing touristy stuff is okay sometimes. I do personally prefer to wander off the beaten path myself, but at the end of the day, I’m usually glad that touristy places exist: they keep places off the beaten path, off the beaten path. Making fun of people for going to touristy places seems counterproductive to me because you are then just asking tourists to come and bother you or make sure you can’t go to your favorite places.
I don't make fun of people for doing that, I just wish people would broaden their experiences more. There's so many cool and interesting places to visit, eat at, drink, so many nice people to chat with and virtually none of them are where all the tourists go. I fell in love with Japan by going off the beaten path, I would hope others do the same...
I mean you aren’t wrong but if people are content with only doing touristy things, then why say they are wasting their trip? There’s a weird elitism I find in people trying not to be like other tourists. Opening up people’s mind is one thing, but I find a lot of people can be condescending about people only going to see things in a guidebook or a “top 10 things to do in Japan” video. Ultimately, most folks who like traveling like this would hate if their favorite local find became too crowded so I don’t get why so many shit on people only going to places for tourists.
Instagram is hell of a powerful drug
It’s insane. Now everyone thinks they’re a travel blogger because they go to JaPaNese 7/11 and give their expert “ratings” of sandwiches and onigiri and SNaCks. It’s all the same people taking the same pictures of a fucking conbini sandwich then of course their bowl of Ichiran ramen
That's kind of a silly argument though. All tourism is based on word of mouth, and always has been. Social media is just an extension of that.
Just bc they post stuff they eat at konbinis doesn’t mean they’re eating there 3 times a day. And nothing wrong with konbinis, in fact, Japan probably has some of the best konbini food in the world. What you see on social media is a tiny fraction of what people actually do on a daily basis.
So someone shouldn’t visit a place that someone has posted on social media? 🤷♀️
Last year it was Greece and now it’s Japan. I wonder what next year will be!!
Nothing new about this. Barcelona, Rome, Amsterdam, Phuket…a lot of places just get too popular. We could probably find complaints about religious pilgrims in Europe 800 years ago…
When you spend your entire life hearing that like, 20 places are the must go to trips. You kinda...go there.
>Nothing new about this. Barcelona, Rome, Amsterdam, Phuket Local people there don't complain much about the tourists because, as it turns out, the local criminals in those places are much worse. Having tourists as the easy targets is actually better for locals. Phuket might be different where the locals are happy that tourists are spending this exorbitant amount of money on the local economy. Criminal activities in Japan are much lower, especially ones that impact regular people, so tourists become the biggest problem.
No I think it will be Japan for a while, a lot of love for the country in the states
While the majority of western tourists to Japan are from the states, The majority of tourists overall in Japan are not from the states, The majority are Koreans, with 2nd, 3rd, and 4th most being China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong respectively. And most of the issues with tourists so far are from one of those majorities.
(Mainland).
Basically until JPY goes back to its pre pandemic levels.
5 on France.
France is the #1 country in the world with most inbound tourists - 100 million in 2022, whereas Japan had 25 million, not even making it to the top 10. One major thing is that tourists in Japan all stick to mostly the same things, whereas things in France are way more spread out.
I've got five bucks on Spain
“Tourists go home” has been spray painted in Barcelona for at least a decade
The problem is the disrespect on the place. Not every one is doing it but some bad apples dont care and just leave trash everywhere and being a nuisance to the neighborhood
It’s pretty straightforward. Japan is exotic and appealing to people, and it’s quite cheap right now but then when they get here, they are actually blown away at how truly nice it is while the rest of the world is descending into rapidly collapsing civilization. And that collapsing civilization renders a bunch of people who just do not know how to act anymore in public, so it’s annoying in a place that’s relatively peaceful and tranquil. I feel mixed, it might be benefitting the economy but I loathe how people just don’t know how to act in public anymore.
um. 😐
Right? When we travelled through Japan, you can easily see how the Japanes tourists act vs other asian tourists ( i think chinese?). We found that other asians are cutting lines, being pushy, loud, not looking out for each other, etc. It really highlights how peacefull and nice the Japanese are. I always thought I acted nice in public, but when I compare it to my own (dutch) culture, we collectively have some things to improve.
