Why Tourism Doesn't Benefit Japan
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ค. 2024
- Not only the tourism doesn't benefit Japan, it might be hurting them in many ways.
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■Timestamps;
0:00 Intro
0:27 It hurts locals
5:53 It hurts workers
9:11 It hurts foreign residents
12:26 Outro
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As a tourist, I try to be the smallest burden possible everywhere I go. Blows my mind how anyone can travel somewhere and just toss trash on the street, or be loud at night in a quiet neighborhood. On my last trip to Japan, I saw so many people live-streaming with their phones and posing in the middle of street crossings: blocking foot traffic. I have no idea what country those guys were from, but it embarrassed me.
I just got back from my third trip there two days ago. Ten years ago when I went I rarely saw litter, loud annoying drunks outside, or people smoking while walking around. This time around I noticed a huge increase in all three. It was a night and day difference. And it's really unfortunate.
That wouldn’t work in Japan, chances are you’d offend them just being not japanese
The streamers and instagramers ruin all they touch. But Japan at this point should both enforce rules and limit tourism for a while at least.
so as tourist, you know better than the locals or police? or the locals and the police don't do anything about it? either way, there's the problem.
I's people's inner culture. Also some might think they are better than anyone else, so can do whatever they want.
The guy that spoke about Singapore's strict rule enforcement is correct.
The only ones causing problems are the rude tourists who do not intend on following the rules - if you start punishing them it'll send a message to not mess around and cause disturbances. Then there will be no media reporting on troublesome tourists.
Singapore appears to still be very nice. Actually, same with Cambodia and Laos....so far.
On point , it’s actually the responsibility of the police, but hey they hardly stop a van full of kids not wearing seat belt or even enforce the the laws of not using the phone while driving but make a right turn in a no right turn lane and you’ll get a fine. I’ve lived here long enough to say it’s mostly the police fault for not enforcing the laws or fines….
Singapore more importantly doesn't have half the country stuffed into one city. And they haven't destroyed their countrysides or rural villages.
@@WookieWarriorz Wtf are you saying bro, Singapore is a city state. Singapore is so small they don't even have cities, their country is called Singapore and their City is called Singapore. The entire country is just 734.3 km² and has a population density of 8,276.58 people per square km, 3rd in the world. There are no villages or countrysides in Singapore there is only tall skyscrapers and everyone crammed into them, idk what you are smoking.
@@WookieWarriorzi gotta see the excuse for this wack comment
10% of 30 Million tourists is 3 Million people, even if the percentage looks small, the number of individuals who misbehave is still massive. Japan should start imposing fines, heavy fines for imbeciles who misbehave or think they can do what they want in Japan. If they start forcing these fines I am sure more than one person would think twice before behaving in a bad manner.
I think it's a lot less than 10%. Maybe 1%. But still a lot. However probably 50% of sincere foreign tourists nevertheless have no idea how to behave according to Japanese conventions of politeness, simple things like saying _gochisousama deshita_ (thanks for the meal) when you are leaving a restaurant, eating quickly and vacating your seat for the next customer in a busy lunchtime ramen shop, carrying your trash back to the hotel, don't eat as you walk, don't talk loudly (or at all) on trains, etc.
@@ChickensAndGardening the thing is japanese often doesn't say it outright what you should and shouldn't do so most will be just guesswork unless if you were already well-learned in the culture people often say that gaijins aren't privy to the same critism as natives do when it comes to subtle culture differences but i wonder how much of that is true
@@jvmango3057 I think they just dont try. Its easier not to question your believes. I'm an exchange student atm in Hikone and i was spoken to nicley on the street if i seemed to have a problem. But i suppose here in a City with frequent students from abroad its a common picture. So maybe more Exchange would be a solution.
They don't have enough "rules" everywhere that are imposed at all as there aren't enough formal laws in place. Even when those clowns who jump the closed gates at Mount Fuji during off-season, they are not prosecuted at all, even if the signs say so.
Fines, jail time, BAN FROM COUNTRY!!!!
You need to look a tthe big picture...slap on the wrist wont cut it. . .
I went to Japan about 3 weeks ago, I can tell you that in my 3rd day we went to Akiba and I saw some foreigners smoking in an area that clearly said 'no smoking on the streets' . I was so happy when I saw the local police handing them a fine for breaking the rules, it's the only way. As a tourist I think you simply have to adhere to the rules, it's not your country and I welcome higher taxes or 'premiums' for things like hotels if that means it goes to the staff in the form of higher salaries. I also think stricter rules and fines for people breaking said rules is 100% something that needs to be done, it's the only way people will learn.
Also ban twitch streamers / instagrammers and all that
I regularly see Japanese smoking in non smoking areas there
@@ironhell813at least they pay taxes to be there… all tourist purchases are tax free, the least you can do is be civilized
@@BHPOfficial Only for souvenirs that you will bring back to your home country (they will put it in a sealed plastic bag).
@@neogenesus 😂 so because they seal it you should get to act up in their country?
I feel like there are three very different issues that are getting conflated here.
1: There are awful people, who have no respect for anyone or anything. They behave badly anywhere they go, and when they go to another country, they behave badly there, and give all tourists a bad name. This is just a universal truth, and there is nothing that can be done about it except punishing those people for their bad behavior. But it is important to remember, they are a bad person, not a model representative of every other person in the world who kind of looks like them.
2: Over-tourism. This isn't the fault of the tourists, this is an infrastructure issue. If the nation of Japan wants fewer tourists, it is entirely in their power to limit the number allowed in. They did that for three years during covid, which I honestly think is a large part of the reason there are now all these stories about all the horrible tourists. Let's be honest, while there definitely is some shockingly bad behavior by some tourists, and that is inexcusable, there is also a large contingent of the Japanese population, especially in Kyoto, that was quite happy foreigners were banned from entry during covid, and wish Japan had never opened up again. That fact is causing some hypersensitivity to these issues. There are all sorts of things that can be done to mitigate over-tourism. If the trash cans get filled, and then tourists just pile trash around the cans, then either put in more cans, or empty them more often. If the trains are too full, then either run more trains, or setup some sort of traffic control, like some cars are only for locals, and others are only for tourists. You could have special express trains that go to popular tourist areas, but bypass residential neighborhoods. Shops that cater primarily to tourists could be encouraged not to open until after morning rush hour. These are all measures other cities with lots of tourism have used with various levels of success.
3: Japan has a lot of unwritten rules, that Japanese people expect everyone to know without ever being told, and it is very easy to be seen as "rude" just because you didn't know what you were supposed to do. This causes a lot of well-meaning, and well-behaved, tourists to get grouped in with the people genuinely behaving badly. There is a very big difference between vandalizing property, and eating a snack as you walk down the road. Yet both are given side by side as examples of how rude tourists are. Every reasonable person can agree it is unacceptable to assault a woman in the street because you want a selfie, but that doesn't mean a guy might as well be Johnny Somali if he answers his phone in the wrong place when his boss calls, or that someone is a disrespectful and dangerous public nuisance if they forget to mute their notifications when they get on the train. Cultural differences are no excuse to break the law, or intentionally make other people uncomfortable, but at the same time, a lot of Japanese people have a very bad habit of assuming any time anyone transgresses any kind of Japanese cultural norm, that person is being inconsiderate, rude, and difficult.
I think that any attempt at a solution to the problems Japan is having, that doesn't address these three things separately, runs a very high risk of either making things even harder on both residents and tourists, or even worse, earning Japan a reputation for being an unwelcoming country that doesn't like or want foreigners at all. Despite the issues Japan is having, it isn't even in the top 10 of most visited countries for tourism, and if Mexico, Thailand and Poland can figure out how to handle larger numbers, I feel like Japan can definitely figure it out as one of the richest, most advanced countries on the planet.
Very well said!!
