Another great piece, thank you. In addition to diversifying where to go, I can strongly recommend diversifying WHEN to go to some of the most popular sites. Many of these are temples/shrines/parks which are open from sunrise, and are often serenely quiet before the stream of coach buses arrives. So, set an alarm and go early. Last visit I took in Meiji Jingu (Tokyo) with just a smattering of locals, Kan man ga fuchi Abyss (Nikko) with only one other soul (an early rising German) and even cycled through Aoyama, Shinjuku and the Shibuya 5 ways on a Sunday morning, through streets so empty you'd swear the zombie apocalypse had hit. Many visitors bemoan the fact that most Japanese businesses don't open before 10am. I don't! :)
In my Kyoto Without Crowds video I talk about this. Enter Ginkakuji 10 minutes before close and you soon have the place to yourself. They dont kick you out, they just dont let anyone else in. I have photos of the sand garden and pavilion and there isnt a soul there. I always hit up Fushimi Inari at 5am, too.
I love your ideas!! When I travel to Japan I do exactly what you are talking about. YES...I do like to travel to the more famous places...they are always going to be special. But I also like to visit that little mon and pop coffee shop that looks interesting...or visiting all the different books shops...anime and collector shops....all the little snack places. There really is so much to do and especially at night with taking some street photography. Another favorite thing I love is chasing the different man hole covers or eki-stamps. There is always just a ton to explore!
@@Exjapter I think most people who go to Japan are doing so for a really short time....and so...they dont have the time (at least in their minds) to "explore". I know that I certainly feel that way when I go to Japan. I always find that I'm in a rush because I only have 4 weeks to see things and it is NEVER enough. That is sort of the issue....there is actually NO place you can go in Japan that is NOT interesting. There is always something worthy of time and a photo...which is why I love it so much and why I have commited the rest of my days to travelling only to Japan!
I was stationed there in the early 80s. No cell phones. Social Media was radio and tv. Ticket takers were human and punched your ticket as you entered the train station. I still remember the clinking sound they used to make with their puncher. Their train system mesmerized me and I would often just ride it in one direction and get off somewhere I had never been before. Gaijens were still uncommon even in Tokyo. I was 6’4” so I would always get the “sugoi and nagai” I felt like a rock star there. Some of the best times in my life spending my time exploring Japan and its people. 😊
Also, along with your TikTok idea, Japan should encourage their animes to feature location well outside the beaten path. A lot of people want to see the same locations they see in their favorite anime, so moving the anime settings outside of Tokyo and the other main tourist areas will help distribute some tourists all over the country.
Even finding the hidden gems in the regular tourist cities doesn't really solve the broader problem. Having many Korean friends they are mainly attracted to Kyushu....shopping and eating in Fukuoka and then going to Oita Prefecture and hitting the Hot Spring towns of Yufuin and Beppu. The key to their openness to coming to these places is the direct transportation from Seoul or Busan using airplanes, ferries and hovercraft. Thus, my strategy then would be to attract Asian airlines to open more direct routes to various places in Japan while at the same time seriously promoting the sites and food of each area.
Yes, getting the tourists to the places that could use an economic boost but lack ease of access is a challenge, certainly. Local municipalities have proven themselves to be very bad at doing the sort of things that could bring in the tourists. .
I think I managed to visit Japan last time just before the explosion in tourism numbers, almost two years ago in January, so not high season. Okinawa seemed to have very few tourists, Kyoto seemed to have similar numbers to before the pandemic, Osaka was maybe a bit less busy than before the pandemic, around the old Tsukiji fish market was the busiest. And all the random in between places had basically no foreigners other than me.
Good ideas. What if "Find your Tokyo" or "Find your Japan" or "Find your Fuji" was put out as a competition or challenge to the various regions or communities in Japan? They could post their submissions to the various Social Media Channels etc.
Or 🤔 .... Maybe rather than 'Find my Tokyo', perhaps .. 'Where's MY prefecture ?' ... or ... 'I found MYSELF ?kms from Tokyo' (how many kilometres from Tokyo/Osaka did you find YOURSELF ?) Or ... 'MY search for a tropical Paradise found me in Okinawa' ... 'MY quest for the best beaches in the world found me in Shirahama Wakayama' ... 'I found my own surf break in Miyazaki ' ... "I found my ultimate powder skiing in Niigata' ... My quest for the highest mountains found me at the foot of mount Fuji in Yamanashi' .... 'My quest for the world's most renowned rice terraces found me in Ishikawa' .... etc etc Put the emphasis on the 'end goal' rather than the temporary arrival in a Japan city.
I thought the same thing as soon as I read your title and yeah Chris has been saying the same thing for some time. People just need to be recommended different areas to visit. But there is already so much out there in various different forms with travel itinerary recommendations for the usual places and for the majority of peoples first visit is pretty much spot on. I would agree with trying to encourage people out to lesser visited places. However I think they should also try to improve infrastructure, procedures and information services for locals/visitors to handle higher volumes of people. People are still likely to arrive/leave from Narita/Haneda. Personally I enjoy the rural areas a lot more than the cities of any country and there are people making content of beautiful areas in Japan. However the beauty of a lot of those places is that you go there feeling like the only gai'jin in the village (my old Little Britain inspired joke ; )......and some of the rural areas are not keen to attract more people like Takachiho (Miyazaki). Difficult to build infrastructure like double lane roads on the side of mountains to handle higher volumes of people to towns that don't want the extra load. I think the best is to try to do what I mentioned in paragraph 2 and heavily promote places that A) Can support higher volumes of people and B) actually want higher numbers of people like Fukushima which has had a fair amount of NHK coverage over the last couple of years trying to draw people back with subsidy programs. Maybe incentives could be extended to rural areas that need the tourists like free government paid travel and promotion on how budget friendly the places are compared to Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka in regard to accommodation.
I hear you on rural areas not wanting a lot of extra traffic, especially on infrastructure that is not ready for it. But there are plenty of places that are ready made tourist attractions, but are visited by only Japanese and some few random foreigners. A group of friends just went up to Sendai and Matsushima and had an absolute blast, and they didnt feel like they were just another division in a thundering horde of gaijin. The infrastructure is already there, it just isnt on a lot of foreign tourist's lists. I can go on and on about how Kyoto isnt a crowded city. Just a few sections see the brunt of the tourism. I think the numbers that are there currently would become completely manageable if they knew enough to spread out.
