Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’ve likely heard about Japan’s ongoing struggles with overtourism. Spurred on by favorable exchange rates and an ever-growing popularity, Japan is being besieged by legions of international visitors. While these tourism yennies are indeed a great boon for the economy, it’s not without its downsides. More and more, Japan’s mainstays like Kyoto are becoming so crowded that they’ve lost any and all remaining appeal. What’s more, the poor behavior of visitors trying to get their shots for the Gram has only further exacerbated tensions.
Recently, the powers that be have started to wake up to the problem that they created for themselves. Prior to the pandemic, Japan had its eyes set on the target of 40 million tourists. Alas, by setting their KPI as a body count and not a revenue target, the government created an environment that was optimizing for quantity at the expense of quality. Now, seeing the error of their ways, Japan’s bigwigs are instead trying to go after the luxury travel market, a demographic which they’ve arbitrarily set as tourists who spend over one million yen during their time here.
All things considered, I think it’s a good step in the right direction, at least when compared to the alternative. However, I also still feel that there is something missing with this approach. Though it is indeed true that there is a strong positive correlation between wealth and travelers’ behavior, we all know someone who is a rich asshole. Furthermore, just because the country focuses its marketing lens on the upper echelons of earning potential doesn’t mean that the masses are going to stop coming. After all, much of this demand is being stoked by social media and not any effective measures that JNTO is implementing.
What this means is that to truly reach a sustainable model of tourism in Japan, we’re going to need something else. While working to increase the average amount that each person spends is indeed needed, it alone is not sufficient to address overtourism. Instead, Japan needs to figure out how to better disperse the number of travelers over the entire breadth of the country. If it can do this while also reducing the number of visitors without also seeing a drop in tourism spending, we can begin to work our way out of the rut we’re in right now.
When on Wikipedia
A long time ago, I wrote an article for a famous Japanese business media. In it, I noted that Japan has the same issues as Wikipedia. Generally speaking, almost everywhere worth visiting in Japan already has something in English written about it. Thus, if there is even a morsel of interest, it’s pretty easy to get someone to find an article or piece of social media content about even the most hidden of gems. Put another way, the problem isn’t a lack of information — it’s a lack of awareness.
How does this relate to Wikipedia? Well, much like with everyone’s favorite reference, almost everything you could ever want to know about Japan has already been covered online. However, without awareness and then an impetus to search, most people will never come across any of this content. As a result, tourists visiting Japan continue to flock to the same few destinations. This in turn creates overcrowding at spots like Kiyomizu-dera and Senso-ji while starving the rural regions.
To the extent that there has been any large shift in awareness, it has mainly been on the back of social media. For example, Fujisan Yumeno Ohashi Bridge in Shizuoka became popular due to the view of Mt. Fuji it affords. Unfortunately, tourists looking to snap the perfect shot are now violating traffic laws in their quest for Instagram fodder. Likewise, the famous Lawson in Kawaguchiko that sits in front of Mt. Fuji was also recently forced to block its iconic view due to the behavior of tourists.
Increasing awareness of off the beaten path destinations is not going to correct the problem that some tourists treat Japan like it’s their own personal Disneyland. However, by better spreading out the demand, we can at least ensure that no one spot is bearing the entire brunt of overtourism. I mean, while locations like Kawaguchi Asama Shrine’s Tenku-no-Torii are insanely photogenic, there are other places in Japan that are equally as beautiful but without a three-hour-long queue.
Off the Beaten Path
Personally, I am of the mind that the mainstream destinations in Japan like have lost so much of their authenticity that they are no longer worth visiting. Transformed into attractions that have been commodified for tourism, famous destinations like Fushimi Inari Taisha are akin to cultural theme parks these days. While you can mitigate some of the downsides of overtourism at Kyoto’s most notorious spot by going at night, Fushimi Inari Taisha and its ilk are all but ruined during peak hours.
Assuming that you can overcome the awareness problem and find substitute destinations that are every bit as historic and culturally rich, you’ll have a much better experience of Japan if you get off the beaten path. Not only do you not need to contend with the crowds that swarm more popular places, but you’ll also be able to have a more honest experience of Japan. At the end of the day, even the most sacred of sites gets absolutely screwed when busloads of tourists start showing up.
Going hand in hand with getting off the beaten path is the idea of slow travel. Especially in light of the price hikes to many of the various JR rail passes, it makes a lot less sense to zip around the country at breakneck speed. These days, you’d be better off spending a few days leisurely exploring Tohoku or Setouchi and making use of one of the regional Japan Rail Pass alternatives. This way, you can get a better sense of the region as a whole and more deeply immerse yourself in Japan.
Additionally, longer stays are also more conducive to exploring hidden gems than a weeklong whirlwind of a trip. Especially with Japan now offering visas for digital nomads, taking it slow and living like a local is a great way to dive deeper into Japanese culture. With the options that I cover in this article for longer stints in Japan, a two or three-month-long trip need not also break the bank
Finding off the beaten path destinations need not be hard either. A quick look at Google Maps will beget many potential options. Likewise, searching the keyword “things to do” in conjunction with a city or prefecture will also lead to a number of potential suggestions. Of course, resources like this blog also exist to help you find hidden gems, but the important part is that you do a bit of research and planning. Once you’ve found a central theme for your next outing, finding add-ons becomes quite simple.
On Better Tourists
In addition to the lack of awareness for non-mainstream destinations in Japan, one other problem we need to eventually address is the quality of tourists that are coming. I’ve caught some flack online for mentioning this before, but I think Japan is on the right path when it comes to going after more affluent travelers. At the risk of sounding classist, more well-to-do people tend to have better manners on average and are more likely to be respectful of Japanese culture.
Now, don’t take this as me saying that I don’t want you to come to Japan if you’re not rich — nothing could be further from the truth, and I even have a guide on how to do the country on a budget. That clarified though, I definitely don’t want the kind of tourists to come who are littering and climbing on nearby dental clinics to get their shot of Mt. Fuji à la the aforementioned recent Lawson fiasco. No matter how much coinage these folks drop, we don’t need them ruining Japan.
Part of the issue we’re having right now is that the yen is so weak in comparison to foreign currencies. In fact, things are so bad that it’s almost cheaper to travel to Japan than it is to live back home for some of the more expensive parts of North America. With the barrier to entry so low, Japan is currently attracting people who are traveling here just because of how affordable it is. Sadly, I am powerless to do anything about the situation and must silently watch in horror.
Personally, I am all for more tourists visiting and spending more of their income on Japan, thereby stoking the economy. At the same time though, I am quite concerned with the quality of visitors. Regardless of how much a traveler may spend, we need to ensure that the people coming are well mannered and respectful, and this is even more true if they are going out into the prefectures. I’d hope readers of this blog would fall into this category, but it’s worth reiterating.
While the behavior of tourists isn’t something I can actually alter, what I can do is assist more people in navigating their way off the beaten path and out into the countryside. Whether you’re a big-time baller or not, these regions of Japan desperately need your tourism money if they are to survive. Still, a balance is sorely needed as rural communities are not ready to deal with an onslaught of international travelers just yet.
So, while JNTO can focus on getting its luxury travelers to come and spend their one million yen, I am way more concerned with bridging the awareness gap and getting people to connect with destinations like Oita’s Kunisaki Peninsula that they’d love if they only knew they existed. Seeing as I am a freelance digital marketer, the only way that I know how to do this is with the content that I produce, but do let me know if you ever need recommendations as I’d be happy to help!
Until next time travelers…