Japan aside, it is everywhere. COVID and the lockdowns has changed people everywhere, even domestic tourism. Lock down has caused people to become more self centric. And during lock down the abundance of travel porn consumed has driven people who never would have travelled before to all of a sudden want to travel. Here in CA our national parks have gotten a massive surge of people and the kind of people that have been turned on to traveling are devastating parks in their own country. Over crowding, vandalism, lack of care knows no borders and it's just exacerbated due to COVID times and the lockdowns.
Had Japan continued the steady tourism boost pre-covid and COVID never happened, they would have adapted much better than turning off the hose, and then turning on the hose again. It shocked the system. And now tourism is just different than it was before. They were getting used to it and now they are not used to it. And on top of that many tourists have different mentality than before.
@@mattcy6591 You make a really good point. Lock people in their house for a couple years, tell them they can't do anything but sit in Zoom meetings, shop online, get deliveries, and browse social media, and it's not really a big surprise you end up with hoards of selfish jerks, just looking to act out.
Great comment!
Except the being ‘advanced’ is mostly myth.
I hate how popular and trendy going to Japan has become. Before you had (generally) respectful tourists who went despite language/cultural barrier. Now anyone goes and gives foreigners a bad rep.
Used to be a pleasant experience. No more.
@@NoCash19 i find it's the post-2020 anime/manga lovers who don't care enough to research Japan and just want the images for their IG. The types that don't actually want to live in Japan, they just want to visit.
This. I remember the days when being into Japan/Japanese culture used to be seen as un-cool and nerdy. Now, as you said, it's trendy and everyone is in a rush to Japan to be a wannabe influencer and make the 1000th "Woah guys!! Did you know Japan has vending machines everywhere?!? And 7-Eleven is GOOD!?! Whaaaaat?" video
@@zeroxlulu THIS! so damn true it hurts
@NoCash19 Maybe some, but when millennials were young and growing up on toonami and the like, anime and manga were still mostly viewed as weird and kinda frowned upon by most people Despite being the first golden age in the west.
Also, unlike most anime "fans" these days, they actually had respect for the culture and language enough to learn about it back then.
Around the mid to late 2010s was when it slowly gained ground amongst the normies, and covid during the 2020s made it officially mainstream.
The people who weren't into anime before became anime tourists who just latched onto the fad because it's trendy. And then they decided to wanna go to Japan and muck it up for foreigners.
A lot of them being simultaneously from the era of podcasts and annoying prank youtubers and the like was the final nail on the coffin.
Especially when some of the popular ones actually *live* in japan and show it off on videos.
Visiting Japan is one of my dreams and I hope to do it one day but it sucks that there are douchebags making it hard for people who want to respectful.
you're not like the other tourists, right :)
Dummies speak the loudest, especially when they make 10% of the population of tourists.
Same... I'm Hispanic, Dyslexic and I always wanted to go Japan but.... after seeing these clowns on social media
disrespecting the culture.... oh boy.... I don't think Japan will be welcoming me here😮💨
"This is why we cannot have nice things"
Exactly
@@hyberkonawa272 yeah, its gonna reflect on all of us and take years to disassociate from the stigma
I wish Japan would be strict on bad behaving tourists. I hate when they make a bad name for all of us.
The problem is that bad tourists probably don’t know that they are bad tourists
That is the problem though. A lot of people who don't understand Japanese society assume that rules should be enforced by the police or the law etc. In Japan a lot of norms and rules are enforced culturally as people have a collective mindset. That is part of the magic of Japan and why so many products from Japan are of high quality.
"For all of us" ? So you want them to be punished so that Tourist like YOU can continue to selfishly do what you like to do? Clog up public spaces, place a massive strain on resources, congregate in mass numbers in areas that essentially becomes tourist hot spots with their cultureless, flavorless landscapes with cheap souvenir shops. Stop fucking traveling, stay in your country. And no, you don't "broaden your horizons" by traveling around, no, you don't become "more informed about the world" when you travel. Most of you don't learn anything, you just go in front of some national monument, take a picture, don't read the plaques and move on to the next target. No, your not some world citizen, your a citizen of your country.
So some restaurants and bars ban foreigners, but get criticized as racist.
No offense but, why is it on Japan to be strict on bad tourists and not on tourists to not be bad?
Logan Paul spoiled it for everyone.
Europeans tend to think about themselves more and think they can act however they want outside of their country.
Logan Paul is American you dumb fuck
Hate him for that
@@mahakhatib27 Logan Paul is American.
@@mahakhatib27 American! Yeehaw!! 🇺🇲🤦♂️😂
Sadly, it's a problem here in Hawaii, too. When we loss agriculture, tourism took its place and now many locals can't afford to live here with our "busboy" visitor industry wages. Hope Japan finds a way to make misbehaving tourists pay, a lot.
I wonder if it will become affordable when Oprah and Zuckerberg buy everyone out and own 90% of the Islands?
Won’t have to worry to
Much about me they’ll be lucky if I go back.
at least in Hawaii a jackass tourist who crosses the line has good chance of being punched in the face by a local. Japan is way too docile and forgiving to gaijin tourists.
The Japanese Tourists in Hawaii are some of the most polite and respectful tourists.
It's a problem with tourism everywhere. It may be worse in japan than other places, i don't know as i've never been there. But it's absolutely an issue in high tourism places that i have been to and i've lived in a bunch of them. I've worked jobs that dealt with them. The fact is the people that can travel the most are the rich. They don't tend to be the most considerate.
As a Singaporean the point on the fines is correct, but it also comes with enforcement. Even if the law and fines are in place, without enforcement, people wouldn't follow. For example, our downtown area of Orchard Road, you are required to smoke within a yellow box, smoking outside of the box is punishable by fines of up to 300 Singapore dollars. People complained at first but that's gonna happen whenever a new rule is implemented. If Japan can do something similar, it would probably help.
Singapour is infamous about its draconian laws. You have to understand that japanese also break all kind of laws and if they started to enforce it, the locals would be affected by it and japanese tend to culturally avoid confrontation. Hence, no enforcment exists since it’s easier for them to complain that those rules should only apply to forigners.
@@nikolaklobucar7981 Of course I understand this. Singaporeans break our own laws all the time 😆, its a matter of whether you are caught or not. But that isn't the point, you can't have your cake and eat it. If its affecting them so severely, then drastic action needs to be taken. Its a matter of political will.
At least you have public rubbish bins in Singapore. In Japan tourists are expected to carry their rubbish back to the hotel, which is difficult for people to adapt to.
unless the violation is clearly documented by videos and witnesses, the violator can just deny it. in addition, it is not illegal to not be literate or be aware of signage, so the police MUST give verbal warnings before issuing ticket for fines. moreover, these type of violations does not warrent arrest and detaintion, so therefore, the ticket can just be ignored by the visitor who is probably leaving the country next week.
Entitled brats coming over to Japan and treating it like their parents house. I agree with Mr. Murayama, Japan needs to heavily punish overly bad tourist behavior. Some people should've had straight up jail time or just been banned from the country. However I agree that an effort needs to be made to separate bad tourists from good ones. I get it though.
I don't think entitled, but TikTok children with no real parents.
I went to Kyoto last year and it was disappointing to see how crowded every temple was.
A Japanese person who lives in Kansai told me that Kyoto was a "fake Japan" now and they avoid city when possible.
I can see it. I went to Kyoto a couple of times and it just felt like it did whenever I went to an American tourist trap. Too many tourists have led to cheapening the experience to make an easy profit.
That's why if I ever go back, I'm going to check out lesser known places that seem nice, even if it's just ones covered on a channel like AbroadinJapan
EDIT: I might also go to Hakodate and Takamatsu again, come to think if it. Hakodate was to check out an obscure historic site and Takamatsu was just to see a city on each of the 4 main islands. I had more fun in Takamatsu and saw much more interesting sites than I did in Fukuoka
If you didn't see Kyoto 30 years ago, you never will.
Arguably, the same could be said for a lot of western European cities.
You too are contributing to the crowds. Everyone else saying the same when they see you at the temple 🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️. That's why I went to Kyoto in 2006 and 2022 right after JP reopened post-pandemic. There were hardly any tourists around in kyoto. I went again late 2023 and there were loads more foreign tourists. During pandemic, when there were no tourists, the economy suffered. When reopened, society still suffers but in different ways. Dilemma.