@@Exjapter Yes for sure, heaps of places to go outside of the main places, I agree...I was in Sendai, Matsushima and the mountains up behind Sendai last September/October. There were a lot of gaijin and secret gaijin (Chinese). Plenty of infrastructure in place and the roads in Sendai city were a breeze to drive, very wide/open like Matsumoto. I was going to say that there are plenty of people going rural also...not like Niigata where my otosan/okasan live, but I was surprised how many gaijin were in Yakushima and Kagoshima April last year. Theres basically just a shitload of people visiting Japan atm due to the drop in the yen.
@@VanillaPeach-y7l How long is a piece of string? I've been married to my Japanese wife for 26 years now and when we were younger we spent more time racing around seeing as much as possible. But now we're older we usually stay in one place longer to enjoy it more, I think unless your passing through you should stay in each location for at least 2 nights so it doesn't feel like your constantly on the road. But its personal preference, you have more energy when your young and when you get older you think, life should not be a race.....Comparing Japan to Australia in regards to development/advancement is way way too deep a conversation for a youtube reply. But if you ever meet me relaxing having a beer. Please ask me again.
@@VanillaPeach-y7l If you click peoples names on youtube you can see if they have shared content on youtube and they might show their face on their videos. I have not hidden mine..........
One other thing I've noticed where tourism in Japanese is different than in the US. In the US, tourist destinations are (generally speaking) things that local people avoid. People that live in Las Vegas don't go to the Hoover Dam, people that live in New York don't really go to the Statue of Liberty, etc. But, in Japan, the things the tourists want to do are a lot of the same things the Japanese do in their regular lives and that tends to cause a lot more friction with tourism in Japan compared to other places.
This is true in some cases, although I have had many students who grew up in Kyoto and have never been to Kinkakuji or Fushimi Inari. Most residents around Fuji have never climbed it... But I think you are right - a lot more of the good tourist spots are enjoyed by the locals as well.
動画内でもおっしゃっていた通り、東京や大阪から離れた地域の過疎化が日本で現在大きな問題になっていて、それに伴ってそれらの地方自治体の財政悪化が進んでいます。それを解決するために地方税の支払先を選べる「ふるさと納税」という制度が導入され、また、県の制度をやめて日本を13個の州に分割するというような議論も起こっています。日本への観光者数はパンデミック以降増加してきています。東京や京都だけでなく、田舎の観光者を増やすためにも、ソーシャルメディアの活用は欠かせないでしょう。近年、アニメや漫画の舞台となった地域がそれを活用した観光事業で成功している事例もあるそうなので、それも一つの解決策になると考えます。 (I couldn't write in English lol)
Thank you for an excellent video and looking for solutions to overtourism (as it certainly needs to be addressed). Indeed, most of the problems derive from the issue that everybody want to go to the same spots. And there's nothing much to be done with this. Most of the people are too superficial and comfort orientated. They want to relate to the previous experiences of Kinkakuji or Shibuya crossing. Also maybe there is fear of not being understandable in a distant village or getting totally lost in countryside. To have the courage to pursue more "profound" destinations, you have to have much more knowledge than our shallow lifestyle provides. (I come from a small country by myself and most of the (Japanese) tourists visit only our capital and never venture outside)
My most extreme idea is to have all planes to Japan show only old Anthony Bourdain shows on the in flight entertainment, to inspire and tease out the explorer in everyone. 😂
It feels like Japanese content creators tend to be more secretive with the places they film. Many times I tracked down locations and posted them only to get deleted or a comment like "great, now tourist crowds can ruin them" people don't realize that 10 tourists in 100 places makes the one place that gets 1000 tourists enjoyable again. Japan has so many beautiful spots, they really have where to distribute people.
Interesting. Most content creators I watch try to put places out there in my experience. Once I finish my giant thesis paper I totally plan to get out and do a Find Your Yokohama series of videos. Been wanting to do that forever but time has been the problem.
Some good solutions. I have been 2 times to Japan as a tourist. In 2018 before the Pandemic and this year 2024. You say it well. Some places are too busy even without tourists. But the problem is places are simply must see. Asakusa is for example a 'sort' of 'Eifel Tower kind of famous'. So a lot of people go there. So also maybe a system spreading the tourists there in terms of time could be an idea. I don't know if it is a good idea to have time slots (probably not) but maybe there can be some app or site that measures the amount of people and then you could see if it is really busy in one place so you can decide to travel elsewhere and get to that place on another time. The places on the map could be color coded like a traffic light. Red means busy. Green is not busy and orange in between. Also there should be a new rail pass system combined with a renewed campaign to spread tourists countrywide. And make the rail passes not more expensive than it already is. I visited Tohoku last times and I found Sendai a fascinating city. I am a fan and friend of TH-cam Channel Lemi from Japan. She promoted her downtown Sendai and so I got the idea to travel there. So also normal (good) TH-camrs are sometimes doing good things in that regard. Keep up the Channel. I am enjoying the content.
Your app idea is great because it would, for instance, immediately show how the rest of Asakusa around Sensoji is almost empty. There are cute shops and little cafes, and no tourists bother to explore it.
I guess most visitors have a set time, one or maybe two weeks. What they want is easy access and convenience. The Tokyo..Osaka..Kyoto route is easy and delivers bang for bucks. I'm glad i got that done 15 years ago. I had a business there for 13 years, but still return every year to see the best parts, eg, anything out of the cities. I feel very fortunate to have seen all the big attractions before the rush. But like you said, even in Tokyo, anywhere other than Shibuya, Shinjuku, Asakasa, Ueno, there are gems to be found, and great folk to meet.
The convenience and time constrain is 100% understandable. But what I dont understand is, in those wonderland cities with so much to do, the same landmarks see all the traffic. Kyoto has utterly amazing places that when I visit I'm practically by myself.
@@Exjapter all directed and influenced by the instagram thing. The Lawson shot is a great example. Personally, if I'm taking a photo then I look for the shot that no one else does. I was just in Kawaguchiko earlier this year. And not one photo of a Lawson.
I think once smaller places off the " beaten track" figure out they can make tourist money hand over fist, it will revitalise smaller areas,more jobs, businesses, some great ideas mate, maybe the Japanese govt tourist departments need to take a leaf out of other countries tourism strategies, this current boom is still relatively new, a great opportunity for Japan :)
There are opportunities for sure. I wish I had opened or invested in something in Kawaguchiko back in 2015 when I was thinking about it. May have lost my shirt in 2020 though.
