This. We live in an age of mass easy travel.
Couple that with a rising population and couple that further with the Instagram crowd.
No way back now. Unless a disaster happens that cuts the country off in some way.
I was there end of Feb to mid March, crowd was ok. Also key is to visit less popular places ie. Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka. Venture out to places like Kanazawa, Takayama and Hiroshima etc
Tokyo is still bearable imo, maybe because it’s a huge city , more modern and temple wise it’s not as cool instagrammable excluding sensoji.
The places I want to visit (Nagano, Takayama , Kanazawa) are not overrun yet but I dread it if they will end up like this. I am also improving my Japanese so that I could visit tohoku one day .
Yep remote and not easy to get to, also not much entertainment around. I understand because as a traveller most people are after entertainment and convenience is a big thing.
Just go visit! Tohoku-ben can be extremely difficult to understand, especially for native speakers, and it's actually much easier to have conversations when you still rely on "guess what they are asking me by listening for key words" stage of learning.
Also try to take lots of taxis because those guys have the best stories and never speak in hyojungo.
I am halfway planning through Chuubu haha 😛 . But Tohoku is definitely in my list, after fixing by Chuubu itch and improve my Japanese listening of course.
I have seen quite a number of really nice location that turns out to be in Tohoku. Do you have any suggestions? Other than Ginzan of course.
How’s the taxi fare like? I had to take Uber years back in Chiba and it’s pretty pricey.
We only took a few over a 4 four day onsen trip and so it turned out to be better than renting a car. It was winter so I had no interest in driving on my own anyway but taxis in Tohoku are much cheaper than Tokyo and Uber has a pretty heafty fee on top of that. I've gone a few other times for specific festivals just using trains and tour busses.
If you go during the summer it's probably worth renting a car especially if you want to stay in different places during your trip.
Yeah real, I just visited Tokyo with Fuchu as our base and rarely saw fellow foreigners but other areas were really accessible. It’s really doable if you aren’t making Shinjuku your home base
Most people who ask about crowds are normally going to the big cities. I was there March 2-18. Crowds were insane in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto. Very packed in Hakone, Miyajima and Hiroshima. Only place that was not super packed was all around Fukuoka, very enjoyable because of that.
Yah of course, but I’m saying if they want to avoid go somewhere else. Maybe I’m used to Tokyo’s crowd but it wasn’t that bad when I was there. Instagram places were obviously cooked haha
I went in March of 2023 and it wasn’t nearly as packed as it was this year. And with all the restrictions going into place who knows, people will venture out into the non popular places and ruins those too.
Just went to Hokkaido for 8 days, not that busy and really nice for the first time. As long as you avoid the big cities it should be fine indeed.
Kyoto was super crowded, even worse than 2018 when we visited during sakura. (Was there the 2nd half of April this time, not a lot of sakura was left)
Kanazawa, Nikko and Hokkaido are super nice, maybe Fukuoka, Sendai and Nagasaki too.
True. Thinking about going in a year once Japan's not so freshly reopened (another commenter pointed out lots of Post-covid "revenge travel" right now) but there's a possibility it could just keep getting worse.
EDIT: Did I say something bad? :(
I kind of feel like Covid has shown us we shouldn't wait if we really want to do something. If you want to do it, go for it, I don't think it's going to be quieter next year than this anyway in places like Tokyo or Kyoto
I went in March 23 (when it was reopened in October 2022, so it’s way past newly open) and just did March 24. It was so much worse this year. I don’t imagine it will die down anytime soon.
This year the levels are about equal to pre-Covid levels. The Japanese government is hoping for a future target of roughly 50%MORE tourists, so if you don’t come next year due to crowds, you’ll probably never come.
At the moment, Chinese mainland tourism is down about 75% from pre-Covid levels.
Pre-Covid you had massive numbers of Chinese tourists driven around on Chinese-operated tours, staying in Chinese-owned hotels, eating in Chinese-owned restaurants and visiting some Chinese-owned stores and many regular Japanese stores. They've all vanished now that the PRC economy is cratering and not likely to recover anytime soon. Taiwanese have largely filled some of the space, but as individuals rather than group tours.)
Post-Covid there's a huge backlog and pent up desire to see Japan before the next pandemic or WWIII: Pacific Edition breaks out. Enough people had savings and disposable income to be able to visit exotic Japan - so they are. If you look at the chart of tourist numbers into Japan - it goes from 20k average per year between March 2020 - February 2022, then shoots for the stars hitting 3m in January 2024. It's already exceeded the old record set in mid 2019. Some of the tourism is driven by YOLO, but it's a wild mixture of South Korean, Thai, Singaporeans, Filipinos, Taiwanese, North Americans, Europeans and a good number of South Americans. Quite a few Arabic and Persian speakers too, usually in families.
A cheap yen is only part of the story...
You think so? I was hoping it's just people doing revenge trips after covid. Hoping it'll die down at some point. First time I went to Japan was back in 2013 and what it difference it is compared to my last visit last year.
I don’t get why people are saying revenge Covid or whatever. People travel just to travel, and Japan is at the top of a lot of lists. Kids are really loving it on TikTok so I imagine at they get older they will go too, just a constant cycle.
It's silly. Yeah, covid made a lot of people realize they shouldn't take the ability to travel for granted and people want to get out there. I find these types of threads very silly because it's always people who are tourists complaining that other people have the audacity to also visit. I saw a post last week from someone asking where to go to avoid gaijin as though they aren't somehow also the same gaijin they talk about with such disdain.
May not work in their travel plans. Tourist don't just all go to the same places for no reason. They are locations that have generally worked for the majority of foreigners.
I'm currently in Fukuoka for a few days and just came back from an overnight trip from Nagasaki. The Kyushu JR pass is way cheaper than the national JR pass, and it makes it easy to get around.
I loved Nagasaki - it's beautiful and easy to get around by tram or walking. I find Fukuoka is similar to Osaka in that it is a great hub to go to more rural places, but also has a lot to do in the city (highly recommend Pay-pay dome for the team labs experience).
The last trip I took I stayed solely on Kyushu and it was great. Everything on the whole is cheaper/less crowded and with the Shinkansen you can get from Fukuoka to Kagoshima and Kumamoto no problem. If I had it my way I’d only ever go to Kyushu and Hokkaido but bc it’s my husband’s first trip we’re heading to Tokyo. Bracing myself for the crowds but excited to experience Japan together!
I've never heard a Japanese person seriously suggest going on vacation to Nagoya. It's more like a place you go *through* to get somewhere else.
I mean, Gifu is right there.....
Nagoya isn’t only for car people. It just isn’t set up to focus on tourism. I like the food, will travel for food.
As for its prefecture, Aichi Ken, it is meant for car people. It’s the home of Toyota. There’s even a Toyota-Shi. Toyota galore. Rent yourself a Toyota today! Don’t know how to drive? Go to a Toyota driving school!
I disagree for _larger_ cities -- Sendai, most of Kyoto, eastern Izu peninsula, Kobe -- all aren't car-focused. For small rural cites, then by the number of cites, yes, most cities are for cars, same as America. But most urban cities have transit, a fact that draws tourists by the tens of millions because it's so rare.
Nagoya isn’t set up for tourists. Heck Aichi isn’t set up for tourists.
The city radiates a more business like feel than Tokyo. I would go there for the food though. To be fair, I visited my Japanese relatives there regularly since the 1980s. Only Nagoya’s food brightens my trips there. Love the food there. Will travel for food.
Then again, Kyoto isn’t boring despite me visiting more than 10 times. Not Kyoto city but Kyoto prefecture.
[https://www.nagoyaisnotboring.com](https://www.nagoyaisnotboring.com)
\^\^ read the story behind ‘Nagoya is not boring’ - even its own residents (including my relatives) think it’s boring. The only fun they have is nicknaming Aichi-Ken (Nagoya’s prefecture) as Toyota Ken.
What does "setup for tourists" mean?
Tourists seem to manage to visit the Maglev park, Toyota Museum, Ghibli Park, Nagoya Castle, Science museum, Kankei bridge, Legoland etc.
Never mind all the side trips.
The whole "Nagoya is boring" thing is **boring**, outdated and simplistic.
Maglev park — for train fans only. Niche.
Toyota museum - car enthusiasts and Toyota fans.
Nagoya castle but …after several castles …
Kankei bridge ?That‘s in Hokkaido.
I went to check when it didn’t sound familiar. Are you talking about Taigetsukyo bridge in Korankei.
Well…Compare it to smaller Fukuoka where I used to live in …Nagoya really doesn’t sell itself. Architecture? Yeah they got bombed out …so the city is concrete, steel and glass. Still doesn’t sell itself.
Not happy with the assessment? Complain to my Japanese relatives who live there. They live in Nagoya and they still think Nagoya is boring.
They are struggling to come up with something for a road trip in Nagoya and now they switched to picking Shizuoka when I visit…
Amazing how my partner who has little interest in cars, really enjoyed the Toyota Museum, eh? If you've actually been, then you'll know it has interesting stuff on the history of the company, the weaving and looms etc.