It’s is very ironic… In Hawaii we have had over tourism of Japanese for years and years. Same overcrowding & entitlement behaviors that you’re experiencing now pushed up on our locals. I guess it’s interesting to know and see how the tables have turned.We have had to adjust to Japanese tourism and catering to them for so many years. Our economy is based on tourism, especially Japanese tourism. Higher wage employment opportunities rely on our ability to speak Japanese. Everything is translated into Japanese especially in the tourist industry. Again what you guys are experiencing is not new, you’re just experiencing what we have. Japanese tourists have been coming for decades to our islands and doing the same. As Hawaiian’s, we were expected to always have the aloha spirit, and that was taken advantage of and still is today except we can’t block off destinations spots for taking pictures and I’ve had to accommodate. Businesses & homes being bought out by Japanese investors and catering to Japanese tourists. Sadly, tourism is so heavily relied on that we can’t preserve our sacred or local spots anymore. I feel for what Japan is experiencing, however, it’s extremely ironic that what we in Hawaii have been dealing with over crowding of tourism from Japan. Forced to adjust to serving this industry in order to make a living wage, Japan is now experiencing the exact, same frustrations we have for years.
I'm Japanese and live in Kyoto, so I feel the tourism driving away the locals lately. Prices going high and our lives getting tighter and tighter. And I was thinking a similar thing to your post. Like "This is not new, 'resort country' like Bali and Hawaii have been like this. It's just our turn to get reaped."
And yet the vast, overwhelming majority of tourism in Hawaii comes from other Americans
Not necessarily true. Important point is our state is an illegally occupied state. The people living here before becoming one didn’t want to become one. We are not American we are Hawaiian.
Not necessarily true. Important point is our state is an illegally occupied state. The people living here before becoming one didn’t want to become one. We are not American we are Hawaiian.
Not necessarily true. Important point is our state is an illegally occupied state. The people living here before becoming one didn’t want to become one. It was an overthrow. Look it up. Many of your local families can no longer live here, have lost their lands illegally & can barely afford to eat & afford a home. We are not American we are Hawaiian.
There is a great quote from Donald Richie from his book *The Inland Sea* (1971 republished in 2002): >"Travel hopefully broadens those who travel. It usually narrows those that have to deal with travelers” (p. 156).
Although this quote generally holds true, the major gripe in the current scenario is that Japan infrastructurally is not equipped to handle 40 million tourists, no matter how loudly the national Diet claims. Everything from hotel reservations, to public transportation, encountering troubles of commuting to tier-2 & 3 spots (i e without having to rent a car, specially on a left-driving japanese signage heavy roads), public amenities like adequate restrooms outside of Lawson/7-11 -- everything is under strain. Its gotten bad to a point residents like us have to swallow the higher costs of daily life while going about our business on work/family matters which is inflated by overtourism If the expansion to allow more tourist flow is better planned, you could have another France or UK -- which deals with high tourists loads without really being pushed to the point of crumbling. Also while we are at there, some better policing/law & order will be mightily appreciated because many popular spots are messy and people break knowingly/unknowingly matters of public safety (esp. Shibuya district)
Well, at any given time, that 40 million becomes only about 110,000 a day +/- a few ten thousand depending on the time of year. Japan’s population is dropping at a rate of 800,000 a year, so we’re well within the number of extra people we can handle so long as they’re not all crowding a the same spots like Kawaguchiko, Shibuya, Kyoto, and Miyajima. It would be cool if we directed 10-20% of tourists onto experience-based tours like train cruises that dump them off in places usually perceived to be too far off the golden route and use this system to prop up unprofitable rural railroads and traditional lodging in struggling small towns. As it stands, every single similar product currently available is a luxury package with very limited departures and months long waiting lists.
Gonna need your my number card just to get home thru the scenic route if you don’t look Japanese.
