After a record-breaking year for tourist arrivals in 2024, is bracing for another peak in visitors this year.
While the and the national government are enjoying the post-pandemic economic windfall, there are growing rumblings of discontent among ccitizens whose lives are being disrupted by lots of tourists concentrated in key destinations.
Japan saw 36.9 million international visitors in 2024, up 47.1% on the previous year, surpassing the 2019 record of 31.9 million, immediately before the pandemic put the brakes on leisure travel.
Now, residents of the “golden route” cities — Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka — are increasingly infuriated by outsiders who do not follow the customs that are so fundamental to Japanese society.
Too many leave litter, overwhelm public transport services, drink on the streets or disrupt residential districts by partying in rental properties late into the night.
Tourists causing trouble
The Japanese media has also picked up on a number of incidents that have been particularly shocking, including an American tourist who was arrested for scratching graffiti into a wooden gate at Tokyo’s historic Meiji Jingu shrine, a Chilean influencer who filmed herself performing pull-ups on a sacred “torii” gate at a Shinto shrine, and a foreigner caught on video kicking a deer in the ancient capital of Nara.
One of the most seriously affected cities in Japan is Kyoto, famed for its historic imperial palaces, temples, shrines and the Gion geisha quarter.
“Problems are primarily caused by the concentration of tourists at major attractions, at certain times of the year and certain times of the day, meaning that not all of Kyoto is affected,” said Toshinori Tsuchihashi, director general of tourism for the city of Kyoto.
“Concentrations tend to occur during the cherry blossom season in spring and when the leaves are changing color in autumn, causing congestion on surrounding roads, on city buses and etiquette problems,” Tsuchihashi told DW.
Local people complain about buses being too full for them to board, tourists smoking in the streets, littering and other misbehavior, he admitted.
Harmony between residents, tourists
In order to “achieve a harmonious balance between the lives of citizens and tourists,” the city has introduced the Kyoto Tourism Code of Conduct to foster greater understanding and respect between the two sides of the equation, while a number of parallel initiatives are designed to spread the tourism load through the city.
Express buses have been introduced to whisk visitors between the city’s most popular sights, meaning they no longer need to use public transport and information is being shared in multiple languages through new websites and apps.
Other cities in Japan have adopted different approaches, some controversial. The local government in Himeji — site of the -recognized White Heron Castle — is contemplating sharply increasing the price of entry, but only for foreign tourists.
Ashley Harvey, a travel marketing analyst who has worked in Japan’s travel sector for more than 15 years, says many cities around the world are struggling to find a solution to overtourism and that Japan needs to learn from other nations’ experiences.
“We’re seeing overtourism in London, Barcelona, Venice, Kyoto, and it has been a problem for many years, but it is hard to fix because it is market-driven,” he told DW.
“You can nudge and influence segments of the market to start to alleviate the problem, but fundamentally, someone who is coming to Japan is going to visit Tokyo even if it is their third or fourth time here.”
The aim, Harvey insists, should be to get visitors to explore more rural areas, where tourist businesses are crying out for a slice of the travel pie, and where travellers will arguably experience a more authentic Japan without having to navigate crowds of fellow foreigners.
“The problem of overtourism in a few cities is the result of overtourism in 90% of the rest of the country,” Harvey said. “The government has set a target of 60 million arrivals by the end of the decade and that figure has set off alarm bells in some quarters. Japan absolutely can cater to 60 million visitors every year — but Kyoto can’t on its own.”
Geographical, seasonal ‘brand assets’
For too long, Japan’s tourism sector has relied on geographical and seasonal “brand assets,” says Harvey, from cherry blossoms to Mount Fuji, rather than doing more to encourage visitors to explore those same attractions from different locations.
And, arguably, they missed the opportunity provided by the inactivity in the sector caused by the pandemic to come up with plans to achieve just that.
Belatedly, however, the realization of what is required is dawning, Harvey believes.
“This is not a problem that can be fixed with one thing; it requires joined-up thinking involving all the stakeholders to ensure Japan gets the most out of tourism as it can,” he said.
“I have no problems with a tourism tax, for example, as long as the money that is raised from that tax is ring-fenced and goes back into providing better tourism infrastructure, training guides and so on.”
Edited by: Keith Walker
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