I'm the exact opposite. Obviously the Tokyo metro map isn't convoluted enough to keep them hopelessly lost in Tokyo. I'm thinking maybe create a Potemkin village where the geisha girls speak English and accept USD, kimono rentals, and all day mario-karting!
Hahaha. Shall we go into business together? So many of the tourists already see Japan as a theme park, so they wouldnt notice the difference. Seriously, if I find myself at Sensoji these days the only thing Japanese about the place is the architecture.
haha that is possibly a great idea, would just need a lot of promotion and some cultural alterations. Like its ok to have tattoos and wear bathers in onsens/sentos. Maybe grab some staff from Niseko as the ski season ends and sakura season begins....personally I like the no tattoo rules for onsens coz I don't have any 😁
@@VirtualHorizonz I think the onsen thing about tattoos isn't that cut-and-dried. Everybody tries to avoid eye contact, and certainly nobody is checking you out for tattoos - especially us gaijin who really get a free pass for things like tattoos. Onsens are traditionally working class establishments. Rich people had their own bathtubs. It was the guy getting off of work who used an onsen. One thing our Potemkin village could have which does have precedent is that it could be co-ed onsens. Personally, I'm not all that keen on bathing with a bunch of dudes, but maybe that's just me.
And by the way: Japanese people by visiting Switzerland do go in most busy cities and streets and extremely Selten in some places outside famous spots !!!!!!!!!!
How about repurposing akiyas into sharehouses for students? If they volunteer to help rebuild the houses and local infrastructure during a portion their stay, and participate in a some sort of cultural exchange with locals, they can stay there for free. Or also, grant permanent residency to anyone that volunteers to repair and participate in these rural areas. Some sort of incentivization program where foreigners get immigration advantages for helping rural areas, so everyone wins.
Like many countries, Japan's rural, town and small city populations continue to migrate into the cities. Among the Japanese, there will be older people who remember the Japan of the 1950s, 60s and 70s, and where the tourist hotspots were back then. These tourist areas likely still hold the original reasons for their popularity, and possibly some of the remnants of the original tourist infrastructure. My suggestion would be to take advantage of this existing knowledge (i.e., reach out to these people) and to re-promote these tourist areas that were once popular. You could call it "retro-tourism". As an example, I traveled from Kyoto to Shotenkyo on the Sea of Japan, which is still considered one of Japan's best beaches, now a rather quiet and charming fishing village. In the entire time I was there I didn't see another Westerner. Following a few days of seeing only a few locals in the town I walked down to the beach and found a group of about thirty Japanese young women and their instructor from a university in Kyoto, spending the afternoon making huge sand castles. There must be innumerable places in Japan that still have that bygone charm and would love to see a return of some tourists.
This is an excellent idea. It reminded me of an interview I witnessed a few years ago. A woman from Yamanakako was talking about how in the 70s and 80s that part of the Fuji 5 Lakes saw a lot of tourists, and how that boom has faded away. (Yamanakako is really sleepy compared to Kawaguchiko/Fujiyoshida). Restoring that as a destination makes sense, although it is clear at first look why it doesnt get the foreign tourists - there is no train station, nor a real distinct highway bus stop. The infrastructure would need a facelift, but it would be worth it - it's no less lovely than Kawaguchiko (and has good public onsens).
The thing is that Tokyo is good for tourists because of the easily availability of the train system to be able to go anywhere within tokyo... people dont want to travel halfway around the world to then spend hours on a bullet train to see more of Japan ehen tbey can instead just stay in and around tokyo. Convenience really.
Random thought, no idea if it makes much sense though: What if Japan had more tourist traps? I am talking about places like Times Square which appeal to a very specific kind of tourist. I personally hated every second I spent at Times Square when I visited New York a couple of years ago, but the truth is that a lot of people don't seek out an "authentic" experience of the culture or care to learn about it. I wonder if it makes sense for Japan to intentionally build and promote tourist traps throughout the country for a more mainstream audience who couldn't care less if they visit a historic temple in Kyoto or something entirely artificial as long as it is instagrammable. Especially if Japan wants the number of tourists to keep growing.
Yeah, a lot of Japan already feels like it is being treated like a theme park, so... thats the next step. It makes me think of the old Edo era edict that foreigners could only be on an island off Nagasaki. All foreign tourists go here...only, lol.
Tangential-> main trigger for immense tourism right now is very low value of the yen. Once American interest rates are cut over 2025 and BoJ raises theirs by a tiny amount there will be less tourists that can afford to come as yen value should become more sensible
I don't know, i have always been very skeptical about the benefits of tourism. A lot of influencers often exaggerated the benefits of tourism, despite it made up such a minute part of the economy. Not to mention, they also suspiciously never consider the side effects too. Too much tourism can also drives up housing/land prices. This is exactly what's going on in Kyoto. Kyoto already has 1966 Height limit law and Natural conservation law (sprawl limit), limiting its building supply. But with each tourism wave, more and more supply got taken for Airbnb.
What you say isnt wrong, but the government has decidedly taken the position that "more tourism is better", so the best way to mitigate the negatives you mention is to spread it out to make those negatives less impactful, (and spread out the economic benefits at the same time.)
First trip to Japan last June. intentionally sought places “off the beaten track” - Did not see any of the major “attractions”. Had a fantastic time just experiencing the culture and exploring the vast neighborhoods. We had zero desire to experience crowds of tourists. F that.
I agree with the "already crowded sardine can" analogy. Adding tourists to an already packed ecosystem is not the best idea. It causes disruption and disregulation in an already chaotic environment. It just adds fuel to the fire, so to speak (or otherwise). There needs to be more order and less irregularities at play. If they can find the happy medium, then that would be great. And not overcrowding popular tourist spots as well. It's a fire hazard, for real. Overcrowding makes temperatures rise, and makes cooling systems not work as effectively. Because the coolers/ AC have to work twice as hard, it generates more heat causing an even greater heatwave. And then you have people getting trapped in the crowd, shoulder to shoulder with their fellow man. And they have no choice but to go with the crowd or get trampled. Not a good situation to be in. Or try and push their way through the crowd, but that isn't always an option. The "great wall of people" is even more fearsome than the great wall of China. Then you have no choice but to strategically retreat and find a different way around the city. A city that is overly packed, with tourists or otherwise, is not a great idea. There would be little to no room to breathe, or relax and unwind. It's no wonder that the Japanese are so stressed out. I would be too if I were in their shoes. I agree that both the Japanese and the tourists need to spread out. Being crammed into one single location is not good for anyone. Then people get pushed against the wall, or shoved to the ground, people get stepped on, etc. Plus, it concerns me with the sanitation levels. Germs and bacteria abound with people touching everything and each other. It's a ripe place for another pandemic to break out, and nobody wants that. They need to spread out for their own safety. Especially when people suffer from short tempers/ anger issues, then fights break out and people get hurt. Then said people with said anger issues blow up like a firecracker and lash out at people around them. And telling people to calm down just makes it worse. I just hope with so many tourists abounding that something bad doesn't happen. Hopefully a peaceful solution can be obtained.