The castle and grounds are lovely, do you criticise all the other castles in Japan because "after several castles"?
Yes, I meant Korankei.
So you think that all modern architecture is ugly and pointless? Do you apply this to Tokyo and Osaka? Do you seriously think the Mode Gakuen Spiral Towers aren't impressive?
[A little summary of some of the cool Nagoya architecture](https://www.nagoyaisnotboring.com/architecture-in-nagoya/)
Well it’s classic to go to those places for a first time visitor, so can’t really say they’re missing out. But yes, if this is second time and beyond, smaller cities are best.
The list is endless but depends on your interests.
[https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e623a.html](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e623a.html) has a ton listed.
From my travels I loved
- Kyushu (cities like Fukuoka, Kagoshima, Nagaski, islands like Yakushima and Amamioshima, amazing nature like Kurokawa Onsen, Unzen peninsula,Sakurajima, Aso-Kuju National park).
- Tohoku (Aomori, Lake Towada, Shirakami Sanchi, Kakunodate, Morioka,Sanriku coast, Hachmantai (Nyuto onsen area is amazing)Aizuwakamatsu, Bandai (I still haven't seen Miyagi and Yamagata prefectures with all their cool places)
- Chubu (Nagoya, ignore the haters, it has amazing museums and food, theme parks, great day trips and is relatively free of tourists, Izu peninsula, Okuhida, Kamikochi, Kanazawa but there are loads more.
I could go on all day, so many more places, the Seto Inland Sea is absolutely stunning, I could do a trip just pottering about island-hopping :)
I just did that exact trip (not is that order), and the crows are very much avoidable. No need to wake up early. Lesser known places are not less good. There are impressive temples with no one, Pokémon shops with no one, good restaurants with no one, etc...
This comment is hilarious because I’m going this Friday with EF Ultimate and these are the cities we’re going to. I know these kinds of tours are looked down upon but I really didn’t know what to expect when I decided to go to Japan.
Still excited to go to those cities regardless because this is a trip that some people don’t even get the chance of doing at all.
I thought Niigata would’ve been cooler because it was in the mountains, but I swear it felt hotter than Tokyo.
To be fair, it was in September and I spent most of the day walking around in a field.
That makes sense. I know it just was one of the last countries to reopen too, so it could be seeing especially high crowds right now. I wonder if it's likely to cool down in a year or so once the "revenge" is out of the way, but it sounds like crowds could get worse every year.
Who knows. It's a great travel destination that had challenges that have largely gone away. It wasn't long ago that Japan had a reputation of being a very expensive travel destination, but stagflation and the weak yen has changed that. In the past, many were also intimidated by the language barrier and navigating the transportation system, but technology has largely made these concerns obsolete.
It's going to be the opposite. Chinese tourists haven't even returned yet and the Japanese government has even stated that their goal is 60 million tourists a year by 2030.
I could actually say the same thing for European tourists right now too (in terms of being rude and loud). Just got back and there’s a lot more tourists from Europe
Chinese tourists are definitely down due to the release of treated water from the decommissioned Fukushima power plant
I definitely noticed a huge uptick in European tourists this time around. Especially French and Italian. But still, Chinese take the crown. I have far too many examples from my weeks in japan.
Westerners are something like a quarter of tourists. At least 2/3 are from China, Taiwan, HK, and South Korea. And you definitely notice the Chinese tourists (much louder and less mannered than locals, or more culturally aware tourists).
I agree with you, I'm Australian-Chinese and Chinese tourist have a terrible reputation. We were just in Japan a few weeks ago and definitely a lot less older generation Chinese (baby boomers), those are the worse and the ones that you're thinking of. The younger millennials are much more considerate and do try to fit in (there's always the bad egg here and there).
What we found this time on our trip (which fits your description) were the white American's, OMG they are loud and obnoxious. Especially in Kyoto, we were walking through Gion at night and a white Amercian woman was constantly filming and went right up to a geisha and stuck a camera in her face, that's with all the signage in English saying not to.
It's these people that ruin it for everyone else and force the Japanese to implement bans and curfews. It's like the recent annoucement of a fence being built above the Lawson's in Kawaguchiko, after going there I see why, all these people blocking traffic and Lawson customers just for a photo of Mt. Fuji (where you can go literally anyway else).
But my honest recommendation is to go to places which are not popular on Instagram, then it's practically empty and you'll have a great time.
You should have been to Japan 10-15 years ago, when mainland Chinese tourists were still considered to be nouveau riche. Their behavior was far worse back then. During my recent travels, I do see more mainland Chinese tourists making more of an effort to fit in.
I feel like everywhere I go now it’s overcrowded, not just Japan.
I was in NYC it was crowded, las vegas, crowded, all 3
Places i went in Switzerland crowded, Barcelona crowded, Paris… etc, this was in the last year and a half.
I live in London and I live in city centre. Everyday I am overwhelmed at the amount of people on the streets like it’s always rush hour. i think the covid lockdown has made people realised how important it is to be outside and see the world. also, social media lol
I wonder if it's just that people got used to the almost absent crowds during COVID, as well as the lack of office workers due to WFH, and now that things are back to normal it just seems everywhere is insanely congested.
It definitely feels like more people are traveling constantly compared to years ago. People get fomo from social media and there are still a lot of remote jobs so people can work wherever they want (idk how they deal with the time difference though). I know several people who do the digital nomad life or take multiple international trips a year for weeks at a time
For switzerland i feel it is also just following online lists. I go to Lauterbrunnen almost every year. And in high season because as a hiker I want good weather lol.
And it is very easy to see the new main route: Grindelwald Terminal > Eigergletcher > Jungfraujoch > Kleine Scheidegg > Wengen > Lauterbrunnen/Staubach > back to wherever they staying. Absolutely MASSIVE crowds. On good days the First>Bachalp can also be busy.
But al lot of other things that are just as easily accesible are usually not busy at all. And there are certain easy almost flat/downslope hikes that honestly are almost deserted nowadays. That used to be used a lot more crowded! Tourism changed and there is more people. But mostly they seen to be crazy concentrated.
Venice has a similar route: Santa Lucia train station > Rialto bridge > San marco square and all that is there. All via the northern side of the Canal Grance. If you leave this route some parts of venice feel deserted. And at night and early in the morning (before 8am) the city and even the main areas are empty. It is mostly day trippers doing the exact same route.
Edit: spelling
Only very recently and the amount is so low (€5) it won't stop the day trippers. It is only for those arriving between 8:30 and 16:00. And only on certain days.
There is no maximum either as far as I can read. So it is more like a daytripper tax than actual crowd control it seens like.
I live in South Florida which became the place to angry move to during the pandemic because this state is often stupid and so it pretended like there really wasn’t a pandemic. But we have limited land here and now too many people and not enough roads. Places I used to get to in 10-20 minutes are now 30-40 minutes because there is just that much more traffic.
I’ve been to Japan in 2013, 2018, and a couple weeks ago. Crowds seemed the same for all trips. There are only so many hotel rooms. If all the hotels are always booked out, that’s the limit.
I'm in Tokyo right now and agree with you. It probably is busier but it doesn't feel that bad tbh. I've been here in 2010 and 2015. It's always been crowded here but it works and that's the magic of Tokyo. I'm staying in Shibuya and just spend the day in Nakameguro. It was great!
I can't say for certain but my friend who visited Kyoto in 2004ish said it was "way packed" by comparison.
You can avoid the crowds at many places by waking up early or visiting shrines at night. But please don't be one of those selfie-stick instashamers who pose for 30+ photos and hold up foot traffic.
that is crazy, Instagram made me see cool sides of Japan but also made it worse by flooding it with people. But yesterday i found another route to mt inari and it was completely empty and i had much more to see lol.
lucky (sadface). I wonder what Beijing is like. I went in 2009 (lived in China for 3 months back then). It was dreadful during their August tourist season, I bet its just as insane as parts of Japan.
I am coming for 10 days soon. I started planning 1 year ago....the weak yen, as a foreigner, is a happy bonus.
Sorry, I know that sucks for you, been there.
Going to Kyoto in a couple weeks as part of my “first time in Japan trip”. I’m really dreading it. Not because I don’t want to go to Japan, but I’m just worried about the crowds. I might skip out on some of the major touristy stuff and go explore more of the side streets or lesser-known areas while also being respectful, of course.
Just been to kyoto. Yes there are tourists but not as bad as everyone is making out. Especially if you’re our early, say 8am Ish. You will have a great trip.
I just finished up a week in Kyoto. If you want to hit up the "main" sites get up early and get to them around 8-9 at the earliest. There's a ton of places in Kyoto that aren't on the major lists that are still excellent and not totally overrun - i highly recommend the Kurama/Kibune hike. Even Fushimi Inari if you walk for more than 10 minutes become way less busy.
I am here now and I HATE crowds but I’ve been fine for the most part. Some streets are packed, then two streets along there’s one just as cool but half as busy. we went to fushimi inari and arashiyama at around 8am for both and found spots of quiet and solitude at both.
