Why Japan’s Tourism Problem Is 100% Youtube Instagram & TikTok’s Fault
As you all know, Japan has been experiencing a overtourism problem recently. This is because everyone keeps going to the same cities of Japan over and over again, which has been causing governments to take action against these overcrowding issues. BUT, what if I told you I knew the answer to this problem and how we could potentially fix it?? In this video, you will learn some useful information about how these social media platforms operate and how we can fight the machines that control them. I hope you find this video interesting and enjoy!
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1) Japan Tourism
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0:00 – 2:30 Intro
2:30 – 5:06 Rise Of Social Media
5:06 – 8:06 The Magical Algorithm Revealed
8:06 – 10:26 The Algorithm’s Fatal Flaw
10:26 – 12:00 Japan’s Fatal Content Flaw
12:00 – 14:44 Content Creators Perpetually Stuck
14:44 – 15:54 Solution To The Crisis?
15:54 – 17:02 My Call Of Action To YOU!
17:02 – 17:30 Outro
6:38 – 7:32 Kyoto Bus Pass Canceled
7:32 – 8:30 Mt Fuji Overrun
8:30 – 9:54 Over Tourism Positives
9:54 – 11:57 My Thoughts (Root Cause 1)
11:57 – 12:22 My Thoughts (Root Cause 2)
12:22 – 13:40 My Biggest Recommendation
13:41 – 14:23 My Last Recommendations
38 Comments
Pour one out for Shibuya Halloween.
This is a really encompassing analysis, however, if one travels from Frankfurt, Germany, one can only arrive to Tokyo, which makes spending a few days there unavoidable. The same on the way back.
I looked up smaller places, like Kanazawa, about which you have a great video too, and I will be heading there.
Also all first time travellers will eventually end up in these three major cities before going elsewhere.
Always wanted to know what about this topic finally I'm starting to understand what it all means, I will try to search lesser know areas , let's all start to change things together
Great video, as always.
So APRIL 2024 will be a bad idea vor 2 weeks trip to japan?
Solution? To lower the JR pass prices , but they increased it which means tourists would never want to explore smaller cities now and stick with the big 3
Chris has been doing Northern Japan videos for the longest he just moved to Tokyo
Also being sad your video made 17k views doesn't sound bad lol
I completely disagree that social media has anything to do with overcrowding and too much tourism. It's simply not true.
I'm in my late 30s and grew up in the last era where we did not have any social media or even internet. Way before social media even existed it was a dream of mine to visit Japan since I was a little kid and watched Princess Mononoke and many more animes at the time. But even besides that Japan is a fantastic place and this is well known fact to every generation and more or less every person around the world. We just live in time where more people can afford to travel, especially the emerging Chinese middle class and even low-income class, where that was not the case 20 years ago.
Social media has nothing to do with the choice if you are going to venture more to the countryside or if you are going to stick to Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto. The fact is social media is just a tool to give you ideas about what and how to experience when visiting these places, meaning most people have made the choice to visit for example Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka before they started looking into social media for ideas what to do once they visit.
The reason people stick to these is not because influencers are showing how cool they are and not focusing on other less-known spots and experiences, but rather because it's less challenging logistically. Venturing in the countryside can be intimidating due to the language barrier, changing different types of transport and how to use them, accommodations, etc.
Chances are you would have an easier time in more popular and touristy places, that are not necessarily the best in terms of experience.
Not me wanting to tell my group to go to other cities now instead of Osaka and Kyoto even though we've been wanting to go there way before their COVID restrictions have been lifted. Lol
Feels like it’s more of Japan’s fault for not anticipating the crowd, example is Kyoto where all the residents were already complaining pre-covid about the surge in tourism in the area annually. They had 3 years to solve the issue but in the end they only just recently made changes.
Also, a lot of the places in Japan are first accessible by the major airports so a lot of people come in normally at Tokyo and fly domestic or take the Shinkansen around.
I'm going to my first trip to Japan end January with my sister and yeah I'm going to Tokyo for Roppongi. . . yes it's for visit but more for an exhibition that going to happen to be in Roppongi and I don't want to be too far away to this place because I know nothing there, going to be more surprise for me and my sister for 10 days to be there so me it's not really because of social media. I do watch some to be prepare to be there and not the place you need to visit most for the top 10. Prefer to search from google place we want to look. But I have to say it's still a dream come true to go there.