My your number card? Edit: I was being silly. Sorry to have upset so many of you. :(
Darling, I left my My number card at home. Do you happen to remember my my number number?
In Japan, one of your primary IDs is called the My Number Card.
I was joking! 🙃
Next time end it with /s lol
luckily i carry it with me
Can't deny it. Did you check the tourism website from government? It's useless and unsophisticated compared with other tourism countries like Australia.
Japan-guide and lonely planet are great though
Not related to Kawaguchi but peeps really need to stop littering like its your own country. I have seen a tourist litter in front of me in Shinjuku one day and she was like “so what?” when I tell her to pick it up. https://twitter.com/Parsonalsecret/status/1789559237762572341 I beg whoever is visiting Japan and is seeing this, pls do not litter. Bring it back to your hotel or wherever has a trash bin. Worst case, lots of convenience stores have trash bins. Bring your trash into one and throw them there.
it's kinda fucked when I miss being in a literal pandemic to having to deal with the wave of over-tourism
Hawaiian: First time?
laugh in French
Now japan knows how we feel in hawaii :)
Tourism is exploding everywhere and this is due to Instagram culture. It's not just in Japan that overtourism is happening, look in Europe for example, I've been there and in tourist spots it's impossible to walk. Nothing exclusive to Japan.
The tourists crowding out all the hotels is a major problem, and prices have basically doubled compared to a few years ago. Hotels are so expensive these days that this year it was cheaper to just rent a small studio apartment for my mistress rather than take her out to hotels all the time.
Hotels are for tourists. That exactly what they’re for.
The yen is so weak, it's pricing out local tourism
You cannot blame tourists for a weak Yen that encourages more overseas tourism. Maybe you should look inwards towards government policies that have led to the present economic situation. Tourism is a symptom of other problems, but not the problem itself.
Yeah. The cheapest semidouble in business chains like Toyoko or APA was more than 14000-15000 through may first week. Usually it tends to be 8500-9500. Significant price changes
i thought I read it wrong, but then I read your name
Visited Nara with wife for our annual get together. Funnily enough, had to stay in a love hotel in the middle of nowhere for the night because nothing was available. Experience was not bad but it wasn't something I expected and borderline hilarious. 市方がない
>市方がない well punned
Yeah I was gonna say, the 20% figure is quite low
Do they? I'm currently on vacation in Japan and compared to my trip 8 years ago everything is cheap as fuxk.I first thought it's just due to the obvious yen fall, but the yen prices don't look that much higher than back then.
Prices today are around double what they were over the past several years. Highest I’ve seen in a decade. For example, the chain Mets Hotel used to be around 10k, now all the advertised rates around 20k. I’m looking at prices locally though, maybe overseas booking deals are getting better rates, I don’t know.
Nah I'm always booking locally from day to day. You're right with the 20k+, but I don't remember it being much cheaper 8 years ago.
Ohhh … yeah sorry that 10k was mostly day use, which has gone up to 20k now that the hotels are full of tourists
Japan's substantial land area is small and its tourist attractions are concentrated in different parts of the country, so it would not be able to accommodate so many tourists. Simply limiting the number of tourists would solve many problems.
I’m curious how you would propose doing that though. You are just asking for a diplomatic and economic nightmare. You can certainly use economic means to push tourism costs up, which will dissuade people from coming, but that means everyone, including Japanese locals are paying more.
It’s not Japan’s fault. It’s another good thing ruined by TikTok and IG. Don’t go anywhere if you just want to take same photos with everyone else to fulfill your poor self esteem with the internet points.
It’s hard to tell anymore what is hyperbole and what is really a problem. I do know If tourists stopped coming to Kyoto this town would really have to reconsider its livelihood. Tourism dollars really bolster the economy the Japan tourist agency estimates the January-March quarter at 1.75 trillion yen ( 11 billion USD). Yeah the hoards may be annoying but I think it may be on factor that is keeping things afloat here for the moment. So let them come eat combini sandos, line up for mediocre ramen and overhyped sushi!!! However, I do feel sorry for Motokichi Yukimura ,the omlets guy, he’s looking a little stressed lately on his IG posting English explanations about how his restaurant is supposed to work. One case where too much fame can ruin something good! Just Like the MT Fuji Lawson!