@Exjapter The tourist's eyes probably light up when they see other tourists. They're like, "These are my people! Time to nerd out! *Insert geeky anime phrase here*" 🤭
I think most people start to grow an interest in Japan after seeing a movie, manga or other popculture medium. These are almost always riddled with clichés and simplifications of Japanese culture. Tourist campaigns could also focus on places and activities that show Japan in a more realistic day-to-day manner. Like your channel 😊 Also educate people what common social norms are in Japan.
Interesting idea from what you have said - maybe manga/anime/movies could employ a secret agenda of showcasing places people should see but arent on the current tourist routes.
Japan is my favourite place on earth it is a stunningly beautiful country. It is however massively over concentrated in the main cities of Tokyo, Osaka, etc. meanwhile you have 9 million vacant properties. This, in my opinion, is solely down to your work culture and the cost of living crisis. The government should force companies (especially office jobs) to adopt WFH/flexible hybrid working to anyone who wants to move to the country, pick up an abandoned property and especially have babies. That would mean emptier cities and more space.
Personally, I like the part of Japan like the place where you are walking in this video. I am not really into Shibuya because you can see places like that anywhere and I hate crowded places. Big companies and universities should scatter their operations across Japan. A lot of locals move to big cities for employment and education which kills the rural areas. If the rural areas are abandoned, how can you promote tourism there?
It is what it is because these temporary visitors called tourists want to go to Asakusa, Shibuya and Kyoto which are the bucket list places------and not to Basakusa in Saitama, Gibuya in Tohoku or Ryoto in Shikoku. Besides that-----and including Kawaguchiko where you filmed-----outside of the downtown metros, doesn't everywhere else in Japan look the same? Hell, at first glance I thought you were walking around your neighborhood in Yokohama again. P.S. Since it is your topic and you said you were only a 5-minute walk away, you should have checked out that infamous Lawson to see if on that day it was overtouristic-----or not?
You arent wrong - the big ones will always be crowded - but they CAN be less crowded. We already see how social media has sent tourists to places that werent famous 5 or 10 years ago. Sure, neighborhoods look pretty similar, but quiet residential streets are not the tourist spots I am talking about.
@@Exjapter Along with my wife’s videos, the thumbnails I see on TH-cam always seem to involve mainly western tourists who also seem to be freelancers touring on their own. But pre-Covid weren’t there tons of tourists coming in from China? And these tourists are like Japanese in that they have tour guides and buses-----i.e., once when I was in Ginza near the Donki, 4 buses pulled up and a bunch of Chinese tourists poured out to go discount amusement shopping. Good luck to Japanese "suggesting" to Chinese other places to go…….
Very true. The Chinese tourists are gonna do their thing. That said, they are driven by certain trends though too. My friend in Fujiyoshida says they pull up in hired vans onto the main street to take the current 'in' photo of Fuji. So they can be swayed by social media.
@@Exjapter Did you see my P.S. I might have added to my first comment around the time you responded to it? Because it would have been interesting to see how crowded or not that Lawson was with tourists at that random time of your choosing. Of course, dressed up in a suit you might have stood out like a sore thumb----and maybe have been mistaken for an FBI agent?
There are a lot of good vlogs on TH-cam currently, many showcasing out of the way tourist locations in Japan. I wonder if there could be some way to harness these already-existing resources into an aggregation channel? Sort of a 'Channel of Japan' channel. Perhaps it could be sponsored so that it appeared more frequently in the feeds of those interested in travel? It would be beneficial to the individual vloggers because it would be another director to their content. Just a thought.🤔 In the thumbnail of this vlog, you looked like you were about to be run over. After watching the vlog, I understand why! 😲 Be careful in your journeys!🥺
tourism is always a bad economic bet. Japan is not the only country struggling in the current economic setting. spoiler, it won't improve soon, we are going through a phase of inertia that deserves scrutiny and vision. Same for immigration, has to be done with vision and scrutiny to not loose yourself. Anyway, i dont live there, i am not member of this country, so it is not really my concern.
Another great piece, thank you. In addition to diversifying where to go, I can strongly recommend diversifying WHEN to go to some of the most popular sites. Many of these are temples/shrines/parks which are open from sunrise, and are often serenely quiet before the stream of coach buses arrives. So, set an alarm and go early. Last visit I took in Meiji Jingu (Tokyo) with just a smattering of locals, Kan man ga fuchi Abyss (Nikko) with only one other soul (an early rising German) and even cycled through Aoyama, Shinjuku and the Shibuya 5 ways on a Sunday morning, through streets so empty you'd swear the zombie apocalypse had hit. Many visitors bemoan the fact that most Japanese businesses don't open before 10am. I don't! :)
In my Kyoto Without Crowds video I talk about this. Enter Ginkakuji 10 minutes before close and you soon have the place to yourself. They dont kick you out, they just dont let anyone else in. I have photos of the sand garden and pavilion and there isnt a soul there. I always hit up Fushimi Inari at 5am, too.
I love your ideas!!
When I travel to Japan I do exactly what you are talking about. YES...I do like to travel to the more famous places...they are always going to be special. But I also like to visit that little mon and pop coffee shop that looks interesting...or visiting all the different books shops...anime and collector shops....all the little snack places. There really is so much to do and especially at night with taking some street photography.
Another favorite thing I love is chasing the different man hole covers or eki-stamps. There is always just a ton to explore!
Those little back street shops are totally what we love finding.
An "explore" theme would be an interesting idea. So worth it, if you are willing to take the chance. (Which isnt really a risk at all)
@@Exjapter I think most people who go to Japan are doing so for a really short time....and so...they dont have the time (at least in their minds) to "explore". I know that I certainly feel that way when I go to Japan. I always find that I'm in a rush because I only have 4 weeks to see things and it is NEVER enough. That is sort of the issue....there is actually NO place you can go in Japan that is NOT interesting. There is always something worthy of time and a photo...which is why I love it so much and why I have commited the rest of my days to travelling only to Japan!