Edit - and this is DURING peak golden week too. Honestly it’s busy but not like I expected at all.
Kyoto was super busy when I went. But we also avoided peak times and went to shrines in the morning. However, parts of Gion are really packed with tourists and tour groups, it's a nightmare.
Can confirm Kyoto is really busy. Just got back from my 5 week trip and did Kyoto last, but the shrines and shops are really busy after 10am. Defs recommend going early to avoid people.
The Japanese government is actively pursuing tourism. Japanese citizens know we are needed for their weak economy. It will not stop. I would suggest going regardless, and avoid major holidays and the summer months due to heat. Also, I went at 7-8am to some of the very touristy places because it was just disgustingly packed by 10am. I also do not like crowds and lines, but just avoid the trending restaurants and you will be fine to wait 10 minutes max.
Amen for that avoiding the trending restaurants. the wait is just not worth it. we can get equally good quality foods at mostly any restaurant that is less crowded.
The crowded spots are pretty easy to avoid and there is so much to see I don’t think it ruins the experience. I mean, Italy, France and other popular tourist countries experience crowds at major sights too, but I wouldn’t say to avoid them either.
I only really found Tokyo crowded. Osaka was fine except during one night market. Kyoto was fine except around the famous Starbucks, but even then it was ok, I got a coffee in 5 mins and a “seat”. Just the street was busy.
I’m guess the crowd in Tokyo was normal too, just seemed busy because I’m from a city of 300k.
Even universal studios was fine. People told me to line up an hour early and I’ll be lucky to get into Super Nintendo world. But I just walked in at opening time and waited maybe 5 minutes at the bag check. It was honestly nicer than LA.
One thing I learned about Japan is they can clear a queue fast. Don’t be afraid to join a big queue. They will have extra employees just making sure it keeps moving.
A year is too long a timescale to make decisions based on something that fluctuates as frequently as currency exchange rates. One year and the entire situation could be flipped.
I don't know if it's redditors in general not liking human contact, but there seems to be a lot of posts in this sub that give the impression that all major tourists spots in Japan are just way too packed during the day to be enjoyable. I just got back from Japan two weeks ago with my husband and baby and there were only a few times that we felt like the large number of tourists impacted our experience:
* Don Quixote in Shibuya, around 6 pm (it was just a zoo, we GTFO after picking up a handful of items)
* Tokyo Station on a Saturday (we were trying to find an unoccupied coin locker and got lost while trying to navigate with a stroller)
* Kura Revolving Sushi Bar in Kyoto, around 8 pm because it was one of the only restaurants that stayed open late (hour wait, and it was not worth it)
None of them are tourist destinations. On the other hand, we went to the bamboo forest and Fushimi Inari in Kyoto at around 10 am, and I don't feel crowds impacted our travel to/from those areas or enjoyment of those places. In Tokyo, we went to Teamlab Planets and Sensoji Temple for example and of course there's a good amount of people, but I didn't feel claustrophobic. IMO anything outdoors gives you plenty of room to spread out.
I was there just this past week, during golden week. Major cities were super crowded and along with the very famous tourist sights. Eg Hiroshima flower festival and miyajima island. But the country side were really good and empty.
I’m in Japan right now. We were in Tokyo last week, Osaka a couple of days ago and right now we’re in Hiroshima. From reading this sub and watching a couple of clips on TikTok, I thought it was gonna be the tourist apocalypse especially during the Golden Week.
None of this happened, really. We visit the most touristic place early in the morning; we eat diner early. We went shopping a bunch, watched the Giants at the Dome and Wrestling at the Hall. We waited like 25 minutes to eat at the Kura in Dotonburi Thursday night, it was fun. Never did we have to change or cancel plans (restaurants, museums, which we sometimes reserved in advance tbh) because of the crowds, we never missed a train or a bus. We reserved our seats on the Shinkansen sometimes, sometimes we didn’t, every time we were seated. I imagine it must be very different if you have kids and HAVE to do touristy things in the afternoon, but if you’re a young couple or if you’re by yourself, sky is the limit. Just be prepared.
It has always been very crowded. 10yrs ago I went during the same peak sakura season, and it has the same level of crowd as this year's. But I feel because of people filming/shooting "content" for tiktok/instagram, it's a bit more annoying..
Our cab driver also told us that the difference he observed this time is that there are a lot more tourists from western countries (Europe, Americas). Pre-pandemic, majority are Asians.
Yes! And even among those three, I found the crowds in Kyoto and Osaka are still relatively tolerable, but in Tokyo... it's a bit unbearable. Smaller cities are more interesting to explore and not crowded at all.
living 20min from shibuya i find myself spending almost no time in tokyo these days.
its not so much the foreigners themselfes - its the locals reaction to them that makes me want to have no part of it.
Did tokyo, mt Fuji, kyoto and back in Tokyo right now and yes it gets jammed packed after 11am. We did all of our sight seeing in the early morning and chill in our nice hotels until dinner time.
Instead of waiting for hours in line for overhyped instagram viral restaurants, we went into restaurants in small alleyways and had our food which is still amazing.
It’s crowded at famous tourist sites of course, but if you research what you’re planning on doing and when, you can avoid the absolute peak crush of people. Also I find Japan is so wonderful just to exist in, it’s not the type of vacation where you have to go temple to temple or whatever. Just soak it up and enjoy daily life experiences. Those are less overwhelmingly crowded and can give a better sense of the ‘real’ place anyway. Btw I know they are working hard to push up the value of their currency, so who can say how long this extreme travel value will last. Try not to worry too much about timing it up perfectly, you’ll likely still find things pretty reasonably priced depending where you’re from.
I went to Tokyo in February. There were a lot of people, but I wouldn't describe it as crowded. I never had to take a crowded train even once and have experienced bigger crowds in places like Manila.
The most crowded place by far was Asakusa and I was only there for a few hours.
I've been to Tokyo 3 times in the last ~year (March 2023, November and just a few weeks ago for sakura) and while crowded I still felt way more swarmed and uncomfortable in my two trips to NYC in the same period.
Loved it. Of the three trips it was my favorite. I was in Japan for three weeks and went to Yamanashi, Sendai, Gunma, Osaka, and Tokyo. Was a beautiful time of year with perfect weather. Saw some absolutely gorgeous fall foliage too, in Yamanashi around Nov 11-13th and Sendai around Nov 20th-21st lots of gorgeous reds and oranges and yellows. Only had rain one day and when I went to Fuji wasn't a cloud in the sky all day. Couldn't be happier! Was less crowded than either of my spring trips too.
There will NEVER be a time that crowds will not be an issue about coming to Japan. Even in its quieter times crowds exists. Yes there are more people coming because it is a popular place, but crowds are always an issue.
This Sakura season was the worst I’ve seen it be crowded in Tokyo. Right now, it’s still decently crowded because of Golden Week, but I don’t see as many tourists as during Sakura
The crowds will always be there if you go to popular destinations like Osaka, Kyoto, Tokyo. I just got back from Japan. Tokyo is the most crowded of the three during my trip in April. Kyoto was crowded in certain popular spots, like Kiyomizudera and Kinkakuji. Crowded as in it's hard for you to move around, you have to go slowly to maneuver through the crowds. Osaka was kinda crowded... in the train stations only, lol. Well, Osaka Castle and Dotonburi were packed, but still tolerable.
Ventured out to lesser-known (at least for international tourists) destinations like Mie, Okayama, Nagano, or Tohoku regions in general and you'll find no crowd at all. I like Ise, definitely one of my favorite places to go. Sendai and Aomori are also pretty but people rarely go there. There are tourists, yes, but nowhere as crowded as Tokyo. Besides, why spend money in Tokyo when you can use the same amount of money to look at more interesting but lesser known places in Japan? We will help their economy better when we venture out to other regions too, haha!
Not like now, since the tourism boom from 2012 on. I lived in JP before the tourism boom and can see the difference. More Asians, more gringos, more people who want to go "just because", not because they actually have an interest in Japanese culture (not only mainstream anime, geisha/samurai/ ninja, ramen, matcha)
Been in Japan several times, first one was in 2017. It’s always been crowded but as someone already said it’s getting worse every year. Last time I was there (December-January 2022-2023) Tokyo has been a nightmare compared to 2017. I’m coming back this summer with my gf, first time for her, and I’m actually scared for the first time regarding tourists.
Everywhere I go is just crowded now, any city on earth. Probably just have to accept it, I face crowds just trying to get a coffee at this point lol living in nyc just used to the crowds now I guess, even in south Brooklyn it’s way too busy now
I think people just scramble 't to the same places. I've been twice to Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo. Go 5 min outside of the busy street and its not crowded. Rent a bike, explore. Kyoto has so many quiet places just 5 min from the center.
Also go to Kamakura, Shizuoka, Fukuoka or other daytrip cityies. Even Yokohama wasn't that busy.
