Current Events > I'm seeing articles that there's too much tourism in Japan

(+) Yeah! (+)

How true is this? Maybe I go to Thailand or Vietnam instead?

Surely Thailand has much more tourism than Japan.

We def had a lot of CEmen going this year. Look what you did, CE.

japan wasn't so bad on my last trip, and that was during the osaka expo, which would've been extremely busy.

Ivynn posted...

We def had a lot of CEmen going this year. Look what you did, CE.

I was gonna say, seems like I see a different I'm in Japan topic every other week.

Hmm, Seoul seems nice. Busan is by the ocean and really nice looking.

It's before Trump cuts all funding to airports and orders martial law

DodogamaRayBrst posted...

Surely Thailand has much more tourism than Japan.

Thailand had 35.6 million in 2024 while Japan had 36.8 million. They are practically the same.

ellis123 posted...

Thailand had 35.6 million in 2024 while Japan had 36.8 million. They are practically the same.

Well fuck me.

DodogamaRayBrst posted...

Well fuck me.

Go to Thailand and that just might happen!

*rimshot*

It's true. I remember being in Japan a few weeks ago and they were talking on the news about some massive foreigner backup in Narita Airport.

I was in Japan last year and I only really remember it being super busy in Kyoto at peak times.

I just came back from Japan earlier this week and yes, there are a ton of tourists. It really depends on where you go though. Shibuya on a Saturday or Sunday are fucking unbearable.

It's still very enjoyable and generally a great time to go thanks to a very affordably JPY, but just do research before you go on what places to avoid if tourists bother you.

Shinjuku, Shibuya, Akihabara, Ueno, Ikebukuro, basically anywhere on the Yamanote line is unbearable.

Some of the most interesting interactions were with tourists. Met someone from near where I live.

Well Vietnam here I come. Anyone been to Ho Chi Minh City?

I get a high number of tourists being annoying for the local businesses and communities that don't rely on tourists.

But why do other tourists complain about other tourists?

Also, is the number so high for a densely populated city like Tokyo to be that noticeable?

IAmTheNakedMan posted...

But why do other tourists complain about other tourists?

I don't them to steal my thunder

Ivynn posted...

We def had a lot of CEmen going this year. Look what you did, CE.

If we can agree on nothing else, we should at least be able to agree that ____ is CE's fault.

Japan became the "in" thing to do among social media influencers for awhile now. (Like, even more so than it already was in the past).

Got some of the wealthier ones like pewdiedie who stated it was his dream to live there and then permanently went over, and even the smaller ones that I followed like this artist dude daidus and his GF went over, etc. Its what all the cool kids is doin'.

all I know is apparently they have a large number of foreign live streamers being a menace on the streets. It might just be in an issue in Tokyo though

Mad-Dogg posted...

Japan became the "in" thing to do among social media influencers for awhile now. (Like, even more so than it already was in the past).

Got some of the wealthier ones like pewdiedie who stated it was his dream to live there and then permanently went over, and even the smaller ones that I followed like this artist dude daidus and his GF went over, etc. Its what all the cool kids is doin'.

It kinda seems like it. Some of the YouTube channels I follow have randomly thrown up a "trip to Japan" vlog

I was just there. Theres certainly a lot of foreigners and im not sure how the locals feel. I was treated with respect and politeness though. Just dont be a dick.

It should be legal to punch nuisance streamers.

https://youtu.be/Yr8r_Utq6UI

There's too much in Hawaii ever since covid.

The only place I felt had an insane amount of tourists was Kyoto.

VeggetaX posted...

Well Vietnam here I come. Anyone been to Ho Chi Minh City?

Yes. MUCH better city than Ha Noi, despite it not being the capital. It also feels weirdly much less populated than Ha Noi, despite having more people living there. Still a HELLA big city, though.

It will settle before much longer, but the main reason in the near past and now is Covid. The US economy managed to survive Covid better than just about everywhere else, so the Dollar is riding a historic high against the Yen, plus with the long travel bans a lot tourist and airlines are still on discount trying to lure business back. Altogether it made a perfect situation for a travel boom.