I was stationed there in the early 80s. No cell phones. Social Media was radio and tv. Ticket takers were human and punched your ticket as you entered the train station. I still remember the clinking sound they used to make with their puncher. Their train system mesmerized me and I would often just ride it in one direction and get off somewhere I had never been before. Gaijens were still uncommon even in Tokyo. I was 6’4” so I would always get the “sugoi and nagai” I felt like a rock star there. Some of the best times in my life spending my time exploring Japan and its people. 😊
I still play that game sometimes - choose a random time on my watch and get off at whatever station is there.
Also, along with your TikTok idea, Japan should encourage their animes to feature location well outside the beaten path. A lot of people want to see the same locations they see in their favorite anime, so moving the anime settings outside of Tokyo and the other main tourist areas will help distribute some tourists all over the country.
Yes, this is a great idea!
It would definitely be great to see a campaign to bring tourism to other places in Japan. I know I’d like to visit more than the same five places…
People see the same beautiful spot and assume THAT has to be the only/best. Couldnt be farther from the truth.
Even finding the hidden gems in the regular tourist cities doesn't really solve the broader problem. Having many Korean friends they are mainly attracted to Kyushu....shopping and eating in Fukuoka and then going to Oita Prefecture and hitting the Hot Spring towns of Yufuin and Beppu. The key to their openness to coming to these places is the direct transportation from Seoul or Busan using airplanes, ferries and hovercraft. Thus, my strategy then would be to attract Asian airlines to open more direct routes to various places in Japan while at the same time seriously promoting the sites and food of each area.
Yes, getting the tourists to the places that could use an economic boost but lack ease of access is a challenge, certainly. Local municipalities have proven themselves to be very bad at doing the sort of things that could bring in the tourists. .
I think I managed to visit Japan last time just before the explosion in tourism numbers, almost two years ago in January, so not high season. Okinawa seemed to have very few tourists, Kyoto seemed to have similar numbers to before the pandemic, Osaka was maybe a bit less busy than before the pandemic, around the old Tsukiji fish market was the busiest. And all the random in between places had basically no foreigners other than me.
That sounds about right.
Most tourists got to Tokyo. And then you've silly Mario Kart running around, this highlights the core of the issue
It only silly if it doesn't sell and clearly it does. Sales 101
I think something can be simultaneously silly and sell at the same time...
I thought those were banned! But I’ve seen them too much since returning to Japan to live
@@ls.c.5682 They can't call them mario karts or wear mario costumes so maybe call them barrio carts now
Good ideas. What if "Find your Tokyo" or "Find your Japan" or "Find your Fuji" was put out as a competition or challenge to the various regions or communities in Japan?
They could post their submissions to the various Social Media Channels etc.
Yes! I would love to be a part of organizing something like that.
Or 🤔 .... Maybe rather than 'Find my Tokyo', perhaps ..
'Where's MY prefecture ?' ... or ... 'I found MYSELF ?kms from Tokyo' (how many kilometres from Tokyo/Osaka did you find YOURSELF ?)
Or ... 'MY search for a tropical Paradise found me in Okinawa' ... 'MY quest for the best beaches in the world found me in Shirahama Wakayama' ... 'I found my own surf break in Miyazaki ' ... "I found my ultimate powder skiing in Niigata' ... My quest for the highest mountains found me at the foot of mount Fuji in Yamanashi' .... 'My quest for the world's most renowned rice terraces found me in Ishikawa' .... etc etc
Put the emphasis on the 'end goal' rather than the temporary arrival in a Japan city.
Good ideas 👍
This could easily be an ad campaign.
I thought the same thing as soon as I read your title and yeah Chris has been saying the same thing for some time. People just need to be recommended different areas to visit. But there is already so much out there in various different forms with travel itinerary recommendations for the usual places and for the majority of peoples first visit is pretty much spot on.
I would agree with trying to encourage people out to lesser visited places. However I think they should also try to improve infrastructure, procedures and information services for locals/visitors to handle higher volumes of people. People are still likely to arrive/leave from Narita/Haneda.
Personally I enjoy the rural areas a lot more than the cities of any country and there are people making content of beautiful areas in Japan. However the beauty of a lot of those places is that you go there feeling like the only gai'jin in the village (my old Little Britain inspired joke ; )......and some of the rural areas are not keen to attract more people like Takachiho (Miyazaki). Difficult to build infrastructure like double lane roads on the side of mountains to handle higher volumes of people to towns that don't want the extra load.
I think the best is to try to do what I mentioned in paragraph 2 and heavily promote places that A) Can support higher volumes of people and B) actually want higher numbers of people like Fukushima which has had a fair amount of NHK coverage over the last couple of years trying to draw people back with subsidy programs. Maybe incentives could be extended to rural areas that need the tourists like free government paid travel and promotion on how budget friendly the places are compared to Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka in regard to accommodation.
I hear you on rural areas not wanting a lot of extra traffic, especially on infrastructure that is not ready for it. But there are plenty of places that are ready made tourist attractions, but are visited by only Japanese and some few random foreigners. A group of friends just went up to Sendai and Matsushima and had an absolute blast, and they didnt feel like they were just another division in a thundering horde of gaijin.
The infrastructure is already there, it just isnt on a lot of foreign tourist's lists.
I can go on and on about how Kyoto isnt a crowded city. Just a few sections see the brunt of the tourism. I think the numbers that are there currently would become completely manageable if they knew enough to spread out.
@@Exjapter Yes for sure, heaps of places to go outside of the main places, I agree...I was in Sendai, Matsushima and the mountains up behind Sendai last September/October. There were a lot of gaijin and secret gaijin (Chinese). Plenty of infrastructure in place and the roads in Sendai city were a breeze to drive, very wide/open like Matsumoto. I was going to say that there are plenty of people going rural also...not like Niigata where my otosan/okasan live, but I was surprised how many gaijin were in Yakushima and Kagoshima April last year. Theres basically just a shitload of people visiting Japan atm due to the drop in the yen.
@@missplainjane3905 I've still have heaps to see in Japan, but I have been to every prefecture.