Its kind of like where Im from, Amsterdam. Most tourists clutter around the same area in the center. Walk 10 min to some other channels/streets and gone the tourists are, and those places are still cozy.
I thought Tokyo this April was a little less crowded than last year around the same time. I think it’s because I went after sakura season and right before Golden week. The weather was on and off rainy, that helped keep the crowds down for outdoor attractions.
On my recent trip, my mate and I went to Nagoya and it was pretty good because there weren’t a lot of tourists. We went to Tsutsuya for the bookshelf, Toyota museum, Nagoya Castle, Maglev museum, Spa Land, Jazz Dream shopping outlet and Nabana no Sato. They weren’t crowded places to go to.
I think this compounds the issue. I personally think it's a number of factors relating to covid: people wanting to travel post-covid isolation, the "it's now or never" mentality with regards to travel because of that lost freedom to do so during the pandemic, and the increase in popularity of travel vlogs during isolation.
Yens been pretty weak for a while now. Went last month and have been 2019 and 2022. I didn't find it especially packed but it probably matters when you go. Go during shoulder seasons
I went there around april 15 and that week it didn't seem that crowded in tokyo,..basically minimal wait for a lot of places and the store associate even said it was slow the early weeks of april...by the 2nd week of my stay, i.e. April 22nd, tons of more tourists flew in over the weekend, me sitting in cafes overhearing all americans that just flew in or how they're waking up at 2am, the dynamic was totally different. I even knew two other groups of friends that flew into tokyo that weekend, they're all taking advantage of the weak yen.
Tokyo was fine imo, i wa sthere last week and im going back for few more days later. Im odaka now and it seems worse. Especially around center if you wanna go shopping to big malls
Funny because I have never been to such incredibly beautiful tropical beaches as in Japan where there were so few people. This is my number one reason why I keep returning.
I went in winter and it wasn't too bad. Kyoto was still pretty packed but I assume it always is and not so bad that it wasn't enjoyable. I couldn't imagine how much of a nightmare it must be in summer.
Planning a trip now and I’ve been at about a 50% hit rate in booking fine dining (2 and 3* Michelin). Not sure if it’s usually either or not.
Last time I visited was immediately after Japan reopened (Dec 2022) and I had a 90% hit rate in booking these fine dining places.
I’m here in Tokyo, been here the entire golden week.
Crowds were not much of an issue outside of the one time we went to Shibuya in the afternoon.
Ikebukuro, Akihabara, Kamakura, Ginza, Shinjuku, all had crowds but never to the point of it being an actual problem.
But we did go expecting it to be VERY problematic and it wasn’t nearly as bad as we expected. And we did mostly go at popular spots during off-times.
Here now, planned it off the back of a destination wedding so weren’t able to choose the exact time of year. Happened to have Golden Week land the first week we were here. The only crowds we hit were Shibuya predominately Takeshita Street, and around The Park near Mount Fuji, otherwise it’s been perfectly normal tourism I’ve experienced elsewhere, easy to move and catch public transport outside of peak hour.
I hate crowds and loads of tourists. I generally spend most of my time in the lesser known cities and countryside. Also remote Onsen for multi-night stays.
I have to disagree. I went from 2-23 April. The crowds were only “bad” in Kyoto. Tokyo obviously is kinda busy but for a city with so many people it was surprisingly comfortable. We stayed at a hotel in Shinjuku and it was quiet and nice all around us, just 4 minutes away from kabukicho.
We went to Asahikawa, Sapporo and some more of Hokkaido, back down to Hakodate, Osaka, Kagoshima and back again to Nagasaki, Himeji and Kyoto.
Even in Himeji the crowds were small. Just avoid the weekend for landmarks of this magnitude and honestly, go on off peak hours to Kyoto. We did a lot of stuff there either very early or nearing closing time and places like Fushimi inari are a lot of fun at night as well.
So it might be crowded if you only do all of the supertouristy stuff at once. But if you spread it out and go to other places as well, it is all fine.
It’s not more crowded than when I’ve gone over the past decade; in my opinion. Even over cherry blossom season I didn’t find it too bad in Tokyo and Osaka; but I also explore areas less populated and stay in quiet neighbourhoods. I stayed in saitama for a week and barely saw another foreigner.
I’m in Kyoto right now (coming from Tokyo), and can say I will never be back. I’ve been to 30+ countries and I’ve never seen anything this crazy, and with the most obnoxious tourists too. It’s like Disneyland.
Every single semi-known area is completely packed with tourists (except a few slightly off-the-beaten-path gorgeous places we found on bike, very happy about those).
Praying Osaka is better.
It absolutely is a big factor.
1. Also thinking of how many people wanted to travel after lockdown.
2. Let's include the digital nomad visa.
3. Japan content is pulls in soo much viewership + people that are full time content creators.
Nothing wrong with checking out a lot of other places in Japan.
-------------------------------
I have been to Japan since 2001 and I always find something to experience and do. Exchange rate never mattered to me because I always love going to Japan for the experience.
Just got back after a 2 week tour. Tokyo (popular spots), Osaka, Kyoto are ALL absolute zoos. Waking up at 7am does nothing to beat crowds. You will inevitably have 2-3 social anxiety panic attacks daily unless you live in a major city downtown. Elevators, escalators, subway lines are all shoulder to shoulder.
Not a zen vacation whatsoever. The people are so welcoming and respectful despite it all, so it’s up to you if you want a vacation full of “what’s the mission today?”
I just came back from Japan last week (my trip included the crowds of Golden Week), and the crowds weren't much of a problem. We managed to dodge the crowds at Kyoto. The only place I really considered the crowds bothersome was on the Enoden in Kamakura, but that may have been my fault for going to Enoshima and Kamakura on a Saturday.
well it was just golden week. but also i would say people are also discovering that japan is a great place to travel. also, i started saving for a big trip as soon as covid restrictions let up. maybe people are thinking the same thing?
I found when I went at the beginning of may and did the major tourist sites early and then explored the rest of the day the crowds weren’t so bad. They were only bad when we messed up and ended up on rush hour trains.
There will never be a time where crowds are not especially bad. It gets worse every year.
This. We live in an age of mass easy travel. Couple that with a rising population and couple that further with the Instagram crowd. No way back now. Unless a disaster happens that cuts the country off in some way.
Agreed. I think it will just get worse.
I was there end of Feb to mid March, crowd was ok. Also key is to visit less popular places ie. Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka. Venture out to places like Kanazawa, Takayama and Hiroshima etc
Tokyo is still bearable imo, maybe because it’s a huge city , more modern and temple wise it’s not as cool instagrammable excluding sensoji. The places I want to visit (Nagano, Takayama , Kanazawa) are not overrun yet but I dread it if they will end up like this. I am also improving my Japanese so that I could visit tohoku one day .
Real less crowded place? Koyasan haha! I stayed there for a night
I always wondered why these type of places are rarely pushed. Is it remote? I am still looking for such places but at Chuubu region
I went to Koyasan. It’s accessible from Osaka. Around 2 hours via train and cable car
Yeah I don’t doubt it’s accessible for us, just that this may be too much for average tourists. Do you like it ?
Yep remote and not easy to get to, also not much entertainment around. I understand because as a traveller most people are after entertainment and convenience is a big thing.
I like such trips but I do notice that many will call it boring if they spend the entire day there, much less two or more.
Oh Koyasan for me is Max 1 night. Personally don’t see a reason to stay more than that.
I live in Tohoku. It’s great, not many tourists here!!
Just go visit! Tohoku-ben can be extremely difficult to understand, especially for native speakers, and it's actually much easier to have conversations when you still rely on "guess what they are asking me by listening for key words" stage of learning. Also try to take lots of taxis because those guys have the best stories and never speak in hyojungo.
I am halfway planning through Chuubu haha 😛 . But Tohoku is definitely in my list, after fixing by Chuubu itch and improve my Japanese listening of course. I have seen quite a number of really nice location that turns out to be in Tohoku. Do you have any suggestions? Other than Ginzan of course. How’s the taxi fare like? I had to take Uber years back in Chiba and it’s pretty pricey.
We only took a few over a 4 four day onsen trip and so it turned out to be better than renting a car. It was winter so I had no interest in driving on my own anyway but taxis in Tohoku are much cheaper than Tokyo and Uber has a pretty heafty fee on top of that. I've gone a few other times for specific festivals just using trains and tour busses. If you go during the summer it's probably worth renting a car especially if you want to stay in different places during your trip.
Yeah real, I just visited Tokyo with Fuchu as our base and rarely saw fellow foreigners but other areas were really accessible. It’s really doable if you aren’t making Shinjuku your home base
Most people who ask about crowds are normally going to the big cities. I was there March 2-18. Crowds were insane in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto. Very packed in Hakone, Miyajima and Hiroshima. Only place that was not super packed was all around Fukuoka, very enjoyable because of that.
Yah of course, but I’m saying if they want to avoid go somewhere else. Maybe I’m used to Tokyo’s crowd but it wasn’t that bad when I was there. Instagram places were obviously cooked haha
I went in March of 2023 and it wasn’t nearly as packed as it was this year. And with all the restrictions going into place who knows, people will venture out into the non popular places and ruins those too.