@@silveriver9 There definitely needs to be some work done to minimize the damage tourists do
More trash cans/trash services, more police presence in tourist areas, and encouraging locals to support the police in this endeavor by recording and reporting tourists who do damage or hurt others.
@@InfernosReaper JP should follow Singapore's example. So clean in Singapore. Tourists behave there. That's why u don't get clowns like Johnny and Paul in Singapore. Yes, I've been to Singapore.
The same happens in other places that are overcrowded with tourists. In Amsterdam the current mayor is trying to make the city less attractive to tourists, by banning certain establishments like souvenir shops. When I'm on holiday I try to visit places that are not so touristy, and I usually have a good time. It would be nice if travel agencies could be more creative than just offer trips to Tokyo and Kyoto. What I've seen on YT is that Japan has plenty of beautiful areas that are practically empty.
To be fair, I think Tokyo itself has a lot to offer. The issue is, to avoid all that tourist traps crap. And you gotta know the right people, in order to see the real Japan.
There are plenty of nice rural areas everywhere around the world, but accommodations become difficult, and everybody who have never been to these major historical and tourist areas are all going to want to go to those main ones, no? Even if the travel agencies are not involved, people are using the net to hone in on the main spots and go there by themselves, eh?
@@ScrewyDriverTheMan Maybe it differs from country to country, but I get the impression that from a Dutch viewpoint (the only one I have), Japan is still very much a package destination.
@@custardo You could say that about Paris, Rome, London, New York, etc etc...... no different. If somebody from Asia wanted to go to those places and see the sites, one would visit the major spots, eh? Unless you already know what you want to see and are capable of doing an itinerary yourself and find cheap hotel etc.
I really hope Amsterdam doesn't go overboard. I was there 3 times already, and when ever I get a chance to go outside of my country, it is either for skiing or Amsterdam. I feel there like at home and act like it too.. I don't drink, I go alone, and I love that Dutch speaking english sounds like they are American because of their own language.. It is closest to California I found so far, where I got my accent..
I already hate that mushrooms got banned for the same reason, tourists. Trifles are good, but not as good as a good strong mushroom.
Amsterdam is my place for introspection and meditation, not party..
If they ban weed usage and selling, they will cut tourists by majority.. Then you might as we visit any other city if it's all about being fascinated by their incredible architecture..
When revenue increases, but average worker pay stagnates, you know the money is getting swallowed into the void at the top.
And instead of coming up with ideas to force them to spread the fortune evenly people come up with idea to punish the average people more lol.
Yup tourists are just a scapegoat by right wing Japanese people to avoid the real issues. Tourists didn't kill the countryside and force people into cities. Tourists didn't create the terrible road networks, tourists didn't cause the birth crisis, tourists didn't force the pay of workers to stagnate etc.
It's the Japanese government monetary policy and nothing else.
@@WookieWarriorz you're not japanese.
Dont act like you know the real issues
@@Nor-wm7urIm Japanese and he’s right and just being logical, you don’t need to be Japanese to have a brain and point out flaws on a country’s system. That is stupid.
Japan is not the only country that suffers from this. I'm Spanish and I live in a tourist area: I know what it's like for tourists to take photos of your house without your permission and for someone to look through the window to see what it's like inside. The screams, the fights of drunk tourists who don't let you sleep and you can see them at night pissing in the street and throwing all kinds of rubbish on the ground.
On top of that, having to face many housing problems partly because of Airbnbs.
In a couple of days there will be demonstrations in some places in the country, I hope it will help the government make regulations or change the tourism model we have.
I blame clowns like Johnny
and Logan Paul
Let's don't forget Fidias because he is ruined Japan due to rip-off to Mr. Beast. Fidias is like mix between Johnny Somali and The Borderline.
Honestly, blacks in general shouldn’t be in Japan. They aren’t wanted in the US, and Japan doesn’t like them either.
they're obviously talking about the entire group, not just weirdo outliers
You should be blaming the reactionary Japanese government, instead of punishing idiots that break the law they release them and decide to punish everyone else with wide sweeping reforms that hurt their own population.
The Virgin Weeb
- Reads and respects store rules
- Spends hours deciding what local shop to eat at
- Spends three months reading etiquette guides before going to an onsen
- Looks over their shoulder to see if other people are waiting to play after every credit at the arcade
- Avoids tourist hotspots when possible
- Actually learned Japanese
The Chad Overtourist
- Barges into every building and shouts
- Just eats McDonalds and 7-Eleven conbini food
- Has hundreds of very visible tattoos
- Hogs the DDR and Taiko cabinets for hours at a time
- Only visits Tokyo, Kyoto, and Aokigahara
- Japanese? Why would I need to learn that? Everyone has Google Translate right?
As a Singaporean, my first thoughts were "fine them and subject them Corrective Work Order" when I saw the streets filled with litter.
I am glad Shoei Murayama brought this suggestion up. There has to be a distinction between inconsiderate and considerate people, not foreigners or locals.
I was a tour guide, I gave up... I was embarrassed every time by people not being respectful or just being rude.
japan is so soft in imposing punishment on tourist offenders. be like singapore.
singapore is but a little island size smaller then metro tokyo, its easy to manage smaller area compared to all of japan. on the other hand japan need to control their tourist numbers, its definitely not working with the current number.
Unfortunately you can't ask foreigners to be cooperative as in those case, those who will read the pamphlets or the rules will most likely be the people who are already well mannered.
Going for fines like in Singapore would be better I think.
Being nice only reinforce people who behave badly and also since you give that guideline to your population, some people take that to the extreme and will go too deep into this message believing that if people behave badly it is because japanese are not nice enough.
Look at Saudis, they are not "nice" but they are just and no one behaves in a manner that they do not tolerate.
Extra bonus : foreigners who behave correctly (when you say that 90% of them are behaving) will not receive any fine and in the end they will benefit from a strict law that punishes bad behavior
it pisses me off to see people trashing Japan
what a shame
Not only Japan, trashing in general.
@@pwissink1 Yep, those same "people" act the same in America.
They could at least learn how to change the battery in their smoke alarms...
Truman is truly a bastard!
Just ban Americans problem solved 90% of the times it’s them
It sucks, but im in tokyo right now, and there doesn’t seem to be a lot of trash. I also witness japanese people trash. Eitherway it sucks that people cant behave better
I think some tourism can benefit Japan and outer countries, I just think Japan needs to get better at deciding who can come into the country. You guys will figure it out.
Good point.
I have worked as a receptionist in Paris in 4 stars hotel, I will say that having 100% occupancy rate never translate into bigger pays for the employee but always translate into more stress and bigger turnover,
Also benefits are becoming less because internet manages to give the cheapest prices possible and many travel on a very cheap budget.
websites and internet company get richer, bigger group and chain like Mcdonald get richer but I am not that sure for locals and employees
Tourism benefits all countries. But it’s important that said countries determine how it will control and regulate tourists.
I've been studying japanese for years in the hopes I could visit the country someday. Seeing those clowns who are privileged enough to go there behaving like children and making life worse for the locals is very disheartening. I'm afraid Japan might close the doors for turists before I even get my chance.
I pretty much go once or twice a year.
It’s not as bad as this video sounds. Of course Kyoto is more and more crowded but I happened to wander into a few places during the busiest time of the year (New Years) and treated very well. It does help to speak the language of course.
Do children destroy and litter and clown in Japan?
@@linkskywalker5417 Some children behave improperly without caring about other people. They don’t do the same things, just the same kind of things. But grown children don’t have a mother or father to correct them (which in this case should be the police handling them a fine).
You surely can go there and get basic things with a very basic Japanese, having a conversation is quite different and difficult, as you may have already realized xd.
I hope you can come soon enough, it’s a very enjoyable and safe place.
I think the best solution for this problem is becoming strict and stop letting these types of actions slide by fining them + getting a ban from entering the country (for at least 3 years) because by doing this, gaijin would be very careful about crossing the line.
