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| Above, tourists pack the Kiyomizu-dera stage in 2015. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
The last time I was in Kyoto, Japan was in October 2015. The pandemic was five years away and Japanese locals were beginning to complain about overtourism in the city, while at the same time, enjoyed the money tourists brought to their economy.
When we were in Kyoto, there were many people visiting the main attractions such as Kiyomizu-dera and Kinkakuji. We signed up for a bus tour to visit those places at the JR Kyoto Station (famous for the final battle between Irys and Gamera in Gamera 3 in 1999).
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| Above, our tour group posed for a photo at Kiyomizu-dera. |
Although crowded, we still enjoyed the tours.
The Australian Financial Review has posted an article on how to avoid tourist hordes.
They begin it with:
It’s 5.30am when I pull back the sheets and greet the dawn from my sumptuous sanctuary at Kyoto’s Park Hyatt hotel.
It is not easy prying myself from this serene 45-square-metre room with its views over a manicured Japanese garden, but the Park Hyatt’s ultra-convenient location means some of Japan’s most picturesque streets are literally on my doorstep.
And there is only one way to beat the crowds in Japan’s former ancient capital – get up ridiculously early.
Even before Japan’s plunging yen started attracting post-lockdown visitors in record numbers, the country’s ancient capital was suffering from serious over-tourism. There are now queues and selfie-stick-wielding masses clogging top sights such as the Kinkaku-ji (the Golden Pavilion) and Fushimi Inari Taisha with its famous red gates year round.
To read more, go here.
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