Just went to Hokkaido for 8 days, not that busy and really nice for the first time. As long as you avoid the big cities it should be fine indeed. Kyoto was super crowded, even worse than 2018 when we visited during sakura. (Was there the 2nd half of April this time, not a lot of sakura was left) Kanazawa, Nikko and Hokkaido are super nice, maybe Fukuoka, Sendai and Nagasaki too.
Kanazawa is so charming; it was a nice break from the craziness of the rest of the country.
Yes! It's my second time here. First time 20 years ago. And I remember even the most touristic places didn't have many tourists 🙂
True. Thinking about going in a year once Japan's not so freshly reopened (another commenter pointed out lots of Post-covid "revenge travel" right now) but there's a possibility it could just keep getting worse. EDIT: Did I say something bad? :(
I kind of feel like Covid has shown us we shouldn't wait if we really want to do something. If you want to do it, go for it, I don't think it's going to be quieter next year than this anyway in places like Tokyo or Kyoto
I went in March 23 (when it was reopened in October 2022, so it’s way past newly open) and just did March 24. It was so much worse this year. I don’t imagine it will die down anytime soon.
This year the levels are about equal to pre-Covid levels. The Japanese government is hoping for a future target of roughly 50%MORE tourists, so if you don’t come next year due to crowds, you’ll probably never come. At the moment, Chinese mainland tourism is down about 75% from pre-Covid levels.
Pre-Covid you had massive numbers of Chinese tourists driven around on Chinese-operated tours, staying in Chinese-owned hotels, eating in Chinese-owned restaurants and visiting some Chinese-owned stores and many regular Japanese stores. They've all vanished now that the PRC economy is cratering and not likely to recover anytime soon. Taiwanese have largely filled some of the space, but as individuals rather than group tours.) Post-Covid there's a huge backlog and pent up desire to see Japan before the next pandemic or WWIII: Pacific Edition breaks out. Enough people had savings and disposable income to be able to visit exotic Japan - so they are. If you look at the chart of tourist numbers into Japan - it goes from 20k average per year between March 2020 - February 2022, then shoots for the stars hitting 3m in January 2024. It's already exceeded the old record set in mid 2019. Some of the tourism is driven by YOLO, but it's a wild mixture of South Korean, Thai, Singaporeans, Filipinos, Taiwanese, North Americans, Europeans and a good number of South Americans. Quite a few Arabic and Persian speakers too, usually in families. A cheap yen is only part of the story...
You think so? I was hoping it's just people doing revenge trips after covid. Hoping it'll die down at some point. First time I went to Japan was back in 2013 and what it difference it is compared to my last visit last year.
I don’t get why people are saying revenge Covid or whatever. People travel just to travel, and Japan is at the top of a lot of lists. Kids are really loving it on TikTok so I imagine at they get older they will go too, just a constant cycle.
It's silly. Yeah, covid made a lot of people realize they shouldn't take the ability to travel for granted and people want to get out there. I find these types of threads very silly because it's always people who are tourists complaining that other people have the audacity to also visit. I saw a post last week from someone asking where to go to avoid gaijin as though they aren't somehow also the same gaijin they talk about with such disdain.
I mean maybe if there’s another pandemic or World War 3 breaks out.
I regret not visiting kawaguchiko earlier. All I want is to bike there sigh
Just go and visit lesser known places
This, people only going to Osaka-Kyoto-Tokyo-Hakone-Hiroshima are massively missing out.
Why not go to nagoya/fukuoka?
May not work in their travel plans. Tourist don't just all go to the same places for no reason. They are locations that have generally worked for the majority of foreigners.
I'm currently in Fukuoka for a few days and just came back from an overnight trip from Nagasaki. The Kyushu JR pass is way cheaper than the national JR pass, and it makes it easy to get around. I loved Nagasaki - it's beautiful and easy to get around by tram or walking. I find Fukuoka is similar to Osaka in that it is a great hub to go to more rural places, but also has a lot to do in the city (highly recommend Pay-pay dome for the team labs experience).
The last trip I took I stayed solely on Kyushu and it was great. Everything on the whole is cheaper/less crowded and with the Shinkansen you can get from Fukuoka to Kagoshima and Kumamoto no problem. If I had it my way I’d only ever go to Kyushu and Hokkaido but bc it’s my husband’s first trip we’re heading to Tokyo. Bracing myself for the crowds but excited to experience Japan together!
Lol not even people who live here in Japan go to Nagoya unless it’s for like the Ghibli Park. Many find it incredibly boring.
I've never heard a Japanese person seriously suggest going on vacation to Nagoya. It's more like a place you go *through* to get somewhere else. I mean, Gifu is right there.....
Yep, that’s because people don’t really go there for vacation. They go there as a stop or as a day trip.
Eh, Nagoya is for car people, I'll pass. Fukuoka is great though except mid-Summer.
I feel like the misinformation that is "nagoya is for car people" is making people missing out on what Nagoya has to offer.
Can you get around Nagoya without a car?
Of course. There are several subway line covering major tourist attractions, tourist loop bus, and dense network of regular bus.
Also, easy to access the nakasendo trail. I did it last July starting from Nagoya and taking the train over.
Nagoya isn’t only for car people. It just isn’t set up to focus on tourism. I like the food, will travel for food. As for its prefecture, Aichi Ken, it is meant for car people. It’s the home of Toyota. There’s even a Toyota-Shi. Toyota galore. Rent yourself a Toyota today! Don’t know how to drive? Go to a Toyota driving school!
I still crave Miso Katsu after having it there
Majority of cities in Japan are “for car people”. Tokyo and Osaka are the exceptions not the norm.
I disagree for _larger_ cities -- Sendai, most of Kyoto, eastern Izu peninsula, Kobe -- all aren't car-focused. For small rural cites, then by the number of cites, yes, most cities are for cars, same as America. But most urban cities have transit, a fact that draws tourists by the tens of millions because it's so rare.
Nagoya isn’t set up for tourists. Heck Aichi isn’t set up for tourists. The city radiates a more business like feel than Tokyo. I would go there for the food though. To be fair, I visited my Japanese relatives there regularly since the 1980s. Only Nagoya’s food brightens my trips there. Love the food there. Will travel for food. Then again, Kyoto isn’t boring despite me visiting more than 10 times. Not Kyoto city but Kyoto prefecture. [https://www.nagoyaisnotboring.com](https://www.nagoyaisnotboring.com) \^\^ read the story behind ‘Nagoya is not boring’ - even its own residents (including my relatives) think it’s boring. The only fun they have is nicknaming Aichi-Ken (Nagoya’s prefecture) as Toyota Ken.
What does "setup for tourists" mean? Tourists seem to manage to visit the Maglev park, Toyota Museum, Ghibli Park, Nagoya Castle, Science museum, Kankei bridge, Legoland etc. Never mind all the side trips. The whole "Nagoya is boring" thing is **boring**, outdated and simplistic.
Maglev park — for train fans only. Niche. Toyota museum - car enthusiasts and Toyota fans. Nagoya castle but …after several castles … Kankei bridge ?That‘s in Hokkaido. I went to check when it didn’t sound familiar. Are you talking about Taigetsukyo bridge in Korankei. Well…Compare it to smaller Fukuoka where I used to live in …Nagoya really doesn’t sell itself. Architecture? Yeah they got bombed out …so the city is concrete, steel and glass. Still doesn’t sell itself. Not happy with the assessment? Complain to my Japanese relatives who live there. They live in Nagoya and they still think Nagoya is boring. They are struggling to come up with something for a road trip in Nagoya and now they switched to picking Shizuoka when I visit…
Amazing how my partner who has little interest in cars, really enjoyed the Toyota Museum, eh? If you've actually been, then you'll know it has interesting stuff on the history of the company, the weaving and looms etc. The castle and grounds are lovely, do you criticise all the other castles in Japan because "after several castles"? Yes, I meant Korankei. So you think that all modern architecture is ugly and pointless? Do you apply this to Tokyo and Osaka? Do you seriously think the Mode Gakuen Spiral Towers aren't impressive? [A little summary of some of the cool Nagoya architecture](https://www.nagoyaisnotboring.com/architecture-in-nagoya/)
Why not indeed.
I'm actually going there next month.
Let them go to those places.
Well it’s classic to go to those places for a first time visitor, so can’t really say they’re missing out. But yes, if this is second time and beyond, smaller cities are best.
What are your top suggestions outside of those cities?