It's sad to say that in the 21st century, the fuel of these gaijin streamers is controversy and disrespect and Japan is a (Content Mine) for them. It's a big problem for people like me who are planning to become a long-term foreign resident in Japan someday. I invested so much time in studying Japanese and I am N4 level and want to reach N1 if it's possible so I take the exam soon and move out but with all these things happening, it makes me anxious about living there.
Same feeling. It makes you feel self-conscious and bad going to a place where your general reputation proceeds you before your individuality is judged on its own merits.
I miss the days when I would go to Japan and people would ask why would I ever go there. Now everybody and their mothers wants to go because of influencers. At this point I kinda wish we could go back to Japanese culture being seen as 'uncool' to be into.
It's because of Millenials and Gen-z. They really are a different kind of breed.
Get over it lmfao☠
I grew up in America when engaging in Japanese culture was seen as weird or unamerican. I hid my nationality as a half-japanese or else I would be bullied. I think its much much better now.
Though, I am bitter about it being cool now hahahaha.
blame cruncyhroll
Yup, it's the same people who have ruined so many fantasy and sci fi franchise. Why gatekeeping is a good thing.
I'm from Denver, Colorado in the US, and peeps public conduct here sometimes drives me crazy (standing in the road or not being considerate of other traffic, throwing their trash on the ground when we have lots of public trash cans, ect). Mind you, the majority of people aren't so inconsiderate, but it takes only %10 or people to do this kind of garbage behavior that can leave a really bad impression and mess things up in society for everyone.
And Denver isnt even a tourist Hotspot. These problems are not caused by tourism
Congrats on your DIEversity!
Remember to thank them accordingly for the "cultural enrichment" they leave you with. Oh, & you should take another few million of them, since you're not fully replaced -er I mean enriched.
Same in NYC
3 weeks ago I was in Kyoto and there was a big pile of glass bottles at one of the shrines. I can't prove that it was made from only tourists but it doesn't seem like something Japan would do. It pissed me off that a "friend" in our group tried to add to the pile. We've stopped associating with that person.
You mean you didn’t break the bottle and stab them?
Littering is a bad but, it's kinda absurd to discommunicate someone for it.
Why not just harrass your friend until he or she cleans the mess? Then be done with the matter.
Was this person always doing shitty things?
The irony is the government increasing the number of foreign workers coming to Japan, is going to hurt Japan in ways tourism doesn't.
On the other hand, they are lacking manpower since the population was aging. Ig they didn't have that much choice.
@@COVID--kf2mt What happened to West is going to come to Japan and South Korea. This isn't necessarily an accident. There are global forces with a lot of capital that desire it.
@@COVID--kf2mt People are aging because nobody wants to make children, because life is too expensive, because workers are underpaid , because they can't afford to eat for themselves , because getting married costs a lot of money, because they are underpaid , because making children costs a lot of money , because life is expensive , because they can't afford to make children, because of the feminism, because of women wanting to make carrier, because it's expensive to raise children etc , etc , etc .... ^^
A vicious infinite circle.
That's very sad to hear though, I will be a *cheap* labour-worker there. Maybe you are too good to deal with the kind like us, hahah.
@gamemobile1421 I don't know who you are. I don't care either.
Some ironies in this and misconceptions. The group really making out by tourism and the greatest overall effector from tourism is through taxes. Kyoto is supported governmentally massively by tourism money. Either local businesses making more money and paying more taxes or tourists directly consuming/using goods and services that all come back to the city and prefecture as taxes. If tourism in Kyoto went to effectively 0, your heritage sites, and infrastructure would be far less advanced unless your tax rate skyrocketed to compensate. Several of the heritage sites in Kyoto are funded almost solely through tourism and that burden is not being pushed onto the residents. I remember several renovations and maintenance got rescheduled or pushed off during the COVID travel bans because they didn't have the funds to do them. A building/site's maintenance costs are exponentially proportional to its age. Having all of those heritage sites in Kyoto is prohibitively expensive and those tourists are the only reason many of them still exist today because the local residents don't have the economic means to pay to keep all of it maintained.
The man interviewed that used to work for the local government isn't a fan of foreigners in general. He left out the massive amounts of tax revenue being generated by tourism in Kyoto and why all of the local governments are pushing hard for more tourism. It's making them tons of money, locals be damned. Also, another thing to keep in mind or in perspective, California gets more tourists than Japan does with a smaller overall population but similar land size. We don't really speak about it though but many of the major tourist areas get trashed and sites damaged regularly. We tend to just repair/fix things and move on and not make a giant xenophobic tirade over it all in national news. I also know that many of those areas and national parks are paid massively by tourists. Again, during COVID, many areas of national parks ended up closed due to being unable to maintain them and keep them up to standards with large pools of seasonal staff laid off or not rehired during that time.
TLDR: Tourism is a double-edged sword that folks don't think or talk about. Kyoto and many other Japanese heritage sites are paid for mostly through tourism money. To keep these sites open or preserved would then come from taxes and most localities wouldn't be able to economically afford it.
This is a very important comment. People don't think about the bigger picture and can't be bothered to make any comparisons. Those are the heart of economic thinking and without that you are just giving your half-formed impressions.
Ye I was thinking if tourism is all but benefits like he said then what goods does it serves? If big corporates are the only one that benefit from them then what’s the point for their existence in the country? No country in their right mind would allow foreign tourism if all it brings is chaos like that. I feel like its more about evenly distribution of the benefits they received from tourism and that’s the job of the government to figure it out. Anything can be a double edge sword if you’re not careful and don’t know how to manage them. For example my government wants to benefit from the chinese property investors and now no one can afford to own houses anymore.
Did you even watch the video, you clown?????? The issue is not just how much money they are making in taxes, the issue is also the EMPLOYMENT INCOME, as it says in the video, though tourism has exploded and municipalities are making money from sales of goods, tickets and taxes, the WORKERS' INCOMES have not increased in over a decade, or more. So the locals who are working are not making commensurate incomes to match the money being made all around them.
You heard him say in the video, it's just a way to push a minimum wage price hike. He also brings up tipping and how that helps them. Well jobs are exempt from the minimum wage that are reliant on tips like being a waitress. Most people don't know that but push to implement it anyways.
It's NOT just tourism that is the issue here, obviously. It's the MISBEHAVING foreign tourists, and THAT is the issue they are trying to POINT OUT
A lot of the complaints you gave are victims of success problems. If you are running a company and hearing the phone ring doesn't make you happy... raise the prices. Its that simple. Gentrification is part of Japans laissez faire capitalism. Rural Japan has been losing population for the last 40 years, its about time business went back and stopped over crowding cities with inflexible work policies.
Exactly
In certain places like Barcelona, Athens, Venice etc tourism benefited maybe 20% of the population that is working directly or indirectly in this industry but all the others see only the negative effects, not the benefits like increasing prices in everything. Also the negative effects are in some areas that most people don't realize like hospitals, before five years in July I drove my father to the emergency hospital because he cut his hand deeply, when we arrived there I was shocked because the emergency room was FULL of tourists that were there because of fights they had due to alcohol consumption.
and not forget the pickpockets and the deliquency are raised a huge, and the issues to living in barcelona is a huge problem because the price are raised a lot and is impossible, and the people try to living around are see the issues the price are increased a lot -like hospitalet zone, are raised the prices how badalona
and yeah the issues the alcohol we are suffer a lot on beach zones, in Salou is horrible go to summer, is really dagnerous too because the tourist take from free medical services and this are collapsed the emergency rooms on the hospitals on actually are saturated
Nobody reasonable would judge Japan for restricting tourism. You don't want to end up like the UK, where all of our major cities are unrecognizable from 20 years ago
@@SeraphoftheRoundTable Without tourism feeding Japan's ever failing economy. We would see Japan lose all it's culture and fade into non-existence much sooner. Japan is already losing it's culture and it's population, it's stubbornness and refusal to change will be its downfall unfortunately
@@Ashy5000 China, South Korea, and Taiwan have even lower birthrates than Japan. And at least China and Taiwan do not have the massive flock of tourists that Japan has. So your argument is invalid. There are many other ways to boost a country's economy. Overtourism is the laziest way, that low caliber politicians like Kishida choose.
