From one point of view, it is a remarkable success story. In 2000 Japan had 4.7 million foreign tourists a year. The government of the former prime minister Shinzo Abe set an ambitious goal of 20 million foreign visitors a year by 2020, and achieved it five years ahead of schedule.
After a pandemic slump, the foreign tourists are back in force: the Japan Travel Bureau, a travel agency, estimates that there will be more than 33 million foreign visitors this year, an all-time record, fuelled partly by the weak yen, which makes Japan remarkably cheap for those spending foreign currency.
The speed and volume of the surge has brought prosperity to tourist businesses large and small, including the one run by Sherlock; as many as 30 visitors a day were paying 6,000 yen (£30) each for his walking tours. But the sheer number of visitors has overwhelmed many places.
Oh dear. I was planning to visit Japan in the autumn. Guess I will give it a swerve. Maybe Korea then? I haven’t flown anywhere since the Before Times and have a hankering for foreign travel.
I went earlier this year. It was gorgeous.
The tourist areas were shit. There’s a LOT of tourists treating the city like a playground. Trash everywhere. Loud idiots on the train.
If you go and assume a respectful personality, you’ll be fine. Just don’t be the 10% who fuck around.
I live in korea and recently visited Japan. Both countries are wonderful to visit.
Went to Tokyo and Kyoto, the touristy spots were very busy. As long as you’re polite and respect Japanese social “rules”, it’s fine. And there’s plenty of other places to visit if Kyoto is too contentious right now.
Korea also has a lot to offer in Seoul and Busan. It’s a short few hours and reasonably priced high speed train between the two cities.
Plenty of other countries in the region to visit as well.
Thanks! Will do some more research…
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Why would you change travel plans based off of a single article? Go visit Japan
Depends when and where. Avoid summer or winter vacation. If you’re doing Kyoto, visit temples very early in the day to avoid crowds. Or perhaps find slightly less famous places.
I was just in Japan a couple weeks ago. Kyoto was incredibly crowded at the tourist spots, but it was the peak of cherry blossoms so I expected it to be crowded. I didn’t meet a single unfriendly person while we were there, it’s definitely worth it.
Go visit in winter, it’s spectacular. Go away from where tourists go, it’s an incredibly intimate country to visit.