@@VanillaPeach-y7l How long is a piece of string? I've been married to my Japanese wife for 26 years now and when we were younger we spent more time racing around seeing as much as possible. But now we're older we usually stay in one place longer to enjoy it more, I think unless your passing through you should stay in each location for at least 2 nights so it doesn't feel like your constantly on the road. But its personal preference, you have more energy when your young and when you get older you think, life should not be a race.....Comparing Japan to Australia in regards to development/advancement is way way too deep a conversation for a youtube reply. But if you ever meet me relaxing having a beer. Please ask me again.
@@VanillaPeach-y7l If you click peoples names on youtube you can see if they have shared content on youtube and they might show their face on their videos. I have not hidden mine..........
If there is an economic resurgence and the prices go up…. That would probably do it
One other thing I've noticed where tourism in Japanese is different than in the US. In the US, tourist destinations are (generally speaking) things that local people avoid. People that live in Las Vegas don't go to the Hoover Dam, people that live in New York don't really go to the Statue of Liberty, etc. But, in Japan, the things the tourists want to do are a lot of the same things the Japanese do in their regular lives and that tends to cause a lot more friction with tourism in Japan compared to other places.
This is true in some cases, although I have had many students who grew up in Kyoto and have never been to Kinkakuji or Fushimi Inari. Most residents around Fuji have never climbed it...
But I think you are right - a lot more of the good tourist spots are enjoyed by the locals as well.
動画内でもおっしゃっていた通り、東京や大阪から離れた地域の過疎化が日本で現在大きな問題になっていて、それに伴ってそれらの地方自治体の財政悪化が進んでいます。それを解決するために地方税の支払先を選べる「ふるさと納税」という制度が導入され、また、県の制度をやめて日本を13個の州に分割するというような議論も起こっています。日本への観光者数はパンデミック以降増加してきています。東京や京都だけでなく、田舎の観光者を増やすためにも、ソーシャルメディアの活用は欠かせないでしょう。近年、アニメや漫画の舞台となった地域がそれを活用した観光事業で成功している事例もあるそうなので、それも一つの解決策になると考えます。
(I couldn't write in English lol)
すごい 👍
I like the anime and manga idea very much. Harness the influence of Japan's hottest export!
Thank you for an excellent video and looking for solutions to overtourism (as it certainly needs to be addressed). Indeed, most of the problems derive from the issue that everybody want to go to the same spots. And there's nothing much to be done with this. Most of the people are too superficial and comfort orientated. They want to relate to the previous experiences of Kinkakuji or Shibuya crossing. Also maybe there is fear of not being understandable in a distant village or getting totally lost in countryside. To have the courage to pursue more "profound" destinations, you have to have much more knowledge than our shallow lifestyle provides. (I come from a small country by myself and most of the (Japanese) tourists visit only our capital and never venture outside)
My most extreme idea is to have all planes to Japan show only old Anthony Bourdain shows on the in flight entertainment, to inspire and tease out the explorer in everyone. 😂
It feels like Japanese content creators tend to be more secretive with the places they film. Many times I tracked down locations and posted them only to get deleted or a comment like "great, now tourist crowds can ruin them" people don't realize that 10 tourists in 100 places makes the one place that gets 1000 tourists enjoyable again. Japan has so many beautiful spots, they really have where to distribute people.
Interesting. Most content creators I watch try to put places out there in my experience. Once I finish my giant thesis paper I totally plan to get out and do a Find Your Yokohama series of videos. Been wanting to do that forever but time has been the problem.
Some good solutions. I have been 2 times to Japan as a tourist. In 2018 before the Pandemic and this year 2024. You say it well. Some places are too busy even without tourists. But the problem is places are simply must see. Asakusa is for example a 'sort' of 'Eifel Tower kind of famous'. So a lot of people go there. So also maybe a system spreading the tourists there in terms of time could be an idea. I don't know if it is a good idea to have time slots (probably not) but maybe there can be some app or site that measures the amount of people and then you could see if it is really busy in one place so you can decide to travel elsewhere and get to that place on another time. The places on the map could be color coded like a traffic light. Red means busy. Green is not busy and orange in between. Also there should be a new rail pass system combined with a renewed campaign to spread tourists countrywide. And make the rail passes not more expensive than it already is. I visited Tohoku last times and I found Sendai a fascinating city. I am a fan and friend of TH-cam Channel Lemi from Japan. She promoted her downtown Sendai and so I got the idea to travel there. So also normal (good) TH-camrs are sometimes doing good things in that regard. Keep up the Channel. I am enjoying the content.
Your app idea is great because it would, for instance, immediately show how the rest of Asakusa around Sensoji is almost empty. There are cute shops and little cafes, and no tourists bother to explore it.
@@Exjapter Absolutely. When I was there the side streets are indeed 'doable' but then you come on the Main Street and man it was busy there.
Great ideas, you are very knowledgeable and smart man🙏🥂👌
I wouldnt go that far, but thank you.
I guess most visitors have a set time, one or maybe two weeks. What they want is easy access and convenience. The Tokyo..Osaka..Kyoto route is easy and delivers bang for bucks. I'm glad i got that done 15 years ago. I had a business there for 13 years, but still return every year to see the best parts, eg, anything out of the cities. I feel very fortunate to have seen all the big attractions before the rush. But like you said, even in Tokyo, anywhere other than Shibuya, Shinjuku, Asakasa, Ueno, there are gems to be found, and great folk to meet.
The convenience and time constrain is 100% understandable. But what I dont understand is, in those wonderland cities with so much to do, the same landmarks see all the traffic. Kyoto has utterly amazing places that when I visit I'm practically by myself.
@@Exjapter all directed and influenced by the instagram thing. The Lawson shot is a great example. Personally, if I'm taking a photo then I look for the shot that no one else does. I was just in Kawaguchiko earlier this year. And not one photo of a Lawson.
I think once smaller places off the " beaten track" figure out they can make tourist money hand over fist, it will revitalise smaller areas,more jobs, businesses, some great ideas mate, maybe the Japanese govt tourist departments need to take a leaf out of other countries tourism strategies, this current boom is still relatively new, a great opportunity for Japan :)
There are opportunities for sure. I wish I had opened or invested in something in Kawaguchiko back in 2015 when I was thinking about it. May have lost my shirt in 2020 though.
I'm the exact opposite. Obviously the Tokyo metro map isn't convoluted enough to keep them hopelessly lost in Tokyo. I'm thinking maybe create a Potemkin village where the geisha girls speak English and accept USD, kimono rentals, and all day mario-karting!