Bad when Kyoto is too crowded to visit. Traveled to Kyoto for personal reasons multiple times in my life. Area where most of my Japanese family live. Growing up in a US military household in Kanagawa Pref.
Our first trip was on those 3 biggest Cities. While I still wanna go back to them next time (we didn't have enough time to really explore every nooks and cranny), I'd like to go to Hiroshima, Nagasaka, Fukuoka and of course, Hokkaido!
We're still watching your vids. Anyways, I am seriously tired of all the videos and same areas from the 3 major cities. They're doing it for views rather than to help the viewers. I've been all over Japan, the other cities are much better imo. I feel in love with Sapporo and the Hokkaido area.
I am spending a week in Yokohama next month. Is it crowded there as well?
I'd say the suckiest part for me personally is I am more or less doing this exact thing in a month (although with going to Yamagata for a short bit). I have all my hotel stays booked and Airbnb so I am more or less stuck on these high traffic areas now.
Hmmm, all I know is that there are lots of tourists from a certain very large country that doesn't even have youtube!
My feeling–for every person that visits Japan, there are at least 10 people who want to visit, but can't. I'm talking about my country, the US. Maybe they can't get the time off, or get the money for the trip, or have other commitments.
If Japan wants to talk about "overtourism," they should study who is visiting, and why, and where they're coming from. Isn't it obvious that after covid, people would start coming in droves? How many tourists are actually Japanese people themselves? My guess is the percentage is pretty high.
I see what you're saying, to a certain extent. I am working in Japan now and before coming, I watched a lot of videos that are precisely the ones you're describing. AND I realized that those videos were depressing me. I had to stop watching them.
I lived and worked in Japan from 2000-2006 and have so many wonderful memories of friends, of the countryside, of nature, of places off the beaten path–that is Japan to me. So to see videos where people are waiting in a long line to buy a giant onion ring or get Starbucks or do all these other inane activities was just depressing. It makes Japan seem cheap and gimmicky. That's why I felt depressed. (But hey, if that's what you like….)
This summer I was back in the mountains and so happy to be back in the places after my heart. I also went to Kyoto and Nara; naturally I'd been there before. I love Nara because it's so chill and I love Kyoto because there's honestly so much to see and do. You could stay for 2 weeks and not see it all. I was there during the typhoon so nothing was crowded LOL.
It’s a double-edged sword imho! Because of the algorhythm, I have by now more than ONE HUNDRED restaurants marked on Google maps for my upcoming Japan trip. Considering I will only have around sixty meals during the trip (and that’s counting breakfasts)…yeah, it makes no sense. But Youtube keeps suggesting awesome-looking places!! 😭😭😄😄
I am a resident and I watched the news and read comments from japanese people and they are truely bothered by foreigners. Number 1 complain was tourists filming everywhere, also in trains are loud, Smoking everywhere, the tatoos showing are a big problem, have no manners in trains at all, take seats from people, making lines already at Hachiko and they are too many. They also say tourists are drunk and loud and dirty the streets and toilettes. Also they want new renovated toilettes because of it. I hope this whole hype will stop soon. We are all not comfortable with so many foreigners here
Youtubers are definitiv at fault. Most people only come here to film content only to get likes and views because it clicks well. As a ressident if I see any tourists annoying other japanese people by filming without permission and blocking the way I will do something and report it
What covid has taught us that this is a welcomed problem and people would rather have it than businesses closing down on the empty streets of asakusa back in lockdown. The japan rail pass increase is not a tourism control method but from the effects of the weak yen inflation and higher energy prices cause of Russia.
By increasing the prices of the JR passes, more people will travel to the major cities alone because of the airports. It seems that Japan needs to rethink a few things 🤔. Personally, I want to go to other places as well but because of the price increases, I'm going to have to limit my travel 😢
I think social media's part is probably overstated. There are other factors at work. The revenge tourism from pandemic ,the cheap yen are equally contributors.
To add, osaka and tokyo are the main airports especially for a lot of us flying in. There are few (if not none) direct flights from a lot of the countries to hiroshima, nagoya, sapporo and fukuoka. So you will need to go tokyo or osaka for a transit before you can go to the other areas.
