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How Kyoto, Japan Became the Loveliest Tourist-Trap

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Re: How Kyoto, Japan Became the Loveliest Tourist-Trap

#11

Post by trenchpilgrim »

johngossman wrote: post #3

The author interviews both Pico Iyer and Alex Kerr. I can't recommend these two authors highly enough. Iyer's "The Lady and the Monk" and Kerr's "Another Kyoto" are worth reading even if you don't travel to Japan. I was in Kyoto last year for two weeks. There are still lots of places where you can be completely alone in nature or a garden or a lovely street. But "the Big Five" are off limits unless you love human tra…

My trick in Kyoto, is to go up. Tourists typically aren't willing to climb a steep staircase to get to nice hiking paths.

Re: How Kyoto, Japan Became the Loveliest Tourist-Trap

#12

Post by djtango »

Kyoto is one of my favourite places in the world. Besides the obvious "Kyoto" being on your doorstep, you only need to jump on a train for 15 minutes to arrive at Lake Biwa. Amazing to think that so much beautiful nature is a stone's throw away from such a lovely city. Itself only a bullet train away from Tokyo

Re: How Kyoto, Japan Became the Loveliest Tourist-Trap

#14

Post by renewiltord »

Haven't been there since before the pandemic but it was lovely. I think travel bloggers always act like everyone who goes there after them is some kind of idiot without taste.

When I travel I get a lot of enjoyment from slice of life kind of experiences - watching people on the bus or by the river or a bunch of school kids going to lunch with their teacher. And if you just wander around Kyoto you'll get a lot of that with a lot of historic beauty.

My friends are there right now and they seem to be having a great time.

Re: How Kyoto, Japan Became the Loveliest Tourist-Trap

#15

Post by bamboozled »

GreyZephyr wrote: post #9
bamboozled wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was in Japan during covid, Kyoto was absolutely incredible…we sat in zen gardens for an hour and saw 5–10 other people. Mostly extremely quiet, beautifuly dressed Japanese women enjoying the scene together. I setup my camera and toook photos at Kinkakuji for hours in different lighting situations while having nice conversations with various Japanese tourists. It was, unimaginable. I still enjoy Kyoto though. It is…

I was also in Kyoto right before the lockdowns for the first time in a decade and it was magical and like it was in my childhood. When I went back a few years ago, I nearly cried; the lovely quiet city of books was so noisy and everyone was so angry. I don’t really have a point I don’t think you should stop people from travelling but still it make’s me sad.

What I'm a bit confused about is why Japan doesn't just make more wonderful things , so there is just more to go around? Like what happened to building amazing temples, and gardens? Where did that spirit go. I find it quite sad and strange that the temples are kind of ghost towns without any practicing monks (for example).

I guess that time is over, and that's sad, I just don't feel like it has to be.

Maybe the declining population is just part of it all, there is just less incentive to go bigger, on the other hand, even 100,000 million people on an island the size of Japan is a lot so I'm not sure that's it either.

Re: How Kyoto, Japan Became the Loveliest Tourist-Trap

#16

Post by evertedsphere »

wisty wrote: post #6
banashark wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not only do you need to walk a mere block or two from the tourist line to find charming quiet spots, but there are tons of people that walk directly past beautiful and interesting places to get _to_ the jam-packed spots. Small private gardens with interesting history and splendid views sitting nearly empty while a train of tens->hundreds of tourists walk directly past it per minute. Or small hiking trails within a st…

99% of tourists are like that. No real confidence so they don't wander around and use their own brains. They just go to the top 10 spots chatGPT, tiktok, or some other list dictates. It's like how people go to the Louvre and stand in line for 3 hours to look at one famous painting that they probably don't even really like all that much, and not see anything else in arguably the world's best gallery. This is doubly tr…

one tiny famous painting from a cop-enforced distance of god knows how much while an enormous painting full of stuff stands right opposite it

Re: How Kyoto, Japan Became the Loveliest Tourist-Trap

#17

Post by Pooge »

I want to copypaste this answer to so many comments in this thread but instead, let me reply to the post directly.

I'm going to travel to Japan (again) around late November this year. For this trip, I made a point to not return to a city I've been to already — Tokyo is an exception but I need to take my plane back home at some point.

Japan really has a high density when you go to the touristic attractions (most of those are inside Tokyo, Kyoto or Osaka). But when you go out of your way, you won't regret it. Peaceful streets, beautiful gardens. I would even advocate to actively go out of your way. Even if you get lost, Japan is very forgiving. People will try to help you.

Somehow, outside of those cities it kinda looks like the countryside everywhere, but as long as there is a train station it's still convenient to go there.

Also, Japan is cheap. People doubt me when I say this, but Japan is very inexpensive. When you do the "Top 5" on TripAdvisor and eat Kobe Beef every day, yes it sure is expensive but it also is an experience that isn't meant to be lived that many times.

If any of you read this and need help planning a trip or want any humble suggestions, feel free to contact me!

Re: How Kyoto, Japan Became the Loveliest Tourist-Trap

#18

Post by klabetron »

djtango wrote: post #12

Kyoto is one of my favourite places in the world. Besides the obvious "Kyoto" being on your doorstep, you only need to jump on a train for 15 minutes to arrive at Lake Biwa. Amazing to think that so much beautiful nature is a stone's throw away from such a lovely city. Itself only a bullet train away from Tokyo

This.

Went to Japan for the first time in August (…don’t recommend…the heat is intense…) and instead of spending days in Kyoto and Osaka, we spent a few days in Otsu on Lake Biwa.

Highlights:

- The freshwater beach was delightful (Biwako Omi-Maiko Nakahama) - There’s a public onsen that’s not listed on the official onsen association’s site (which only lists resorts you have to book long in advance and pay lots for): Spa Resort Ogoto Agaryanse. It has strip mall vibes from the outside but is a great local onsen on the inside. - If you’re an American and want to experience cultural appropriation: take a cruise on the Michigan paddle boat

And, of course, it’s close enough to Kyoto that you can bop in and out.

Re: How Kyoto, Japan Became the Loveliest Tourist-Trap

#19

Post by Klonoar »

trzy wrote: post #8

I was there in January. Maybe not the busiest season but honestly this issue is overstated. I was the only white bro in a kimono (and it was my Japanese friend who really wanted to do it). Most of Kyoto is completely unaffected by tourism, though these are not historical areas. We had great omurice at a very local place on the outskirts of town after finishing up with Kinkaku-ji.

It is not overstated. You have an anecdotal experience compared to plenty of written reviews of the situation Kyoto (and Japan in general) is facing with regards to tourism.

Re: How Kyoto, Japan Became the Loveliest Tourist-Trap

#20

Post by BrenBarn »

bamboozled wrote: post #15
GreyZephyr wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was also in Kyoto right before the lockdowns for the first time in a decade and it was magical and like it was in my childhood. When I went back a few years ago, I nearly cried; the lovely quiet city of books was so noisy and everyone was so angry. I don’t really have a point I don’t think you should stop people from travelling but still it make’s me sad.

What I'm a bit confused about is why Japan doesn't just make more wonderful things , so there is just more to go around? Like what happened to building amazing temples, and gardens? Where did that spirit go. I find it quite sad and strange that the temples are kind of ghost towns without any practicing monks (for example). I guess that time is over, and that's sad, I just don't feel like it has to be. Maybe the decli…

I think that's the case in many places, isn't it? Like people go to towns in Europe to look at a cathedral that's hundreds of years old.
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