Hahaha. Shall we go into business together? So many of the tourists already see Japan as a theme park, so they wouldnt notice the difference.
Seriously, if I find myself at Sensoji these days the only thing Japanese about the place is the architecture.
haha that is possibly a great idea, would just need a lot of promotion and some cultural alterations. Like its ok to have tattoos and wear bathers in onsens/sentos. Maybe grab some staff from Niseko as the ski season ends and sakura season begins....personally I like the no tattoo rules for onsens coz I don't have any 😁
@@VirtualHorizonz I think the onsen thing about tattoos isn't that cut-and-dried. Everybody tries to avoid eye contact, and certainly nobody is checking you out for tattoos - especially us gaijin who really get a free pass for things like tattoos.
Onsens are traditionally working class establishments. Rich people had their own bathtubs. It was the guy getting off of work who used an onsen.
One thing our Potemkin village could have which does have precedent is that it could be co-ed onsens. Personally, I'm not all that keen on bathing with a bunch of dudes, but maybe that's just me.
@@TheShrededward Thats why I was saying I like the no tattoo rule. Its heaps easier to just chill without other gaijins in the onsen 🤣
And by the way: Japanese people by visiting Switzerland do go in most busy cities and streets and extremely Selten in some places outside famous spots !!!!!!!!!!
How about repurposing akiyas into sharehouses for students? If they volunteer to help rebuild the houses and local infrastructure during a portion their stay, and participate in a some sort of cultural exchange with locals, they can stay there for free. Or also, grant permanent residency to anyone that volunteers to repair and participate in these rural areas. Some sort of incentivization program where foreigners get immigration advantages for helping rural areas, so everyone wins.
This is the type of idea that makes me want to found an NGO. Great stuff!
Like many countries, Japan's rural, town and small city populations continue to migrate into the cities. Among the Japanese, there will be older people who remember the Japan of the 1950s, 60s and 70s, and where the tourist hotspots were back then. These tourist areas likely still hold the original reasons for their popularity, and possibly some of the remnants of the original tourist infrastructure. My suggestion would be to take advantage of this existing knowledge (i.e., reach out to these people) and to re-promote these tourist areas that were once popular. You could call it "retro-tourism".
As an example, I traveled from Kyoto to Shotenkyo on the Sea of Japan, which is still considered one of Japan's best beaches, now a rather quiet and charming fishing village. In the entire time I was there I didn't see another Westerner. Following a few days of seeing only a few locals in the town I walked down to the beach and found a group of about thirty Japanese young women and their instructor from a university in Kyoto, spending the afternoon making huge sand castles.
There must be innumerable places in Japan that still have that bygone charm and would love to see a return of some tourists.
This is an excellent idea. It reminded me of an interview I witnessed a few years ago. A woman from Yamanakako was talking about how in the 70s and 80s that part of the Fuji 5 Lakes saw a lot of tourists, and how that boom has faded away. (Yamanakako is really sleepy compared to Kawaguchiko/Fujiyoshida). Restoring that as a destination makes sense, although it is clear at first look why it doesnt get the foreign tourists - there is no train station, nor a real distinct highway bus stop. The infrastructure would need a facelift, but it would be worth it - it's no less lovely than Kawaguchiko (and has good public onsens).
TY - good potential solutions
Thank you. There are other great ideas out there too. Action needs to be taken beyond "lets have more tourists come."
The thing is that Tokyo is good for tourists because of the easily availability of the train system to be able to go anywhere within tokyo... people dont want to travel halfway around the world to then spend hours on a bullet train to see more of Japan ehen tbey can instead just stay in and around tokyo. Convenience really.
Most everyone takes the bullet train to Osaka, Kyoto and Hiroshima though. No reason they couldnt choose a different destination or two.
Random thought, no idea if it makes much sense though: What if Japan had more tourist traps? I am talking about places like Times Square which appeal to a very specific kind of tourist. I personally hated every second I spent at Times Square when I visited New York a couple of years ago, but the truth is that a lot of people don't seek out an "authentic" experience of the culture or care to learn about it. I wonder if it makes sense for Japan to intentionally build and promote tourist traps throughout the country for a more mainstream audience who couldn't care less if they visit a historic temple in Kyoto or something entirely artificial as long as it is instagrammable. Especially if Japan wants the number of tourists to keep growing.
Yeah, a lot of Japan already feels like it is being treated like a theme park, so... thats the next step.
It makes me think of the old Edo era edict that foreigners could only be on an island off Nagasaki. All foreign tourists go here...only, lol.
Tangential-> main trigger for immense tourism right now is very low value of the yen. Once American interest rates are cut over 2025 and BoJ raises theirs by a tiny amount there will be less tourists that can afford to come as yen value should become more sensible
I hope you are right, but I am not holding my breath.
I don't know, i have always been very skeptical about the benefits of tourism. A lot of influencers often exaggerated the benefits of tourism, despite it made up such a minute part of the economy.
Not to mention, they also suspiciously never consider the side effects too. Too much tourism can also drives up housing/land prices. This is exactly what's going on in Kyoto. Kyoto already has 1966 Height limit law and Natural conservation law (sprawl limit), limiting its building supply. But with each tourism wave, more and more supply got taken for Airbnb.
What you say isnt wrong, but the government has decidedly taken the position that "more tourism is better", so the best way to mitigate the negatives you mention is to spread it out to make those negatives less impactful, (and spread out the economic benefits at the same time.)
First trip to Japan last June. intentionally sought places “off the beaten track” - Did not see any of the major “attractions”. Had a fantastic time just experiencing the culture and exploring the vast neighborhoods. We had zero desire to experience crowds of tourists. F that.
Why would I travel to a country and hang out with the other foreign tourists. I get it though - it feels 'safe'.
Japan Earning so much money: Only Kyoto alone, not to mention other places: Tourism brings Mony: Good money
They might move some spots to other cities like South Korea do about overpopulation in Seoul ❤
The K-Pop fans already do. They just need a bigger anime industry now.