Another factor is not all areas in osaka, kyoto , tokyo are packed. It is certain sights and this part i do think social media contributed to it. While we can search other areas, we also need to help potential tourists to find other areas. E.g if you tried to search videos on iwate, there really isn't much! So definitely a wicked loop.
As per jnto, july's foreign tourist is still down when compared to 2019 (-22%). So while it is getting there, it is not quite back.
Great explanation of the "perpetual cycle"…. A suggestion: some more "almost unknown places" to promote: Odawara and less known zones of Sagami Bay, also Mie Prefecture and Kumano Kodo , more on the "special tourist trains" (Sapphire Odoriko, Yufuin no Mori, etc…) but viewed from another perspective: not the train itself (I mean: also, but not only the part aimed to "trains otaku" ) but also to the concrete itinerary You can use to travel from "point A to point B" not using always the same, very congested, Shinkansen routes (even if those are way faster)….
I loved Kanazawa. It was my favorite place that I went to.
Yo… I am "only" going to two cities this month: Tokyo and Nagoya… But now that you say that… by chance Nagoya won't be so crowded… When looking for hotels in Nagoya, prices of hotels were cheaper oddly enough… Hmmm… I still want to visit Tokyo even if it is crowded not gonna lie.
Also, what about the shortage of Welcome Suice I've heard. I've heard that Tokyo Station now gives ToICa Card instead (from Greater Nagoya)
It's not just Japan. Italy and Venice or Spain and Barcelona as well as France spring to mind. Mind you the latter have a rugby world cup happening ATM. Alex, I first went to Japan for the 2019 RWC. I hired a campervan and drove to many venues that hosted games. Kumagaya, Shizuoka, Yokohama, Oita and Kobe – and I visited many places en route such as the Kiso valley, Biwako, Hiroshima and Beppu. With the cost of the JR pass increasing, I feel that campervans are a viable way to see the places outside of the "Golden Triangle" I took my wife back to Japan this year in springtime for Sakura. It was beautiful in Tokyo (we followed your tip for a Shinjuku breakfast – thanks it was really good) – but again we took off in a campervan. She loved it so much we are returning in December. Again in a camper, there are so many places to see and visit. Different routes and new places to visit. We;ve been to Kanazawa, Hakone, Kawaguchiko, Gero, Takayama, Suwako, Narai Juku, Yabuhara (look it up) Tsumago and Magome to name a few. We still saw other tourists but fewer in number and much more space to smell the roses and take in the scenery.
Great insight and information. Earned a sub here. Thank you Sir
Been doing that already as I am focusing on the Tohoku Region which is the least tourist visited been to Aomori already this year and will return to Aomori again this autumn and will do Sendai and Matsushima Bay as well.. What I don't get is even top influencer Abroad in Japan is aggressively promoting the Tohoku Region extensively for 10 years that influences me to go there… tourists are still flocking Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto. And even if I go to less touristy areas of Japan now, I still have to fly in to Tokyo from overseas as that is the major port of entry…hence suffering the long lines in immigration that took 4 hours to clear.
The overcrowding is overbearing at times. I visited the town of numazu and there’s ain’t many people there .. peaceful little town near mt fuji
Very informative and not only about Japan 🤔🤔
Also I like the edit of the video !! Bravo ✨
Putting these restrictions hurt domestic travelers with the increase pricing on the Shinkansen. Problem isn’t travelers coming into Japan per se, it’s those 3 cities in particular have English speaking staff there. The same reason foreigners come to large cities in other countries, NYC, LA, Paris, London, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Milan. Those cities have infrastructure in place to cope with foreign visitors.
Another informative video!! I’m finally here!! Staying in Ningyocho.
Thank you for highlighting the vicious cycle of these 3 cities getting more and more popular while consigning the rest of japan to relative obscurity. I have been to Japan more than 6 times and i try to visit the less popular places in japan such. In Kansai, i went to Fukui, Kanazawa and To-jinbo besides the popular Shirakawago and Gokayama. In Nikko i went to senjogahara marshes other than the popular Toshogu shrine. This december i will be including a trip to Wakkanai to try to catch a glimpse of sakhalin island. I hope to do the nakasendo trail in 3-4 years time. Keep the videos coming!
Just went to hiroshima and miyajima island. Beautiful city and island