@@mgm6229 China has 7/8 times as many people as Japan, so that's not relevant. It would take eons longer to reach a critical point. Korea and Taiwan have a much younger population than Japan. It's estimated that come 2030, 50-60% of Japan's population will be over the age of 60.. That is insane. So yes, the birth rates may be lower in those countries, but Japan is still in a much worse position.
@@Ashy5000 I think Korea and Taiwan are even in a worse position than Japan.
Korea's population of around 50 million is expected to be about 25 million by the year 2100.
Taiwan will probably be invaded by Winnie the Pooh before 2027, so unfortunately that country is done for.
China, I concede that due to its massive population, will keep doing alright for a while.
But regardless of which country is more effed up, tourism is not a realistic option to maintain Japan.
This country needs to boost its fertility rate, while giving retired workers another opportunity at the job market, and using technology to replace humans for those jobs where thinking and understanding is unnecessary.
To sum up, Japan will never be again the massive beast it used to be in the 1980s. This nation will be a Bhutan-style modest economy from now on if it chooses the right steps to take. But it will not necessary perish. However, the current Jimintô (LDP) is a joke of a political party with very low caliber members who are not fit to run this country. If Japan wants to survive, a right wing party like Komeitô needs to step into power.
2021: We really need tourist back. Our local businesses can't survive if we keep our country shut.
2024: We are fed up with touristss. Only a small populations of locals benefit from it anyway.
Ah, a logan or jake paul-er. You shouldn't have residency or citizenship anywhere.
Sounds like a love-hate relationship with tourists!
Zoomers got old enough to travel, that's the problem.
Agreeing with the japanese commenters and think tourism should be limited and the borders closed. Government needs to support their own people.
And seeing what happens in Kyoto shows how damaging tourism can be. Area becomes more and more expensive and looses its identity. Locals are often priced out off their cities and people even less likely to have kids since barely any money is left.
The government should stop giving tourist visas. The money from tourism is not worth the headache.
As someone who lived in Japan for many years and resided in Kyoto over 15 years ago, I can genuinely say that tourists have ruined the city. My heart broke the last time I visited there, and I don't want to ever go back. I want to remember the city as it was when I lived there.
Why not consider implementing one-off high tax on purchase of lands/property by foreigners in Kyoto? Singapore imposed a 80% duty on any purchase by foreigners. It helps to curb excessive speculation by foreigners, who don't have any attachment or commitment to improving the city. Just look at the damages done by excessive housing speculation by foreigners to Canada, Australia, New Zealand. Many wealthy peeps are now running from a certain s**t-hole country and targeting Japan as a safe-haven. Japan should act fast before its too late.
13.8% of Japanese homes are vacant/abandoned due to population decline. Property prices outside big cities are generally lower than most other developed countries and the upside is limited so people can’t really make much money from property speculation. Unlike Singapore.
Japanese people rarely seem to speak against the perceived public opinion. That's a problem in a country with a low level of press freedom. That said, Japan saw very few visitors compared to other advanced economies until the 2010s. Geography played a big part in it during the 20th century, but the language barrier was also a major factor. The smartphone era changed this, lowering the barrier of entry to Japan, bringing in more casual tourists. Of course, these noisy tourists are common everywhere in the world, so welcome to the club, Japan.
It’s not so much press freedom as it is tataemae.
@@ironhell813 True, it's mainly a cultural attitude, but when the narrative of the national press goes mostly unchallenged in media, it's hard for the public to form their own opinions.
Japan should have gone the Bhutan route - attract high end tourists and block out all the backpackers etc.
The backpackers help the more rural and small town areas of Japan though. They are more likely to visit more remote areas of Japan that the normies won't.
Shikoku is actually the very first place I visited in Japan. The place is unremarkable and yet quitly satisfying.
All tourists should respect the place they are visiting. Unfortunately that’s not the case. But every country has a right to restrict tourism.
Sadly my friends in Japan are talking about this. This can't take buses and public transportation, as tourists with large suitcases are taking away limited space. Also the trash being deposited everywhere is piling up.
Having said that the city can do more to educate travelers and increasing services.
And people, you carry your own trash in Japan. You DO NOT just try to toss it on top of an overflowing garbage can.
Japan loves to point the finger without taking responsibility. They use "Foreigners" as a scapegoat for everything. You can't blame foreigners for your lack of infrastructure to accommodate them. You want that juicy tourism income? be prepared to compromise for it, it isn't free. Improve your services and accommodate your guests better, thus improving everyone's lives in the process, including locals. At the moment Japan seems to be willing to accept the big financial benefits of tourism, but refuses to accept any consequence of it.
Educating other tourists would probably not help. This are usually the same people misbehaving in their own country. Hire some police for the hot spots and hand out some fines, should pay itself. I don't understand how Japan has such a strict justice system but seems to do so little for smaller things. Also provide garbage cans, many foreigners are used to them and will most likely use them.
Big cities being full is a problem even without tourists. Many people are moving from the country side to cities. High demand means higher prices and building more is slow, expensive or not always possible (not enough space).
This. If you're the kind of person that has to be told not to photograph strangers, not to enter private property and not to desecrate places of worship, it's unlikely a sign telling them not to will help. A fine big enough to cover damages and a forced trip home is the only solution to those who misbehave.
the trash cans will NOT be common place in Japan after a incident involving trash cans happened. So that dream you have to let go and it falls onto the TOURIST to learn about these things before visiting another country.
@@solaronyou8610the incident did not involve trash cans. It was an attack in a subway. Japan has a strange culture to ask people to take all their trash can home and even syringes instead of installing proper trash and syringe receptacles. Japanese have been raised to not complain and don’t case a nuisance, therefore nothing gets done.
@@joesavagit isn't strange, it's cheap. Trash cans cost money, mostly because you have to pay people to handle them, and because they don't belong to anyone you cannot get people to take care of them. If you have everyone take their trash home you don't have to pay anything more for the garbage collection and you encourage reusable containers and bags generating less trash to deal with over all.
They've installed garbage cans in some places around Kyoto, the effect it had - messy place overflowing with improperly separated trash. They couldn't manage to collect the trash often enough and the whole thing became somewhat controversial.
Idk, we have garbage cans everywhere in the west and yet our streets are covered with litter. People are the problem not the infrastructure.
Is it true that the countries where Japan receives the most of its immigration from are:
1- Vietnam
2- China
3- Indonesia
4- Philippines
5- Korea
6- Thailand
It would make sense because most of the western nations are simply too far away.
Its always changing. Thai people 20 years ago love Japan a lot. Today for the new generation, you can make more money in a Thai company than in a Japanese company. You'll still find some of them but the interest is much less than before. Viet Nam is more recent--they heard a lot of bad things about how Vietnamese are treated in Japan. But the biggest thing is that the Yen has tumbled down so low, losing 50% of its value in two years--that makes it less profitable for Vietnamese to go to Japan now and work.
An interesting aspect of this is when I research foreigners being arrested in Japan Vietnamese and Chinese were the majority. Places I went in Japan most tourists were Asian and pretty much they were cool. The westerners I saw who were a problem were mostly loud British idiots walking around consuming alcohol wherever they went. That doesn't mean other westerners are all perfect but that is just my experience from December 2023. I agree there is too much tourism right now and it needs to be limited and rules need to be enforced.
I just visited Japan and there were TONS of Vietnamese. The worked manual labor and had small businesses. Outside of them, the most I saw were Filipinos. They work white collar and entertainment, typically. I only saw a few Chinese. A couple of who must have been Indonesians or Malaysians, since they had hijabs. Indians/Pakistanis should be on that list somewhere. There were a lot. It's easier to find vegetarian and halal food in Japan than in the US. The Easterners don't have any problems adapting to Japanese custom and I didn't see or have any instance where Japanese were rude or 'racist'. They were actually too damn helpful and accomodating, it made me want to blush.