I agree with the "already crowded sardine can" analogy. Adding tourists to an already packed ecosystem is not the best idea. It causes disruption and disregulation in an already chaotic environment. It just adds fuel to the fire, so to speak (or otherwise). There needs to be more order and less irregularities at play. If they can find the happy medium, then that would be great. And not overcrowding popular tourist spots as well. It's a fire hazard, for real. Overcrowding makes temperatures rise, and makes cooling systems not work as effectively. Because the coolers/ AC have to work twice as hard, it generates more heat causing an even greater heatwave. And then you have people getting trapped in the crowd, shoulder to shoulder with their fellow man. And they have no choice but to go with the crowd or get trampled. Not a good situation to be in. Or try and push their way through the crowd, but that isn't always an option. The "great wall of people" is even more fearsome than the great wall of China. Then you have no choice but to strategically retreat and find a different way around the city. A city that is overly packed, with tourists or otherwise, is not a great idea. There would be little to no room to breathe, or relax and unwind. It's no wonder that the Japanese are so stressed out. I would be too if I were in their shoes. I agree that both the Japanese and the tourists need to spread out. Being crammed into one single location is not good for anyone. Then people get pushed against the wall, or shoved to the ground, people get stepped on, etc. Plus, it concerns me with the sanitation levels. Germs and bacteria abound with people touching everything and each other. It's a ripe place for another pandemic to break out, and nobody wants that. They need to spread out for their own safety. Especially when people suffer from short tempers/ anger issues, then fights break out and people get hurt. Then said people with said anger issues blow up like a firecracker and lash out at people around them. And telling people to calm down just makes it worse. I just hope with so many tourists abounding that something bad doesn't happen. Hopefully a peaceful solution can be obtained.
I dislike crowds, and am kind of bemused as to why tourists put up with them by actively seeking out the most crowded spots.
@Exjapter The tourist's eyes probably light up when they see other tourists. They're like, "These are my people! Time to nerd out! *Insert geeky anime phrase here*" 🤭
I think most people start to grow an interest in Japan after seeing a movie, manga or other popculture medium. These are almost always riddled with clichés and simplifications of Japanese culture. Tourist campaigns could also focus on places and activities that show Japan in a more realistic day-to-day manner. Like your channel 😊 Also educate people what common social norms are in Japan.
Interesting idea from what you have said - maybe manga/anime/movies could employ a secret agenda of showcasing places people should see but arent on the current tourist routes.
Japan is my favourite place on earth it is a stunningly beautiful country. It is however massively over concentrated in the main cities of Tokyo, Osaka, etc. meanwhile you have 9 million vacant properties.
This, in my opinion, is solely down to your work culture and the cost of living crisis. The government should force companies (especially office jobs) to adopt WFH/flexible hybrid working to anyone who wants to move to the country, pick up an abandoned property and especially have babies.
That would mean emptier cities and more space.
I made an entire video suggesting this very thing. Carrot and stick approach to getting companies to de-centralize from Tokyo.
There is a cost of living crisis in Japan? Friends there tell me things are much better in Japan than the west in this respect.
Please bring more tourists in Tokushima. ( ´艸｀)
I need to get there myself! I have never been to Shikoku....
Son and I would have gone there but we didn't have enough time to do so.
Please no 😊 Shikoku is my sanctuary… yeah? I know it’s a bit selfish.
@BeesBugsJapan I get it. I have thought about filming my favorite hanami spot by Mt Fuji... but keep holding out because I like that it's a secret.
Excellent ideas! Have you considered taking citizenship and running for office?
Oof...
Personally, I like the part of Japan like the place where you are walking in this video. I am not really into Shibuya because you can see places like that anywhere and I hate crowded places.
Big companies and universities should scatter their operations across Japan. A lot of locals move to big cities for employment and education which kills the rural areas. If the rural areas are abandoned, how can you promote tourism there?
Exactly right. At the base of things, all the action is becoming more and more concentrated by the Japanese locals themselves.
It is what it is because these temporary visitors called tourists want to go to Asakusa, Shibuya and Kyoto which are the bucket list places------and not to Basakusa in Saitama, Gibuya in Tohoku or Ryoto in Shikoku.
Besides that-----and including Kawaguchiko where you filmed-----outside of the downtown metros, doesn't everywhere else in Japan look the same? Hell, at first glance I thought you were walking around your neighborhood in Yokohama again.
P.S. Since it is your topic and you said you were only a 5-minute walk away, you should have checked out that infamous Lawson to see if on that day it was overtouristic-----or not?
You arent wrong - the big ones will always be crowded - but they CAN be less crowded. We already see how social media has sent tourists to places that werent famous 5 or 10 years ago.
Sure, neighborhoods look pretty similar, but quiet residential streets are not the tourist spots I am talking about.
@@Exjapter Along with my wife’s videos, the thumbnails I see on TH-cam always seem to involve mainly western tourists who also seem to be freelancers touring on their own.
But pre-Covid weren’t there tons of tourists coming in from China? And these tourists are like Japanese in that they have tour guides and buses-----i.e., once when I was in Ginza near the Donki, 4 buses pulled up and a bunch of Chinese tourists poured out to go discount amusement shopping.
Good luck to Japanese "suggesting" to Chinese other places to go…….
Very true. The Chinese tourists are gonna do their thing. That said, they are driven by certain trends though too. My friend in Fujiyoshida says they pull up in hired vans onto the main street to take the current 'in' photo of Fuji. So they can be swayed by social media.
@@Exjapter Did you see my P.S. I might have added to my first comment around the time you responded to it? Because it would have been interesting to see how crowded or not that Lawson was with tourists at that random time of your choosing.
Of course, dressed up in a suit you might have stood out like a sore thumb----and maybe have been mistaken for an FBI agent?
There are a lot of good vlogs on TH-cam currently, many showcasing out of the way tourist locations in Japan. I wonder if there could be some way to harness these already-existing resources into an aggregation channel? Sort of a 'Channel of Japan' channel. Perhaps it could be sponsored so that it appeared more frequently in the feeds of those interested in travel? It would be beneficial to the individual vloggers because it would be another director to their content. Just a thought.🤔
In the thumbnail of this vlog, you looked like you were about to be run over. After watching the vlog, I understand why! 😲 Be careful in your journeys!🥺
I like this idea a lot. A meta-channel, as it were.
Nice
Thanks!
Ja, urbanisation must stop,. So Craftwork become a Beautiful Local Industry again. Than people don't need to go to Classical Tourism Locations.
tourism is always a bad economic bet. Japan is not the only country struggling in the current economic setting. spoiler, it won't improve soon, we are going through a phase of inertia that deserves scrutiny and vision. Same for immigration, has to be done with vision and scrutiny to not loose yourself. Anyway, i dont live there, i am not member of this country, so it is not really my concern.
Done with vision and scrutiny is a great way to phrase it.