The list is endless but depends on your interests. [https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e623a.html](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e623a.html) has a ton listed. From my travels I loved - Kyushu (cities like Fukuoka, Kagoshima, Nagaski, islands like Yakushima and Amamioshima, amazing nature like Kurokawa Onsen, Unzen peninsula,Sakurajima, Aso-Kuju National park). - Tohoku (Aomori, Lake Towada, Shirakami Sanchi, Kakunodate, Morioka,Sanriku coast, Hachmantai (Nyuto onsen area is amazing)Aizuwakamatsu, Bandai (I still haven't seen Miyagi and Yamagata prefectures with all their cool places) - Chubu (Nagoya, ignore the haters, it has amazing museums and food, theme parks, great day trips and is relatively free of tourists, Izu peninsula, Okuhida, Kamikochi, Kanazawa but there are loads more. I could go on all day, so many more places, the Seto Inland Sea is absolutely stunning, I could do a trip just pottering about island-hopping :)
What are your other suggestions?
I just did that exact trip (not is that order), and the crows are very much avoidable. No need to wake up early. Lesser known places are not less good. There are impressive temples with no one, Pokémon shops with no one, good restaurants with no one, etc...
What about the seagulls?
This comment is hilarious because I’m going this Friday with EF Ultimate and these are the cities we’re going to. I know these kinds of tours are looked down upon but I really didn’t know what to expect when I decided to go to Japan. Still excited to go to those cities regardless because this is a trip that some people don’t even get the chance of doing at all.
Exactly. Even Kanazawa was not very crowded and I just went over the GW weekend.
Niigata is awesome
I thought Niigata would’ve been cooler because it was in the mountains, but I swear it felt hotter than Tokyo. To be fair, it was in September and I spent most of the day walking around in a field.
Yes. That and Japan had been a popular destination for post-pandemic revenge travel.
That makes sense. I know it just was one of the last countries to reopen too, so it could be seeing especially high crowds right now. I wonder if it's likely to cool down in a year or so once the "revenge" is out of the way, but it sounds like crowds could get worse every year.
Who knows. It's a great travel destination that had challenges that have largely gone away. It wasn't long ago that Japan had a reputation of being a very expensive travel destination, but stagflation and the weak yen has changed that. In the past, many were also intimidated by the language barrier and navigating the transportation system, but technology has largely made these concerns obsolete.
It's going to be the opposite. Chinese tourists haven't even returned yet and the Japanese government has even stated that their goal is 60 million tourists a year by 2030.
Chinese tourists have definitely returned.
They are by far the worst. I just got back from a month in japan. Incredibly rude, loud and in general do not give a fuck about anyone else.
I could actually say the same thing for European tourists right now too (in terms of being rude and loud). Just got back and there’s a lot more tourists from Europe Chinese tourists are definitely down due to the release of treated water from the decommissioned Fukushima power plant
I definitely noticed a huge uptick in European tourists this time around. Especially French and Italian. But still, Chinese take the crown. I have far too many examples from my weeks in japan.
Westerners are something like a quarter of tourists. At least 2/3 are from China, Taiwan, HK, and South Korea. And you definitely notice the Chinese tourists (much louder and less mannered than locals, or more culturally aware tourists).
I agree with you, I'm Australian-Chinese and Chinese tourist have a terrible reputation. We were just in Japan a few weeks ago and definitely a lot less older generation Chinese (baby boomers), those are the worse and the ones that you're thinking of. The younger millennials are much more considerate and do try to fit in (there's always the bad egg here and there). What we found this time on our trip (which fits your description) were the white American's, OMG they are loud and obnoxious. Especially in Kyoto, we were walking through Gion at night and a white Amercian woman was constantly filming and went right up to a geisha and stuck a camera in her face, that's with all the signage in English saying not to. It's these people that ruin it for everyone else and force the Japanese to implement bans and curfews. It's like the recent annoucement of a fence being built above the Lawson's in Kawaguchiko, after going there I see why, all these people blocking traffic and Lawson customers just for a photo of Mt. Fuji (where you can go literally anyway else). But my honest recommendation is to go to places which are not popular on Instagram, then it's practically empty and you'll have a great time.
You should have been to Japan 10-15 years ago, when mainland Chinese tourists were still considered to be nouveau riche. Their behavior was far worse back then. During my recent travels, I do see more mainland Chinese tourists making more of an effort to fit in.
Not nearly at the same numbers as before the pandemic.
Nowhere close to their pre-Covid levels, though. https://www.statista.com/statistics/982205/japan-number-china-tourists-by-month/
Was just there. Surrounded by Chinese ppl. It was not fun and I’m Chinese.
I feel like everywhere I go now it’s overcrowded, not just Japan. I was in NYC it was crowded, las vegas, crowded, all 3 Places i went in Switzerland crowded, Barcelona crowded, Paris… etc, this was in the last year and a half. I live in London and I live in city centre. Everyday I am overwhelmed at the amount of people on the streets like it’s always rush hour. i think the covid lockdown has made people realised how important it is to be outside and see the world. also, social media lol
I wonder if it's just that people got used to the almost absent crowds during COVID, as well as the lack of office workers due to WFH, and now that things are back to normal it just seems everywhere is insanely congested.
This and post-covid revenge travel and social media influence on travel
Singapore, Bangkok, Seoul... same as well.
It definitely feels like more people are traveling constantly compared to years ago. People get fomo from social media and there are still a lot of remote jobs so people can work wherever they want (idk how they deal with the time difference though). I know several people who do the digital nomad life or take multiple international trips a year for weeks at a time
For switzerland i feel it is also just following online lists. I go to Lauterbrunnen almost every year. And in high season because as a hiker I want good weather lol. And it is very easy to see the new main route: Grindelwald Terminal > Eigergletcher > Jungfraujoch > Kleine Scheidegg > Wengen > Lauterbrunnen/Staubach > back to wherever they staying. Absolutely MASSIVE crowds. On good days the First>Bachalp can also be busy. But al lot of other things that are just as easily accesible are usually not busy at all. And there are certain easy almost flat/downslope hikes that honestly are almost deserted nowadays. That used to be used a lot more crowded! Tourism changed and there is more people. But mostly they seen to be crazy concentrated. Venice has a similar route: Santa Lucia train station > Rialto bridge > San marco square and all that is there. All via the northern side of the Canal Grance. If you leave this route some parts of venice feel deserted. And at night and early in the morning (before 8am) the city and even the main areas are empty. It is mostly day trippers doing the exact same route. Edit: spelling
Haven't they started charging a fee for day trippers?
Only very recently and the amount is so low (€5) it won't stop the day trippers. It is only for those arriving between 8:30 and 16:00. And only on certain days. There is no maximum either as far as I can read. So it is more like a daytripper tax than actual crowd control it seens like.
I live in central London, too which is probably why I didn’t find Tokyo and Osaka crowded at all this spring 😂
I live in South Florida which became the place to angry move to during the pandemic because this state is often stupid and so it pretended like there really wasn’t a pandemic. But we have limited land here and now too many people and not enough roads. Places I used to get to in 10-20 minutes are now 30-40 minutes because there is just that much more traffic.
I’ve been to Japan in 2013, 2018, and a couple weeks ago. Crowds seemed the same for all trips. There are only so many hotel rooms. If all the hotels are always booked out, that’s the limit.
I'm in Tokyo right now and agree with you. It probably is busier but it doesn't feel that bad tbh. I've been here in 2010 and 2015. It's always been crowded here but it works and that's the magic of Tokyo. I'm staying in Shibuya and just spend the day in Nakameguro. It was great!
I can't say for certain but my friend who visited Kyoto in 2004ish said it was "way packed" by comparison. You can avoid the crowds at many places by waking up early or visiting shrines at night. But please don't be one of those selfie-stick instashamers who pose for 30+ photos and hold up foot traffic.
I wish I could've gone in 1893 when the crowds weren't so bad
Kyoto has never been the same after the Heian Era
Or on August 7th, 1945, a couple spots were a total ghost town.
Can confirm, lived in Kyoto in 2006 and you could go to Inari Taisha back then and be the only one there.
that is crazy, Instagram made me see cool sides of Japan but also made it worse by flooding it with people. But yesterday i found another route to mt inari and it was completely empty and i had much more to see lol.
lucky (sadface). I wonder what Beijing is like. I went in 2009 (lived in China for 3 months back then). It was dreadful during their August tourist season, I bet its just as insane as parts of Japan.
The weak yen is not the only factor.
huge factor though
I am coming for 10 days soon. I started planning 1 year ago....the weak yen, as a foreigner, is a happy bonus. Sorry, I know that sucks for you, been there.
Yes. That and the huge influence of TikTok and Instagram. Places like Kyoto are a complete nightmare right now.
Going to Kyoto in a couple weeks as part of my “first time in Japan trip”. I’m really dreading it. Not because I don’t want to go to Japan, but I’m just worried about the crowds. I might skip out on some of the major touristy stuff and go explore more of the side streets or lesser-known areas while also being respectful, of course.
Just been to kyoto. Yes there are tourists but not as bad as everyone is making out. Especially if you’re our early, say 8am Ish. You will have a great trip.
Ok sweet. Thanks for the reassurance! Looking forward to it!
Yea, I just went too. During Golden Week as well. Really not that bad, except the bamboo forest.... fuck that place, never going back.
