Is Japan overrated as a tourist destination?

The country’s appeal has been obscured by crowds and the Fomo mentality. But its magic is still there — people just need to make the effort to look for it.

- Karen Tee

Crowds thronging the viewing platform at Kiyomizudera, Kyoto. Travellers often claim to want to experience "authentic" Japan but their itineraries do not necessarily reflect this quest - especially when they focus on places designed to cater to mass tourism, says the writer. PHOTO: COURTESY OF KAREN TEE

(PHOTO: COURTESY OF KAREN TEE)

Whenever someone announces they are heading to Japan for the first time, most of us can probably list their itinerary before they have even booked their hotel — that’s just how familiar we Singaporeans are with the Land of the Rising Sun.

There will be the obligatory photo at the Shibuya Scramble pedestrian crossing in Tokyo, the temple-hopping marathon through Kyoto’s Higashiyama district and the Osaka street-food crawl along Dotonbori, capped off with a sizzling okonomiyaki.

Many will squeeze in a visit to a big theme park, like Universal Studios Japan in Osaka or Tokyo DisneySea.

If it is winter, there might be a detour to Niseko in Hokkaido to experience powder snow. And in spring, brace yourself for the annual barrage of sakura snaps of pale pink petals and meticulously staged picnics, as if the entire country exists to serve as Instagram’s cherry-blossom filter.

Many travellers follow this “starter pack” with near-devotional zeal. But lately, there have been signs that some may finally be growing weary of the same old circuit.

According to recent data from Expedia, average airfares from Singapore to Tokyo fell by around 10 per cent, while fares to lesser-known cities like Nagoya and Fukuoka climbed by 15 to 25 per cent. This suggests that demand is gradually shifting away from the most congested places once considered unmissable.

But is Japan, as a whole, overrated?