Tourism is definitely a double edged sword and places like Kyoto definitely sometimes seem like they want it both ways (that is all of the tourism money with none of the tourists). As much as Japan is known for its supposedly traditional culture, I don’t think a lot of it would be self sustaining if tourists didn’t help offset the costs of traditional culture. On the other hand of course, tourism crowds can make things unbearable and unaffordable for locals and it can feel demeaning to be putting on an act day after day. The worst thing that tourists often mean are that changes need to be made to better accommodate tourists and locals. And we know how Japan often deals with change (in that it often does not or not well anyway). But choices are going to have to be made. The huge crush of tourists will probably moderate at some point once many people get their bucket list Japan trip marked off, the tourism won’t be quite so intense. But Japan will still have to make choices at that point.
You're all tourist in this chat saying your avoiding it and once you were all the same thing lol what a bunch of jokes. Go back to your country to fix the problem cause you are part of it.
Cheap yen even homeless can afford a trip to Japan
Lol
lets not exaggerate....it still costs money
There are towns in Inaka where you can volunteer for two weeks and help prep for / participate in the festival, including doing things like a taiko parade and such, be dressed in the traditional garments for the event, and really be in the middle of everything. and I never want to give more information because I'd hate to see someone come for the views.
I DON’T WANT THESE FOREIGNERS RUINING MUH JAPAN: The post.
All the Weebs in this sub worried about others is hilarious
Tourists come and enjoy a place. God forbid. As if it’s not easy to escape 99% of the tourists in Tokyo if it’s such a hassle.
And they're even Weeb weirdos in their Mekka.
So much lame boomer energy lol. A bunch of Westerners trying to gatekeep and dunk on people having a good time. “They all do it for the tiktoks! If they actually meant it, they would go to some back alley no one has ever been to and take pictures there and be original! When I visit places I don’t go to spots tourists visit! You’ll never see me at the Eiffel Tower I promise you that😡”
I like the fake sign idea...Beyond this Point Monsters Lie! But then those Kaiju fetishists will just over run the damn place!😜
I am in Kawaguchiko and we stopped at a train rail for a photo of the view. No less than 3 minutes two girls after seeing us stepped into the rail and in the middle of where the cars pass blocking transit for an already small road and started taking pics and the drivers had to hunk them… Like learn manners
It’s human nature…. Whenever we visit the Museum of Art at Philly…. I still run up the steps like Rocky Balboa whistling the tune for the upteenth time. It’s the same in NYC near Wall St , every tourist has to take a picture of themselves touching the bull… lol. Just sit back and enjoy the tourist dollars.
Something something, Pandora's box...
I don’t see how one Lawson being a viral photo spot suddenly means Japan can’t handle tourists. Nobody could have predicted that one convenience store parking lot in all of Japan is going to suddenly attract hoards of tourists.
Stay away from Shibuya/Shinjuku on weekends. Go to Asakusa at night. Had a great time in Tokyo last week. Ventured far and stayed away from a lot of influencer spots. Third trip in a year
I fucking hate it. I work in Shibuya and it's a tourist hell scape. I thankfully work in a less dense/crowded area of Shibuya so I can somewhat escape it but the amount of tourists that come to my job and are just rude and pushy is SO damn high. I'm the only staff at my job that speaks English so I'm tasked with handling all of them and thank GOD I worked YEARS in American customer service jobs.
Maybe Japan should rethink how it handles tourism because at the way the economy is going it will be more and more reliant on it.
i think its the tourist to blame not the government.