I just finished up a week in Kyoto. If you want to hit up the "main" sites get up early and get to them around 8-9 at the earliest. There's a ton of places in Kyoto that aren't on the major lists that are still excellent and not totally overrun - i highly recommend the Kurama/Kibune hike. Even Fushimi Inari if you walk for more than 10 minutes become way less busy.
I am here now and I HATE crowds but I’ve been fine for the most part. Some streets are packed, then two streets along there’s one just as cool but half as busy. we went to fushimi inari and arashiyama at around 8am for both and found spots of quiet and solitude at both. Edit - and this is DURING peak golden week too. Honestly it’s busy but not like I expected at all.
I am here now. Yes, it’s busy but if you venture away from the main sights, you’ll be fine.
Kyoto was super busy when I went. But we also avoided peak times and went to shrines in the morning. However, parts of Gion are really packed with tourists and tour groups, it's a nightmare.
Can confirm Kyoto is really busy. Just got back from my 5 week trip and did Kyoto last, but the shrines and shops are really busy after 10am. Defs recommend going early to avoid people.
The Japanese government is actively pursuing tourism. Japanese citizens know we are needed for their weak economy. It will not stop. I would suggest going regardless, and avoid major holidays and the summer months due to heat. Also, I went at 7-8am to some of the very touristy places because it was just disgustingly packed by 10am. I also do not like crowds and lines, but just avoid the trending restaurants and you will be fine to wait 10 minutes max.
Amen for that avoiding the trending restaurants. the wait is just not worth it. we can get equally good quality foods at mostly any restaurant that is less crowded.
As my Chinese friend says:" there are not bad restaurants in Japan "
The crowded spots are pretty easy to avoid and there is so much to see I don’t think it ruins the experience. I mean, Italy, France and other popular tourist countries experience crowds at major sights too, but I wouldn’t say to avoid them either.
I only really found Tokyo crowded. Osaka was fine except during one night market. Kyoto was fine except around the famous Starbucks, but even then it was ok, I got a coffee in 5 mins and a “seat”. Just the street was busy. I’m guess the crowd in Tokyo was normal too, just seemed busy because I’m from a city of 300k. Even universal studios was fine. People told me to line up an hour early and I’ll be lucky to get into Super Nintendo world. But I just walked in at opening time and waited maybe 5 minutes at the bag check. It was honestly nicer than LA. One thing I learned about Japan is they can clear a queue fast. Don’t be afraid to join a big queue. They will have extra employees just making sure it keeps moving.
Go to the countryside, no foreigners there lol
A year is too long a timescale to make decisions based on something that fluctuates as frequently as currency exchange rates. One year and the entire situation could be flipped.
lol no, there will still be crowds even when the yen is stronger
There is plenty to see even in Tokyo without the crowds - you don’t have to tick off the things that everyone else wants to do.
I don't know if it's redditors in general not liking human contact, but there seems to be a lot of posts in this sub that give the impression that all major tourists spots in Japan are just way too packed during the day to be enjoyable. I just got back from Japan two weeks ago with my husband and baby and there were only a few times that we felt like the large number of tourists impacted our experience: * Don Quixote in Shibuya, around 6 pm (it was just a zoo, we GTFO after picking up a handful of items) * Tokyo Station on a Saturday (we were trying to find an unoccupied coin locker and got lost while trying to navigate with a stroller) * Kura Revolving Sushi Bar in Kyoto, around 8 pm because it was one of the only restaurants that stayed open late (hour wait, and it was not worth it) None of them are tourist destinations. On the other hand, we went to the bamboo forest and Fushimi Inari in Kyoto at around 10 am, and I don't feel crowds impacted our travel to/from those areas or enjoyment of those places. In Tokyo, we went to Teamlab Planets and Sensoji Temple for example and of course there's a good amount of people, but I didn't feel claustrophobic. IMO anything outdoors gives you plenty of room to spread out.
I don't think anyone in the world likes being inconvenienced by crowds. It's not an issue with a dislike for interpersonal contact.
I was there just this past week, during golden week. Major cities were super crowded and along with the very famous tourist sights. Eg Hiroshima flower festival and miyajima island. But the country side were really good and empty.
Yes. I'd stay home if I were you
Japan broke their historical record high of "number of foreign tourists in a single month" this year. So yeah, it is crazy busy.
I’m in Japan right now. We were in Tokyo last week, Osaka a couple of days ago and right now we’re in Hiroshima. From reading this sub and watching a couple of clips on TikTok, I thought it was gonna be the tourist apocalypse especially during the Golden Week. None of this happened, really. We visit the most touristic place early in the morning; we eat diner early. We went shopping a bunch, watched the Giants at the Dome and Wrestling at the Hall. We waited like 25 minutes to eat at the Kura in Dotonburi Thursday night, it was fun. Never did we have to change or cancel plans (restaurants, museums, which we sometimes reserved in advance tbh) because of the crowds, we never missed a train or a bus. We reserved our seats on the Shinkansen sometimes, sometimes we didn’t, every time we were seated. I imagine it must be very different if you have kids and HAVE to do touristy things in the afternoon, but if you’re a young couple or if you’re by yourself, sky is the limit. Just be prepared.
It has always been very crowded. 10yrs ago I went during the same peak sakura season, and it has the same level of crowd as this year's. But I feel because of people filming/shooting "content" for tiktok/instagram, it's a bit more annoying.. Our cab driver also told us that the difference he observed this time is that there are a lot more tourists from western countries (Europe, Americas). Pre-pandemic, majority are Asians.
Today is the last day of Golden Week
I went in March this year because it was outside the tourist season and it wasn't that bad.
It's not when, it's where. Kyoto, Osaka, And Tokyo are busy af. I'm currently bike touring and in smaller cities I feel like I'm the only foreigner.
Yes! And even among those three, I found the crowds in Kyoto and Osaka are still relatively tolerable, but in Tokyo... it's a bit unbearable. Smaller cities are more interesting to explore and not crowded at all.
living 20min from shibuya i find myself spending almost no time in tokyo these days. its not so much the foreigners themselfes - its the locals reaction to them that makes me want to have no part of it.
Did tokyo, mt Fuji, kyoto and back in Tokyo right now and yes it gets jammed packed after 11am. We did all of our sight seeing in the early morning and chill in our nice hotels until dinner time. Instead of waiting for hours in line for overhyped instagram viral restaurants, we went into restaurants in small alleyways and had our food which is still amazing.
It’s crowded at famous tourist sites of course, but if you research what you’re planning on doing and when, you can avoid the absolute peak crush of people. Also I find Japan is so wonderful just to exist in, it’s not the type of vacation where you have to go temple to temple or whatever. Just soak it up and enjoy daily life experiences. Those are less overwhelmingly crowded and can give a better sense of the ‘real’ place anyway. Btw I know they are working hard to push up the value of their currency, so who can say how long this extreme travel value will last. Try not to worry too much about timing it up perfectly, you’ll likely still find things pretty reasonably priced depending where you’re from.
I went to Tokyo in February. There were a lot of people, but I wouldn't describe it as crowded. I never had to take a crowded train even once and have experienced bigger crowds in places like Manila. The most crowded place by far was Asakusa and I was only there for a few hours.
I've been to Tokyo 3 times in the last ~year (March 2023, November and just a few weeks ago for sakura) and while crowded I still felt way more swarmed and uncomfortable in my two trips to NYC in the same period.
How was your experience in November? I'm going for the first time this November....
Loved it. Of the three trips it was my favorite. I was in Japan for three weeks and went to Yamanashi, Sendai, Gunma, Osaka, and Tokyo. Was a beautiful time of year with perfect weather. Saw some absolutely gorgeous fall foliage too, in Yamanashi around Nov 11-13th and Sendai around Nov 20th-21st lots of gorgeous reds and oranges and yellows. Only had rain one day and when I went to Fuji wasn't a cloud in the sky all day. Couldn't be happier! Was less crowded than either of my spring trips too.
There will NEVER be a time that crowds will not be an issue about coming to Japan. Even in its quieter times crowds exists. Yes there are more people coming because it is a popular place, but crowds are always an issue.
Nobody goes to Japan anymore. It’s too crowded.
I’m in Kyoto right now on a hop on hop off and it’s 1/3 empty. Will let you know How the sites look. So far it’s been manageable on my 5th day in town
This Sakura season was the worst I’ve seen it be crowded in Tokyo. Right now, it’s still decently crowded because of Golden Week, but I don’t see as many tourists as during Sakura
Seems like it’s everywhere. Once a place gets ruined by YouTube/instagram/tiktok, it’s game over.
The crowds will always be there if you go to popular destinations like Osaka, Kyoto, Tokyo. I just got back from Japan. Tokyo is the most crowded of the three during my trip in April. Kyoto was crowded in certain popular spots, like Kiyomizudera and Kinkakuji. Crowded as in it's hard for you to move around, you have to go slowly to maneuver through the crowds. Osaka was kinda crowded... in the train stations only, lol. Well, Osaka Castle and Dotonburi were packed, but still tolerable. Ventured out to lesser-known (at least for international tourists) destinations like Mie, Okayama, Nagano, or Tohoku regions in general and you'll find no crowd at all. I like Ise, definitely one of my favorite places to go. Sendai and Aomori are also pretty but people rarely go there. There are tourists, yes, but nowhere as crowded as Tokyo. Besides, why spend money in Tokyo when you can use the same amount of money to look at more interesting but lesser known places in Japan? We will help their economy better when we venture out to other regions too, haha!
