The topic of today’s article is one that has recently emerged from the zeitgeist of the online world. You see, as I was pondering where to write about for this week’s article, I happened to see a notification on Threads about a reply I made to a post on overtourism in Japan the other day. Assuming you haven’t been living under a rock for the past year or so, you’ve likely heard all about the ill side effects caused by the massive spike in visitors and how cities like Kyoto are struggling to meet the demand. It’s gotten so bad now that even the overseas travelers themselves are starting to complain. Or… has it?
To be blunt, while the news headlines may make it look as if Japan is drowning in a deluge of international tourists, spurred on by the continually weak yen, the reality is quite different. As many on social media have astutely pointed out, Japan doesn’t actually have an overtourism problem. Instead, only a handful of select places in the whole country have fallen victim to the hordes, and even then, the worst of it is largely limited just to mainstream attractions like Asakusa’s Senso-ji. As you’ll find if you venture just a few steps off the beaten path, much of Japan is still surprisingly empty.
Take my recent adventure, for example. I used the JR East Pass (Nagano, Niigata Area) for a five-day spin across much of greater Tokyo and central Japan. During my travels, I encountered few other non-Japanese while out and about. Sure, Nagano’s famed Snow Monkey Park was teeming with visitors from all over the globe, but the dual hot spring havens of Shibu Onsen and Yudanaka Onsen nearby were worryingly devoid of people. In fact, had I not walked through these two onsen towns en route to the nearest train station, it would have felt like they existed in an entirely different world from the snow monkeys.
This duality, where one place is so overrun with tourists that it feels like a cultural Disneyland while neighboring areas remain eerily empty, is quite common across the country. For instance, Ishikawa Prefecture’s capital city of Kanazawa is already nearing its holding capacity for inbound tourism. Yet, places like Komatsu, only 30 minutes to the west, barely see anyone. At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, if you avoid the mainstays and so-called “must-visits,” you’d probably find it quite difficult to see any evidence of overtourism in Japan at all.
Now, I’ve been harping on the need to explore more hidden gems for some time, but I think many people are finally waking up to the fact that there’s so much more to this amazing country. At the same time, the real need for some peace and quiet is also driving demand for off-the-beaten-path alternatives as travelers clamor to escape one another in hopes of actually experiencing a bit of the culture while in Japan. After all, as I wrote years ago, back before the pandemic: Great Attractions + Cultural Context — The Crowds = Authenticity. And that just ain’t possible when you’re struggling to breathe in a sea of people in front of Kyoto’s Kiyomizu-dera.
Though there might be a bit of self-driving demand as people seek an escape from the legions of other tourists besieging Japan’s well-known spots, the country’s biggest challenge is that the alternatives just aren’t well-known yet. Take, for example, that infamous Lawson in Kawaguchiko with the famed view of Mt. Fuji. Truth be told, it’s just one of several nearby convenience stores in the region with a backdrop of the iconic volcano, but the hive mind has yet to catch on to this fact. As a result, you end up with the common phenomenon where one place is completely ruined by overtourism while others remain entirely empty.
As Japan slowly starts to implement countermeasures to overtourism, I think there will be a gradual shift toward researching alternative destinations. For example, snowy Ginzan Onsen — one of the most photogenic attractions during winter in Yamagata Prefecture — recently announced that they will be limiting the number of visitors allowed into the area to prevent overcrowding. While this rule won’t apply to anyone staying overnight at one of the historic ryokans, it is sure to dampen some of Ginzan Onsen’s appeal, as tourists may wonder if it’s worth chancing whether they will be able to get in.
Alas, these types of efforts are only going to go so far. At the end of the day, the threat of the stick will only deter so many people. To truly counteract the overtourism we’re seeing in popular areas, there needs to be a wide-scale increase in awareness of the alternatives. Unfortunately, this is something that, at least in my assessment, the national and local government agencies utterly fail at. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that Japan’s tourism boom has happened despite their best efforts to bring in more international travelers.
Don’t get me wrong — there’s an insane amount of money being spent to attract people here. Hell, I’ve even taken a fair share of it to produce content for social media and for this blog as a so-called “influencer” (a term I absolutely loathe, by the way). Though I may be risking my cash cow by saying this, much of the tourism industry is run by government bureaucrats who neither understand travel nor know how to market in the modern age. Instead, they worship vanity KPIs in Excel spreadsheets that make it appear as if all is well and good, when in reality, nothing could be further from the truth.
As I often say, the only way forward for Japan when it comes to tourism is to better distribute demand across the entire breadth of the country. This can be done both geographically and temporally. By encouraging more travelers to venture into less-visited areas and/or having them visit during less popular times of the year, it’s entirely possible for Japan to welcome the annual 60 million foreign tourists the government hopes to attract by 2030. To achieve this, though, Japan will need to take a hard look at how it markets itself, as overtourism in mainstream areas is the country’s main limiting factor right now.
So, the next time you see a headline about overtourism in Japan or hear someone say they don’t want to visit because it’s too crowded, remember: much of Japan is still largely empty. In the countryside, you can go for days without seeing another foreign tourist. What’s more, while awareness remains low, there are countless spots out there like Hagi in Yamaguchi or Oita’s Kunisaki Peninsula that offer the same cultural appeal as Kyoto’s vaunted shrines and temples — without the need to lay eyes on another soul from overseas while you’re there.
Though I get that many of you will want to visit the likes of Fushimi Inari Taisha (go at night if you must) or get that perfect shot of Ginzan Onsen for the Gram, there is so much more of Japan to explore. Rather than contributing to the growing problem of overtourism at these popular spots, do yourself a favor: get off the beaten path and explore a different side of Japan than everyone else. I promise you, you’ll have a far more authentic and enjoyable experience if you do.
Until next time travelers…