@@shawnbell6392 The Vietnamese and Chinese go there without educations and often make crap for money. They are also very ethnocentric people and don't socialize much with the locals. So it makes sense many turn to crime. It's sad that they make more money with crap pay in Japan than they do in their own countries. That's not the case for Koreans and Filipinos, who can make the same money or more doing crap jobs in their own countries; and who often have university degrees and better work options.
Raise airfare and hotel prices as well as taxes on tourist, this will help limit the number of people and you will still make money.
I am an ALT living in Japan right now, so I consider myself a foreigner but with some insights to Japanese citizens. I just returned from a trip to Kyoto over spring break (my friends came to visit) and I was saddened by how crowded it was. Places like Kiyomizu temple and Fushimi Inari shrine were my least favorite spots. Even though they are sacred, religious places, people were treating it like a theme park. It took like half an hour just to walk 4 blocks down Hanamikoji street. I 100% agree with Nobita in this video.
Same I went to Hiroshima to visit a friend who has lived there her whole life and the place was packed like Tokyo she kept on remarking how crowded it was. We didn't even try to go into the temples or museums.
My only concern is that with this low tolerance and no functioning programs to manage tourists, immigrants and for foreigners in general the country may struggle in opening up to the world the moment it needs it the most for demographic, geopolitical and technological reasons.
It may go down in history as yet another damaging closing up of the island which may take decades to recover from
This video is very informative, but it was also depressing to watch. For my part, we will stay longer in Kobe for our next trip (because we are after the experience of living in Japan, not needing to see as many tourist destinations as we can). I am also trying to learn the language (but I am making very slow progress).
I do hope that Japan implements very strict fines and that Japanese businesses increase their prices to the extent that they are able to give significant wage increases to Japanese workers. I will support those things as long as they benefit Japan and the Japanese people. After all, Japan belongs to its citizens, not to us foreigners.
I went to Japan in May of last year. I really feel for them. Where I live in Massachusetts it always gets slammed by tourists every summer so I know how it feels to have an overflow of tourists. My main point is whenever I see the huge amount of tourists who come to my area is "why do y'all come here? There are lots of other places you can go." However, everyone who lives in a place with lots of tourism probably feels the same way.
@@NoCash19 I would argue it is. There is literally nothing where I'm at other than beaches. But there are beaches all across the USA. I guess there are also some surrounding towns that have some history but other than that I can't really think of another reason.
As for Japan, I've wanted to go ever since I was a kid so it was accomplishing a childhood dream of mine. I wanted to go there and immerse myself in the culture. I went to Tokyo, Yokohama, Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara. I rode the Shinkansen. I went to konbinis. It was also a trip with my college so each day had a loaded itinerary (with the exception of two free days).
As for the place where I'm at, if it's someone's childhood dream to go to the place filled with nothingness, heroin, weed, dirty beaches, and one city that has historical significance to the founding of the USA known as New England, I'd be very surprised.
I also used to live in a beach town. Even domestically, the tourists are insane and act like they're going to a theme park instead of an actual place.
I told a Caucasian woman jumping the line not to do that in Anime Japan this year.
What people don't realize is that whether you like it or not when you visit any foreign country. You are representing your race and the country you are from
As a foreign resident in Japan if I see foreign tourists behaving badly (especially if they were from my own country) I never hesitate to tell them off straight away, usually they listen.
All Japanese KNOW that there are many respectful and great tourists and welcome them. Enjoying sharing Japanese culture with omotenashi.
Irritating are those foreigners living in Japan taking complaints from the Japanese (who are not suppose to complain) super personal and counter with dumping a whole tirade of trashing the Japanese instead the culture, the system, the character…as retaliation!
It’s stupid. Let the Japanese complain for once! They seldom do. They are ten times more patient than most any other nationalities.
Let’s give the Japanese support in their complaint of bad behavior foreigners!
The Japanese didn’t say there are no bad apples in Japan. Nor do they ever believe all foreigners are bad. Let’s not treat the Japanese as they are singleminded individuals.
As a European guy, living and working in Japan for 4 months now I'm afraid of being labeled as those bad mennered tourists. I'm thankfully in rural Japan, on an Island so it's alright here, but I'm worried if I go somewhere on a holiday I might get treated like those tourists.
Your second piece of advice(12:54) is probably the most important. It is important that the hospitality workers are appropriately compensated for their work.
I have been looking forward to visiting Japan for a while, but I'll tell you that recent developments (over the last 3 years at least) have really made me rethink my decision. I'm afraid to be seen as a nuisance moreso than "just" a tourist. I've been studying Japanese and its culture for roughly 4 years now, and although I want to say that I have a good grasp on it, there are things you can only learn by going to the country itself.
Since it doesn't look like the situation will improve much, I'm at least grateful to see videos like this that encourage people to change. Even if just 100 people take this advice to heart, that might improve things somewhat.
I'm in a similar boat in planning to visit Japan in the near future, and I have some of the reservations you spoke of as-well. I will simultaneously encourage you to go, as the only way to make change is to make it ourselves, so as to go and be as respectful as we can be, expect some locals to see us negatively no matter what, but still do what we can to give a good impression so that it isn't only inconsiderate tourists who get to make the main impressions. Ganbatte! 🤟
I feel the same way. I'm not as hopeful though since it makes sense as to why the Japanese feel the way they do. I'm perfectly fine with going to Malasia rather than Japan. I prefer a country that has a bit more diversity and a better mindset when it comes to foreigners.
You should definitely go. Just be polite and considerate and you will be ok. Maybe skip Kyoto and try the Northern Honshu locations. Tokyo should still be able to handle the numbers…
@nightknight9981 you've been studying the language and culture for 3 years already, just go. Videos on platforms that make money (TH-cam and also TV channels) will mostly be negative, including this video. Everything will be ok if you've learned their norms and respect them. Japanese people are still humans and most of them good people, they are not actively hating you.
You’ll be fine because you have the right mindset
Being in Japan definitely feels different when visiting as opposed to living there.
Definitely. Their work culture is kinda brutal.
@@neogenesus yes it is. Although if you work for a foreign company that has an office in Japan, it’s not as bad.
Cities should impose bug taxes on hotels and spend this money helping locals
Thank you for this informative video. I will keep these advices in mind and will contribute to benefit Japan for my second trip next year.
This really bums me out, but I can understand it as well. I live in an extremely "picturesque" place, which seems has become a "must" for every tourist, especially Chinese. I can hardly go outside and walk the 20m necessary to buy milk without having to wrestle hordes or Chinese (and recently Koreans too) taking selfies everwhere. At my wedding, we could hardly hear our own voices, because there was a group of about 80 Chinese tourists coming for dinner and being extremely rowdy. Obviously I have no generalized animosity against the Chinese or Korens, I have a few good friends from both countries, yet when you just see one more big group of tourists, it can already get some irritation going. I so get it. But TBH the irritation is instantly gone, if I talk personally to tourists. So I don't even have to pretend I am nice, I always enjoy if they seek interaction, I hate it more if they pretend we inhabitants don't exist and are just zoo animals. So my hope is the same, that if I am nice and polite and follow the cultural etiquette, that the majority of Japanese will see me as "friendly" and realise that I do my best to respect the culture (I also speak fluent Japanese)
Yeah, privatised profits and socialised costs seems to be one of the leading causes of dissatisfaction in regards to how the world is run nowadays.
Tourism is a prime example of this pattern.
Unfortunately as the state profits from the increased tax take it has an incentive to just let its citizens put up with it.
All of the points mentioned seem to be primarily linked to a policy failure by the local and national government.
I’m non-Japanese and work in Kyoto. It’s getting pretty unbearable on public transportation especially buses which are very often full of tourists (Japanese and non-Japanese). Basically, Japan needs to ramp up its services.
Are you criticising the amount of tourists or the lack of public transportation?