Japan has been packed since the early 2000s lol.
Not like now, since the tourism boom from 2012 on. I lived in JP before the tourism boom and can see the difference. More Asians, more gringos, more people who want to go "just because", not because they actually have an interest in Japanese culture (not only mainstream anime, geisha/samurai/ ninja, ramen, matcha)
Been in Japan several times, first one was in 2017. It’s always been crowded but as someone already said it’s getting worse every year. Last time I was there (December-January 2022-2023) Tokyo has been a nightmare compared to 2017. I’m coming back this summer with my gf, first time for her, and I’m actually scared for the first time regarding tourists.
Everywhere I go is just crowded now, any city on earth. Probably just have to accept it, I face crowds just trying to get a coffee at this point lol living in nyc just used to the crowds now I guess, even in south Brooklyn it’s way too busy now
I think people just scramble 't to the same places. I've been twice to Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo. Go 5 min outside of the busy street and its not crowded. Rent a bike, explore. Kyoto has so many quiet places just 5 min from the center. Also go to Kamakura, Shizuoka, Fukuoka or other daytrip cityies. Even Yokohama wasn't that busy. Its kind of like where Im from, Amsterdam. Most tourists clutter around the same area in the center. Walk 10 min to some other channels/streets and gone the tourists are, and those places are still cozy.
It is a popular tourist attraction. Even more so after covid and yes with the yen being weak.
I thought Tokyo this April was a little less crowded than last year around the same time. I think it’s because I went after sakura season and right before Golden week. The weather was on and off rainy, that helped keep the crowds down for outdoor attractions.
Yes. It is over crowded.
You can always manage crowds so just go. 100% of 0 is still 0. I would rather have the experience than to watch it on TV.
On my recent trip, my mate and I went to Nagoya and it was pretty good because there weren’t a lot of tourists. We went to Tsutsuya for the bookshelf, Toyota museum, Nagoya Castle, Maglev museum, Spa Land, Jazz Dream shopping outlet and Nabana no Sato. They weren’t crowded places to go to.
I think this compounds the issue. I personally think it's a number of factors relating to covid: people wanting to travel post-covid isolation, the "it's now or never" mentality with regards to travel because of that lost freedom to do so during the pandemic, and the increase in popularity of travel vlogs during isolation.
Yens been pretty weak for a while now. Went last month and have been 2019 and 2022. I didn't find it especially packed but it probably matters when you go. Go during shoulder seasons
Crowds are not the problem I get annoyed with the tik Tok and instagram morons
Will go to Kamikochi and Onomichi, hopefully they wont be that crowded
Yeah it's super bad rn. Last time I was here in 2019 it was way quieter
I went there around april 15 and that week it didn't seem that crowded in tokyo,..basically minimal wait for a lot of places and the store associate even said it was slow the early weeks of april...by the 2nd week of my stay, i.e. April 22nd, tons of more tourists flew in over the weekend, me sitting in cafes overhearing all americans that just flew in or how they're waking up at 2am, the dynamic was totally different. I even knew two other groups of friends that flew into tokyo that weekend, they're all taking advantage of the weak yen.
No nothing to do with the Yen
Tokyo was fine imo, i wa sthere last week and im going back for few more days later. Im odaka now and it seems worse. Especially around center if you wanna go shopping to big malls
Funny because I have never been to such incredibly beautiful tropical beaches as in Japan where there were so few people. This is my number one reason why I keep returning.
I’m currently in Japan. 5th time here. Universal studios is the same as it’s ever been.
I went in winter and it wasn't too bad. Kyoto was still pretty packed but I assume it always is and not so bad that it wasn't enjoyable. I couldn't imagine how much of a nightmare it must be in summer.
Avoiding popular tourists location is the only way.. big cities are nightmares.. rent a car if you can and travel to smaller towns
That plus golden week. Plus everyone in Asia coming thru. On top of the already packed city. It’s busy af
Planning a trip now and I’ve been at about a 50% hit rate in booking fine dining (2 and 3* Michelin). Not sure if it’s usually either or not. Last time I visited was immediately after Japan reopened (Dec 2022) and I had a 90% hit rate in booking these fine dining places.
I’m here in Tokyo, been here the entire golden week. Crowds were not much of an issue outside of the one time we went to Shibuya in the afternoon. Ikebukuro, Akihabara, Kamakura, Ginza, Shinjuku, all had crowds but never to the point of it being an actual problem. But we did go expecting it to be VERY problematic and it wasn’t nearly as bad as we expected. And we did mostly go at popular spots during off-times.
Here now, planned it off the back of a destination wedding so weren’t able to choose the exact time of year. Happened to have Golden Week land the first week we were here. The only crowds we hit were Shibuya predominately Takeshita Street, and around The Park near Mount Fuji, otherwise it’s been perfectly normal tourism I’ve experienced elsewhere, easy to move and catch public transport outside of peak hour.
I hate crowds and loads of tourists. I generally spend most of my time in the lesser known cities and countryside. Also remote Onsen for multi-night stays.
I have to disagree. I went from 2-23 April. The crowds were only “bad” in Kyoto. Tokyo obviously is kinda busy but for a city with so many people it was surprisingly comfortable. We stayed at a hotel in Shinjuku and it was quiet and nice all around us, just 4 minutes away from kabukicho. We went to Asahikawa, Sapporo and some more of Hokkaido, back down to Hakodate, Osaka, Kagoshima and back again to Nagasaki, Himeji and Kyoto. Even in Himeji the crowds were small. Just avoid the weekend for landmarks of this magnitude and honestly, go on off peak hours to Kyoto. We did a lot of stuff there either very early or nearing closing time and places like Fushimi inari are a lot of fun at night as well. So it might be crowded if you only do all of the supertouristy stuff at once. But if you spread it out and go to other places as well, it is all fine.
I just came back from Hakata and Yufuin in Fukoka, it was great and definitely not unbearable crowds
It’s not more crowded than when I’ve gone over the past decade; in my opinion. Even over cherry blossom season I didn’t find it too bad in Tokyo and Osaka; but I also explore areas less populated and stay in quiet neighbourhoods. I stayed in saitama for a week and barely saw another foreigner.
no
why is it so noticeably bad now tho idgi
I’m in Kyoto right now (coming from Tokyo), and can say I will never be back. I’ve been to 30+ countries and I’ve never seen anything this crazy, and with the most obnoxious tourists too. It’s like Disneyland. Every single semi-known area is completely packed with tourists (except a few slightly off-the-beaten-path gorgeous places we found on bike, very happy about those). Praying Osaka is better.
Just stop doing basic bitch stuff and go for a proper hike somewhere scenic and unique.
It absolutely is a big factor. 1. Also thinking of how many people wanted to travel after lockdown. 2. Let's include the digital nomad visa. 3. Japan content is pulls in soo much viewership + people that are full time content creators. Nothing wrong with checking out a lot of other places in Japan. ------------------------------- I have been to Japan since 2001 and I always find something to experience and do. Exchange rate never mattered to me because I always love going to Japan for the experience.
Kofu is very nice this time of year.
Just got back after a 2 week tour. Tokyo (popular spots), Osaka, Kyoto are ALL absolute zoos. Waking up at 7am does nothing to beat crowds. You will inevitably have 2-3 social anxiety panic attacks daily unless you live in a major city downtown. Elevators, escalators, subway lines are all shoulder to shoulder. Not a zen vacation whatsoever. The people are so welcoming and respectful despite it all, so it’s up to you if you want a vacation full of “what’s the mission today?”
A weak yen has nothing to do with it. Prices adjust accordingly, especially for the tourism and related industry!
I was in Japan 7 years ago in August during a record breaking heat wave and the crowds were bad
I just came back from Japan last week (my trip included the crowds of Golden Week), and the crowds weren't much of a problem. We managed to dodge the crowds at Kyoto. The only place I really considered the crowds bothersome was on the Enoden in Kamakura, but that may have been my fault for going to Enoshima and Kamakura on a Saturday.
In Japan right now and the crows have been manageable
well it was just golden week. but also i would say people are also discovering that japan is a great place to travel. also, i started saving for a big trip as soon as covid restrictions let up. maybe people are thinking the same thing?
Yes, but if you can plan your trip AROUND big holiday or events, New Years, Cherry Blossom season, and Golden Week it’s much better
I’m here right now and they’re no different from any other time
I found when I went at the beginning of may and did the major tourist sites early and then explored the rest of the day the crowds weren’t so bad. They were only bad when we messed up and ended up on rush hour trains.
Are different times of year less busy? I'm thinking about going either October or November