But, the US economy is weakening again and if it outright buckles then Japan won't be as cheap of a destination. The last 2 years have been the best time ever for an American to visit Japan.

OzNarcissus posted...

There's too much in Hawaii ever since covid.

Thank goodness I dont live in or near Waikiki or Ala Moana.

pretzelcoatl posted...

The only place I felt had an insane amount of tourists was Kyoto.

https://youtu.be/jCkuiDmQOqo

wanderingshade posted...

Hmm, Seoul seems nice. Busan is by the ocean and really nice looking.

Japan is a MUCH better tourism destination than South Korea. SK is still really rough around the edges in terms of infrastructure, doesn't have a lot of interesting tourist sites, and the food is way more hit or miss.

Xenogears15 posted...

Yes. MUCH better city than Ha Noi, despite it not being the capital. It also feels weirdly much less populated than Ha Noi, despite having more people living there. Still a HELLA big city, though.

Hanoi is insane. It's an interesting place and has a lot of cool tourist sites that you can take day trips to, but man walking around the city with the constant scooter traffic is just crazy and very stressful.

Blame Bourdain

Xenogears15 posted...

Yes. MUCH better city than Ha Noi, despite it not being the capital. It also feels weirdly much less populated than Ha Noi, despite having more people living there. Still a HELLA big city, though.

How's the food and scener. Locals are nice?

One of the things that puzzles me about my fellow millennials is this:

Everyone likes it; it must be terrible.

Tourists complaining about other tourists seems odd to me. Its like when people walk into a Costco and complain abouy how crowded it is. Aren't you.....adding to your complaint by being there?

Ryven posted...

Tourists complaining about other tourists seems odd to me. Its like when people walk into a Costco and complain abouy how crowded it is. Aren't you.....adding to your complaint by being there?

The Costco thing is fair, considering there's no alternative. Besides starvation, I guess.

ReturnOfDevsman posted...

One of the things that puzzles me about my fellow millennials is this:

Everyone likes it; it must be terrible.

I don't think a direct case of popular = bad, but rather popular = lots of visitors, and there's really no scenario where having lots and lots of people around improves the situation.

Ryven posted...

Tourists complaining about other tourists seems odd to me. Its like when people walk into a Costco and complain abouy how crowded it is. Aren't you.....adding to your complaint by being there?

The implication is probably "I wouldn't have come if I knew it was going to be like this"

I live in Japan and live in a less touristy town (not Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka)

My friends came to visit and wanted me to meet them in Kyoto. I hadnt been there in years. Japanese locals usually avoid it.

When I went, nearly EVERYONE was a foreigner, even the workers (probably college students working part time) It was loud. Crowded. Almost all the restaurants were foreign, or served foreigner friendly spins on Japanese food. It felt very unauthentic.

When I went back home, I felt relieved.

So I believe Japanese people dont like how it transforms towns into playgrounds for foreigners, and how foreigners are generally loud and how they sometimes cause disturbances or disrespect the calm and quiet,

VeggetaX posted...

How's the food and scener. Locals are nice?

Don't expect Vietnamese people to speak much English outside of the hotel workers. Vietnamese people are generally nice, but exceptionally blunt. Moreso than Americans, even.

Food is great. You can find little holes in the wall that serve amazing food on every street. Coffee houses everywhere that put us to shame. Street vendors of all types sell amazing meals. And yes, there's fast food, too. Oh, and everything is also insanely cheap. You will also need cash, as there are very few non-Western businesses that accept plastic.

Japan is fine for tourism *as long as* you don't do what every fucking person and their dog who ever goes there does and never leave the "Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka" trap.

Yes, if you go to the tourist spots of those places (Kyoto especially), you're going to see wall-to-wall tourists. But if you actually head to some of the less well-travelled areas - Tohoku, Okinawa, Kyuushuu, Shikoku, etc. - not only will you not have to put up with massive swarms of (often badly-behaved) foreigners, you'll probably have a much nicer trip as well.