Transportation is one of the main factors exacerbating the existing xenophobia in Japan. Waiting in line for restaurants and cafes also popular with locals is another one.
"japan needs to"
Why should they cater to you or any other non-nationals?
Workers and locals both J and NJ need to be able to travel to work.
@@josedorsaith5261because their own citizens are leaving and upset… as mentioned in the video you presumably watched
As far as looking up taboos goes. There is an issue that some cultures just don’t care what others think of them. My sister and I visited Japan last month and it was driving her up a wall whenever I had to get her to stick to Japanese societal rules like being quiet on the train. In her opinion, why should she care what the Japanese think of her? But constantly having to reel her in made the trip very stressful. Actually…I do not think I will be going back to Japan, the stress of being treated as “other” is just too much. I speak Japanese, I did my best to be normal there, but given my appearance there is nothing I can do.
It’s not like I didn’t enjoy the trip. But I had mixed feelings coming home, like I could finally relax and not worry about whether I broke some unwritten etiquette rule.
“My favourite places are occupied by foreigners.” - have you ever been to Europe? :(
Yeah the difference being, in Our western countries we have to take care of those foreigners while being told how racist we are..
Unpopular opinion: "This problem isn't exclusive to Japan, this is everywhere"
I used to work as a guide for Japanese package tourists. Most of my guests and Japanese tour conductors were very nice, but some were obnoxious as heck. Right now in Japan "the hangman is getting hanged", as we say where I come from. And the gaijin-demonizing media is a major problem, of course.
BTW my job was really irregular, near-karoshi experience during the season and near-unemployment off season. As for the payment, suffice it to say that it was more or less enough for a lower middle class lifestyle.
I honestly think making certain important and highly visited locations only available to tourists through organized tours could help a lot, making sure they can still get it but they're also under social and legal pressure to behave themselves since they're in a tour group.
Also hearing that the workers in the service industry aren't being payed well despite the companies making more money is just anger inducing really. I don't know if unions are popular in Japan but they should definitely be a thing.
Glad to see you covered the situation in a balanced manner because there are some people who use subjects like this to just be racist to foreigners in general but you did a hreat job discussing it in a fair way! Keep up the great work!
Japan needs to understand that non-confrontational behaviour usually means that whatever you are doing is ok, in many other countries; so for people with no cultural, situational or social awareness, like Instagram/trend tourists, you either stop/fine then, or they’ll think that their behaviour is accepted. A sign saying that something is not allowed only work on Japanese people, or very respectful/self-aware people, and none of those are all that common outside of Japan.
なぜ日本に来る外国人を日本人がわざわざ理解しなきゃならないんですか？
外国人が日本の風習を理解して合わせる努力をせず地元住民の生活を台無しにするのは侵略のようなものです
You are telling me Chinese Tourist don't litter? ooooookkkk
Yup
In my country , which relies on tourism , I was shocked to learn that during winter people get laid off (happened to me without warning). Then they have to go on the dole (Jobseeker’s Allowance) until the tourist season restarts in March. I managed to get a job in a pub for the winter and my main customers were qualified chefs who drank beer to get them through the days. I just feel that the economy would develop differently without this situation (more local start ups etc) I am aware that many owners of the hotels (including the one that dumped me in November ) are in London and have no vested interest in the local people. The pub that hired me was owned by a local person.
[for some reason Japanese people in built up spaces seem to have an almost violent lack of spacial awareness and you will get rammed 😅 on a level that I haven’t seen in other countries ** really appreciated you alluded to this, The Japan Reporter, because for sure foreign residents are mainly the ones who are “accidentally on purpose” being pushed about in public spaces - and we can’t go home to escape after 2 weeks 😂**
There is a simple solution for reforming badly behaved tourists in Japan that isn't just "get harsh with fines," though that works too.
Set it up so that tourists can only have their travel visa approved if they go with an approved travel guide. The guide must apply for a permit and be approved by the Japanese government. Part of their duties involve educating foreigners while they are in Japan on how to behave correctly. Have everyone in the group pay a bond at the beginning of the trip. If any member of the group is fined during their travels for bad behaviour, the money comes out of everyone's bond. That way, the tour guide isn't the only one who will be watching out for poor behaviour. The whole group will police themselves :).
As for tipping: this is really not the solution to chronic underpayment in the tourism industry. In fact, it's really only a Band-Aid measure that soon causes employers to start paying employees even LOWER wages because "you're getting tips, so you don't need a wage, right?" Tipping is insidious and a misdirection from the real root cause of the problem, which is companies not valuing their workers. People should be campaigning for better wages and protections for tourism workers, not for tips. Tips solve nothing.
Can totally understand the frustrated residends
I am living in a not so good part of town in Germany
And you just question.
Why are so many people throwing their trash on the ground ?
Why are they damaing public infrastructure
And so on....
And government is doing nothing. The existing laws aren't enforced....
Fine foreign tourists who bejave badly. I agree with Singapore policy. Japan should apply it.
For having lived in Tokyo, I tell people 'if you see dirt on the streets, it is more likely that foreigners are responsible for it'.
You've obviously never been to Shibuya at 3am
Its definitely too crowded in Japan. I feel like there are more tourists than locals when I was there last year.
I think, too, that Duty Free should not be a thing anywhere. If tourists are using a country's facilities, they should put in to it's upkeep and not leave it for the citizens. I just came back from Japan and chose not to do any duty free shopping. But I saw many foreigners using duty free.
2% GDP is a lot! My family resides in a quaint city in Norway with a population of 46,000, yet it remarkably accommodates 2.5 million tourists annually. The key to our success lies in adaptability and a proactive approach to identifying and resolving issues that arise from such a high volume of visitors. It's about consistent problem-solving and making the necessary adjustments to ensure that both residents and tourists can enjoy what our city has to offer. The issue of excessive tourism often highlights a critical gap in communication between the government and visitors. There's a clear need for an infrastructural boost to accommodate the growing number of tourists, which includes expanding public transportation, increasing the availability of trash disposal options, etc. If Japan implements these solutions effectively, it could enhance infrastructure nationwide. Strategically spreading tourists across different cities would be a wise move, but this requires making smaller cities more appealing through unique and attractive architecture. The silver lining of tourism is its potential to bring in future investments and skilled labor, which is particularly beneficial for Japan considering its significant demographic challenges.
I 100% agree with your recommendations! These are certainly things that would help. I've also felt like when going to places overrun by tourists (清水寺 or 伏見稲荷 for example in 京都) the temples and shrines were beautiful, but I felt like I was being herded like cattle due to the tons of people all pushing through to see things. I've enjoyed my time looking around smaller towns simply because there were less people and it's just as beautiful with a lot of history as well.
If I were to disagree anywhere it would be with the restaurants. I absolutely choose local restaurants whenever I can over chain restaurants, but from a tourists perspective that can come with some risk. Generally I wouldn't expect local restaurants to have English menus, I also wouldn't expect the staff to understand or speak English well. This can be somewhat handled by using something like google translate to try to translate a menu, but even then a lot of menus have food items that wouldn't translate well and cause confusion (things like 月見うどん, きつねうどん, or たぬきうどん for example)
I also recently had to help my family around Japan when they visited for vacation, and there were a lot of occasions I had to point things out to them so they weren't disrespectful, even though they weren't intending to be and I wouldn't say they're generally rude. Some situations (not the ones showcased in the video, all of these were clearly disrespectful) are a bit difficult to expect without having learned more about Japanese culture.
Man, I wish I could've visited Japan 10 years ago. I only visited Japan last year for the first time in my life, because I always lacked the financial means. It took me 18 years to achieve this dream of mine. I'm going to Japan again this year. But the more I see those videos, the more I feel bad about it.