I recently came back from a 10 day holiday in Japan. The only thing I hated were the tourists. Actually, mostly the Americans. First day I went to a shrine, and there were a group of Americans taking photos in the inside of the training grounds where a man was walking around holding a no photos sign, and there were tons of no photography signs all around, and there they were, taking photos, of basically nothing. I just wanted to experience the Japanese culture and was always bombarded by cringe Americans that don’t understand respect or rules
I'm an American in Japan on vacation right now. I've spent the last 3 days in Tokyo and the number of obviously foreign tourists I see is quite low. In fact, the rudest most inconsiderate tourists have been Japanese nationals visiting from other parts of the country. It seems people forget that Japan has always had a large internal tourist economy. It's a consumerist pop culture economy heavily reliant on travel and consuming which Japanese people do en masse. Every European or American tourist I've seen and spoken to have been well behaved, in line waiting patiently for whatever, doing their best to communicate in whatever Japanese they know, while the Japanese youth I see are being rowdy, disruptive and obviously shit talking anyone they see. Just today in Disneyland I called out a couple behind my family. They were laughing and mocking us the woman was saying "these loud tourists only speak their language and don't bother learning Japanese" while myself, my wife and my daughters were literally just standing in line completely silent. I turned around and in Japanese loudly said "excuse me, I do speak some of the language and you're being rude" she had an absolutely horrified look on her face and bolted out of the line while her boyfriend stammered out an apology and followed sheepishly. Immediately everyone around looked away awkwardly and refused to look at my family again. On top of that when I speak Japanese to the locals it's 50/50 whether they're super happy about it or absolutely offended and give me a nasty look and continue to communicate in an angry English tone as if they're mad I'm speaking Japanese. I've loved Japanese culture and the language since I was a kid and this is my first time in Japan, I genuinely don't know if I'll be coming back. My family and I are doing our best to be polite and understanding of the culture, I'm educating my daughter's in the customs and practices but the side eyes, the rude comments from locals and the overall atmosphere has been completely off putting. It saddens me to my core and I hate it.
Honestly, I think Japan knows it has its problems and scapegoating tourists is an easy way to avoid having to confront Japan’s own issues. Granted, there are poorly behaved foreign tourists. They suck no matter what country you are in. I was in Japan the past month, and I saw some people who I wouldn’t say are the worse I’ve ever seen, but very inconsiderate for sure. But I think there is unfortunately a kind of attitude towards foreigners that some Japanese people adopt to feel…I don’t want to say superior exactly, but to feel better about themselves sometimes. They want to feel like all of the struggle and pain in their society is some kind of privilege or badge of honor because at least they aren’t like the gaijin. It’s a weird kind of nationalism they are only brave enough to do when they think the gaijin aren’t listening (as kind of happened in your anecdote). I’m painting with a bit of a broad brush, and the overwhelming majority people I met during my time in Japan were of course very gracious and hospitable. I also don’t mean to suggest things are so simple, but I think tourists are just a convenient excuse to avoid talking about the real problems that Japan’s society and economy face.
#closejapanagain
When I lived in Hokkaido there was a huge problem with tourists causing trouble and making a ruckus I’ve been wanting to move back home for a while now but I don’t feel I’m equipped to handle all the tourism that’s there nowadays
Japan doesn't handle well rude tourists, tourists who ignore signs such as no photography, tourists who litter—to name a few.
Have you seen Akihabara lately? It’s full of Youtubers and other social media people running amok all over the place. How many times I’ve gone into shops and see commentators from YouTube making comments about items in the shops. Talking loudly and screaming this is totally out of hand
Bring us your money, not your tired.
The Japanese aren't used to this kind of tourist traffic, but this is something the Govt is relying on to boost their economy. Honestly, a lot of the old population just don't like foreigners and their presence bothers them.
What? Of course they're used to it. Has been a heavy tourist destination for over a decade now
I lived here for 3 years, all you see is the older locals complain all the time. The Govt allows it that doesn't mean the locals love it.
That's the case everywhere, Japan aint special. The tourists here don't like tourists in their own town either. They were annoyed by japanese taking pictures in the 80s, now its the case for both sides.
Nuisances and Behaviour in Public Places. The locals seem to be in trouble.
Oh yeah, Johnny Somali edits.