Seriously, there are so many smaller cities and towns that would kill to have some of that tourist revenue and have tonnes of interesting stuff to go and see, but everyone just thinks that the only worthwhile places to go are Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. You miss literally the best parts of the country if you do that.

darkknight109 posted...

Japan is fine for tourism *as long as* you don't do what every fucking person and their dog who ever goes there does and never leave the "Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka" trap.

Yes, if you go to the tourist spots of those places (Kyoto especially), you're going to see wall-to-wall tourists. But if you actually head to some of the less well-travelled areas - Tohoku, Okinawa, Kyuushuu, Shikoku, etc. - not only will you not have to put up with massive swarms of (often badly-behaved) foreigners, you'll probably have a much nicer trip as well.

Seriously, there are so many smaller cities and towns that would kill to have some of that tourist revenue and have tonnes of interesting stuff to go and see, but everyone just thinks that the only worthwhile places to go are Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. You miss literally the best parts of the country if you do that.

^^^^this. Youre going around cleverly designed westernized Japanese tourist traps if you do that. Seriously, the smaller towns are where real Japan is. Real food, real architecture, real daily living. It might not have maid cafes and funny stuff from Instagram people, but it is genuine. Not saying there arent real things in the big cities, but those cities are so different from the inaka places.

If you're going to Japan for the first time, you have no choice but to do the core experience and find what other excursions you can manage. That maybe amounts to an extra area like Hakone or Hiroshima. West coast of Japan, Southern Islands, Hokkaido, etc are saved for later.

And even when you come back, you're probably still basing yourself out of Tokyo because there's no point skipping it and basing in Kyoto is not ideal.

Starks posted...

If you're going to Japan for the first time, you have no choice but to do the core experience and find what other excursions you can manage. That maybe amounts to an extra area like Hakone or Hiroshima. West coast of Japan, Southern Islands, Hokkaido, etc are saved for later.

And even when you come back, you're probably still basing yourself out of Tokyo because there's no point skipping it and basing in Kyoto is not ideal.

I'm not sure if this counts as going outside the "core experience" but we spent most of our trip onsen-hopping in Ikaho, Karuizawa and Shima. although yeah, during the last few days of the trip, we went back to tokyo to just chill and shop a little before going home.

Starks posted...

If you're going to Japan for the first time, you have no choice but to do the core experience and find what other excursions you can manage.

My first trip in Japan was a week in Okinawa, a week in Aomori, a few days in Iwate, and a few days in Tokyo. Kyoto didn't happen until a few visits later (and I found I didn't really care for it); I *still* have yet to spend more than 12 hours in Osaka.

It is absolutely possible to do a trip in Japan - even your first trip - without doing the Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka tourist slop.

I also disagree with characterizing it as "the core experience". The touristy areas of those cities (which, let's be honest, is where most visitors wind up if they don't know any better) is the "Disneyland" version of Japan - touristy, and kind of fake. Post 43 summed it up pretty well.

Starks posted...

And even when you come back, you're probably still basing yourself out of Tokyo because there's no point skipping it and basing in Kyoto is not ideal.

I have been to Japan close to a dozen times now, and I have only "based" myself out of Tokyo once, and even then only for one leg of the trip. And if I was looking for a "base" for central Japan, I'd be much more likely to use Nagoya or Nara (depending on where I was going) than Kyoto.

I have no idea where you're getting this idea that it's impossible to escape Tokyo's gravity, but it is both very possible and quite enjoyable to do so. I also have no idea why you're saying there's "no point" in skipping Tokyo - these days, I seldom spend more than a day in Tokyo when I visit, because I've seen all the things in the city I'm interested in seeing, so my only time in the city is spent as a layover after I arrive until I head out to wherever I'm actually vacationing that visit.

Streamers, youtubers, gamers and anime nerds

Ultima_Fury posted...

Thank goodness I dont live in or near Waikiki or Ala Moana.

https://youtu.be/jCkuiDmQOqo

I don't really need a youtube video, I spent a month traveling around Japan last year