I've been to Japan 8 times, sometimes also for some months. My first time was in 1998. Back then I was like a rare animal, local people were looking at me weird and curious. In the last years I've seen sooooo many tourists that I myself was shocked. Even seeing tours in Akihabara with groups of 10-15 people going around with some guide, was quite surprising and at the same time annoying because they were behaving like they were the masters of the roads. So right now it's better to go North to Hokkaido or South to Fukuoka/Okinawa, because I know that few Japanese speak English there and if you can't read or speak some basic Japanese, you are lost. So there are very few tourists there...for now
I went in 1997 and my Japanese was not yet very good. Since then I mostly only go where the Japanese tourists go and my Japanese is pretty good. It's a repeating pattern I bet. This overtourism is done bogus talking point. The Yen is worthless due to BOJ policy... It has nothing to do with us.
i still ocasionally visit Jp almost annually since 2009, and yes theres a stark difference back then to now. its sad seeing Tokyo getting dirty, and jay walkers.
And this not even touch how the ski villages areas now dont even feel japan anymore
The trash upsets me. I remember there not being a lot of public trash cans, but it was pretty easy to just carry a plastic bag around for trash that I could throw out when I got back to the place I was staying at.
Controlling the number of tourists also should be implemented. Say at a given time in Japan, only x number of tourists should be allowed. It's tough to implement a system like this but it should be done soon.
I feel that prefectures or the government needs to create and VERY heavily promote different types of tourism trips across Japan. They could offer special discounts for those to visit areas that rarely get any tourists to help bring money to those areas.
Drive the focus off of just Okinawa beaches, shinjuku, Tokyo, and Kyoto. Push tourists and incentivize people looking to visit Japan to explore other areas. Sell tourism packages that have discounts at specific hotels, specific restaurants, and specific forms of transportation. Allow these discounts to help separate the tourists from the facilities that locals use. An example being that a tourist buying a specific tourism package gets discount coupons for specific local mom and pop shops to help support those businesses. while the businesses that participate in this would get part of the money that is used to purchase the tourism package.
whether this would help or not, I don't know. Just my idea of what could help
I have made mistakes while in Japan because it’s impossible to know everything and not everything is mentioned online, but I always travel to areas that aren’t touristy and they’re AMAZING! I 100% recommend it and tourists should really try to learn basic Japanese before they go. They could even have flashcards or something they take with them so they can try their best to communicate and show Japanese people they are putting in effort
Very informative and unbiased. Keep up the good work!
I think one possible solution is for airlines to inform foreign passengers of the rules in Japan midflight. It would also be useful to hand out Japanese etiquette guide booklets since the tourists never bother to do any research before going. This is good for warning them of huge fines for any bad behaviour if they don't comply.
Nobita-san, thanks for always sharing insights into Japan, its culture, the norms, and really insightful knowledge. I have been living in Saitama as a Master's program university student and part time English teacher for 2 years and would love to talk about my experiences as an American in Japan. Is there a way to contact you?
Singapore has strict rules applied to locals and tourist and yet tourist keep flocking to go there every year. If Japan want to follow the same direction I'm all for it.
In Japan you should study what is happening in Italy in Venice and Florence. There is no end to the bad effects of tourism the more you allow the sector to grow
I just came back from Japan after last visiting in 2020.
Man it's really bad. I could tell how stressed and unhappy the locals were. I felt bad for just existing there honestly. As an oriental, the change in expression when a local realizes I don't speak Japanese is crazy. I'm automatically assumed to be from a certain country along with all the negative stereotypes.
We try our best to be respectful, quiet and stay out of everyone's way, but you will inevitably see the rowdy tourist talking loudly on the train, littering, jaywalking and just generally being a nuisance.
We saw service staff being harassed by tourists cutting queues, but no one stepped in to tell them off. We had to confront them to FO and queue up, but I think all that did was startle the locals.
Japanese media zooming in on tourists is very reflective of their society in general - no one wants to confront them on scene. it's easier to just do nothing but report it, or complain about it privately. I'm not defending the tourists, but the current situation isn't sustainable unless something changes, and this has to come from the Japanese. Confront the tourists when they're misbehaving. Or take a leaf out of Singapore's book and fine/jail/deport them.
And most importantly pay your damn workers.
A lot of this is a temporary problem linked to revenge travelling, with inflation and interest rates going up in many economies along with a possible wave of recessions, the number of tourism will likely go down in the following years. The other problem is the mass tourism industry that comes with cruise ships and tours buses filled with people that quickly flood places of interest to overcapacity. Finally when it comes to incivility, Japan should fine people and have them pay on the spot or at the police station like they do in some American states. Severe incivility should punished with a fine and immediate expulsion from Japan with a multiple years entry ban in the country for the person.
I was lucky that last summer Kyoto was almost empty in early June. I went there on a conference but there were very little tourists overall - Kiyomizu, Fushimi inari and other places were mostly empty - aside from some Chinese families who were well behaved.
Last week I had to stop at Kyoto station on my way to Nara countryside - oooh man. Perhaps 1% of people on that ultra crowded station were Japanese. I have no incentive to go to places like that anymore. I live in Shibuya but always stick underground/side streets because it's too crowded - can't enter any shop, cross the street or anything. And thanks to TikTokers who'll do everything for a few likes, even some remote beautiful places that have Sakura trees around the countryside have been plastered all over it and were quite overcrowded.
I was really happy to see tons of tourists pouring in - thought all those dollars buying yen was gonna improve the situation a bit - but it didn't even dent the price - therefore I see no benefit from mass tourism - just nuisance.
I'd love to see a way to increase prices for tourists - at least the touristy areas/hotels etc - then there might be more benefits to it. Japan is just too cheap. Heck, a city I lived in that was plagued by wars recently and was completely devastated - is now more expensive than Tokyo from complete poverty.
This is what makes those american IT engineers taking those sweet dollas instead of yen while living in Tokyo - they're considered quite rich - while still working 9 to 5.
I think the long-term solution is to fix the economy somehow.
Most of my costs to visit Japan is toward airlines, hotel, tour company, and a few planned meals. Very few Japan locals will benefit despite my spending the exorbitant amount of money on this tour. At the end of the day,
Japan doesn’t care if I visit.
My daily average spending is about one thousand dollars per day.
What would be your possible solution to this personally? I would like to go but not be an inconvenience.
It’s on the government to solution not the tourist. Just go and behave yourself and be generous to all of the business you go to. The government needs to figure out what to do about the infrastructure
2:32 part of what blows my mind about this is that ¥10,000 is about $65 these days. Even at $100, there is no way in the United States that I could book a business hotel at that price . In other words, even without the exchange rate, the cost of travel in Japan is really quite low compared to the United States.
Incidentally, as a student of Japanese language and culture, I really do want to visit Japan, and I absolutely do not want to be that kind of tourist. When I look at the vandalism and the people standing in the way of the railroad and the trash, I just want to cry.
The 5 star hotels in Tokyo start at $250/night US, the Yen has made them unbelievable bargains. Go for it, support the workers at these hotels and leave the $65 hotels for the salarymen if they like them so much (not to sound rude, mind you... it's simply what they want).
Thank you for a very objective report. I have been hearing my friends in Japan moaning that they just can't afford trips to Tokyo because hotels are too expensive, and I've been appalled by recent TV reports on the tourists' misbehaviour at hanami spots and the Kyoto bus situation, but I never thought about how the situation is reflecting on resident foreigners. It's not just foreigners who are causing problems, there are Japanese trainspotters not abiding with rules and causing delays, trashing local private property, etc., for example. In all cases, I agree with others here that they should be more strict and fine them, but it means more strain on the police, and it would be very difficult to catch them in such big crowds of people...
I live in Hawaii. We have the same dilemma. When we get a burst of tourism everyone complains. When there's a recession or change in currency value and tourism wanes everyone complains they're not getting as much tourism revenue as they used to. Best thing for Japan to do is close off the country to foreigners like they did in the Edo period.
The benefits of families having to move from the city is that the surrounding towns that are struggling can start to repopulate and help rebalance the nation instead of everyone being crammed into one city.
As i went to japan in October 2023,i almost feld guilty being there,there were so many tourists,yes i am one of them but i can clearly see why it bothers the Japanese people. As much as i were respectful in any manner,i feld looked down upon. Its really sad how these bad tourists give tourists as a whole,a bad reputation.