Are tourists loving Kyoto to death?

Kyoto, one of Japan's major tourist destinations, is suffering from over-tourism amid booming inbound demand.

- NORIMASA TAHARA

The city needs to find a way to balance between maintaining its traditions as an ancient capital and providing hospitality to tourists. Kyoto residents who feel their daily lives are being oppressed by over-tourism seem to be nearing the limits of their patience.

In early December, the area around a bus stop on the north side of JR Kyoto Station was crowded even on a weekday afternoon. Ordinary Japanese people were quietly walking beside a line of more than 50 foreign tourists waiting for a bus. It seemed as if the area had been mainly designed for tourists, with ordinary people overshadowed.

In a survey conducted last fall by Kyoto City on residents' attitudes toward tourism, many pointed to the negative effects of over-tourism. In response to a question about whether they think that there are people who feel annoyed by crowded conditions on buses and subways due to the presence of tourists, those who "strongly agree," "agree" and "somewhat agree" totalled 90.2 per cent. This high number seems to indicate that nuisances such as tourists leaving trash on the street or dragging large suitcases through narrow alleys have become commonplace in Kyoto.

Kyoto has long been a tourist town, attracting not only regular visitors but also many students on school excursions and children on field trips. Groups of young people dressed in school uniforms can be seen everywhere in the city, and this has not changed even now. Kyoto residents must have felt proud when they saw people gathering to experience the culture of the ancient capital, but now they may be more likely to feel uncomfortable.