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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

#21

Post by Jedd »

We arrived in Kyoto last night, and a few hours ago (very briefly) visited the Nishiki markets the author mentions - can confirm that they were awful.

Being middle aged Australians, we are definitely part of the problem described, but taking some comfort, after reading that article through, that we're part of that first 20% cohort. Also that wandering randomly and preferring to avoid crowds makes for a better experience, in the traditional (lived), if not the insta / tik tok, sense

We're also old enough to recall travelling before 'all this', and while I'm sure that same sense of nostalgia recurs for each generation, just (like many things) it feels unnervingly like we're rapidly approaching a tipping point of sorts.

Kyoto was our nod to a 'proper city' in our itinerary, fully conscious of the warnings about crowds, but mildly optimistic about our timing. We'd originally been planning a 2020 trip, which got kiboshed, but the upside was my wife spent an additional five years collecting duolingo badges in anticipation.

We opted to eschew Osaka, and from here are heading to increasingly smaller places.

Hiroshima was one of those places I felt should be visited by everyone. Or perhaps more accurately - especially by everyone who doesn't appreciate why they should.

(The museum there - if you turn up after 9am - almost feels like it is in fact being visited by everyone.)

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

#25

Post by Incipient »

"When in Rome".

It's not a guide - it's a hard, fast, unbreakable rule, *especially* in Japan.

Obey rules. Follow queues. Don't eat and walk. BE QUIET.

Learning some of the language wouldn't go amiss either.

I've been to Japan over the last 20 years or so and I've become utterly INFURIATED at tourists from pretty much every country. Yanks and Chinese are loud and obnoxious, Aussies (my group) are woefully uncouth. Interestingly I don't have much of a general impression of European travellers.

Part rant, part instruction.

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

#26

Post by Incipient »

hshdhdhehd wrote: post #10

Japan is where the tourist traps are really really touristy but everything else (99%) is lovely. I stayed a bit out the way in Tokyo and Kyoto (not drastically so: 15 min bus to a central hub) and those places seem like the read deal Japanese life.

I really hope you're right. Kanazawa and Takamatsu are some of my favourite places to go, and I'm planning on taking my partner there soon and I'd be utterly gutted if these places had changed.

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

#27

Post by [deleted] »

klabetron wrote: post #18
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):…

[deleted]

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

#28

Post by washadjeffmad »

Pooge wrote: post #17

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 th…

Food is cheap, but skilled labor is expensive. In the US, it's common to go out to eat because the reputation and wages of labor for food service have been crushed, but in Japan, asking another human to pour your beers and make you food and then clean up in an izakaya carries an appropriate cost. A friend who'd never left the US was shocked to learn going to teppanyaki cost almost $200/person... and the chef didn't even do any tricks!

The minimum wage seems impossibly low, but there's a human economy - no one who works doesn't eat. You can have fresh, nutritious meals and ingredients right from the field for pennies on the dollar practically wherever you go. The variety is mind boggling, as is the convenience.

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

#29

Post by mitthrowaway2 »

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…

There are actually a lot of other amazing temples, gardens, and shrines, they're just not as well known. And there's a healthy industry of traditional craftsmen who still build and maintain shrines, temples, and other buildings the traditional way. Kyoto will continue gobbling up the crowds no matter how many other alternatives there are because that's the nature of tourism, but it's not for a shortage of other beautiful places.

It is sad for the people of Kyoto though, because over tourism can really rip the heart out of a city for the locals.

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