I agree with Connor that while nobody is entitled to go to their country, Japan can be A LOT better at managing things and making new solutions rather than just getting rid of certain things and spots altogether that attract tourists in the first place

People treat Japan like its some alien world with its entirely unique set of morals. Most of the time if you're well behaved at home that same behaviour will be good enough there. Just don't get goofy because you're on vacation.

Japan is the textbook definition of suffering from success

"stop giving me so much attention" -Japan

It also doesnt help that the majority of foreigners are intrigued in Japan is because of all the Japan-tubers/ influencers that capitalize on the country by producing content like "I paid 200$ for A Micro Tokyo Apartment!" "I Rented A Boyfriend For A Day!" "I Visited A Yaoi Cafe!" "I spent 48 Hours Around Tokyo!" Thats probably the reason why within the past few years, there have been streamers/idiots visiting Japan and making it a country thats for wacky/goofy adventures with no care for the law.

This is only tangentally related to this, but remember when China released a book for their own citizens detailing dos and donts for visiting other countries? That was funny.

Tourists are super easy to avoid in japan because they only go like 3 places tokyo, kyoto, and osaka. If you go places like Hokkaido or the western coast you see next to no tourists. Not to mention tourism in japan is really not that bad. In 2023 japan had 25 million international tourists and is projected to pass 31 mill in 2024. For comparison colorado in the usa (a stste of 5 million) recieves 38 million tourists per year. It just feels like japan in over touristed because they all go to the same handfull of places.

do you guys remember the Chinese tourist who craved his name into the pyramids? Tourists act like idiots everywhere. Feels like they just want to shut down again. live in a bubble.

We have Kama'aina discount in Hawaii where we just need to show a Hawai'i drivers license to get the discount or cheaper price. If Japan had a way for people to prove their residency, like a drivers license, passport, etc They could get the cheaper price that way. People might complain, but we've had it in Hawai'i for at least 30 years, probably longer.

When I was in high school, I was a huge Jpop fan, but none of it was on KZfaq and you couldn’t buy it directly from Japan. You had to buy CDs through someone who had a Japanese address or who visited Japan often. Tons of foreign fans supported artists this way, and yet we were essentially told to stop because eventually Oricon said, “Overseas sales won’t count toward the charts anymore,” which made no sense. So fans who would LOVE to support the artists even with NOTHING given to us unless we found our own way, were cast aside. They also said, “Well, no one outside of Japan probably likes this music,” like HUH??? They made it impossible for no reason. Why not just put the music on streaming platforms, on youtube, sell CDs online??? But no - they wanted to be dumb and exclude everyone like that. Absolutely bananas. Kpop did the opposite - the GOVERNMENT of Korea allocated funds to make Korean media popular, they sold merch, put everything on youtube, promoted dramas in other countries, had songs in English some of the time, and made an effort to get Kpop culture off the ground, and it worked. Meanwhile, Japan is still doing it the old way, which hasn’t worked and is such a waste.

This is probably unrelated, but Sydney has Lockout laws for more than a decade screwing tourism and local business over, all because the government decide they want to stop drunken brawls in the streets. Shutting popular places down to people isn't a unique thing specifically only to Japan.

Kind of, if ruining Japan means 0.1% of Tokyo and Kyoto and 0.001% of the country. All you have to do is go like 3 streets over in Shibuya, or just plain go to Ikebukuro and most of the tourists are gone. Let alone going to some random Yamanote Line station. Let alone 2 blocks out from some random TOEI station. Let alone going out to the suburbs. Can't they figure out how to spread the tourists out more besides making people stop buying the JR pass so they'll just stay in Tokyo and Kyoto? Can't they figure out how to get the tourists to not go to the same few areas? Can't they figure out how to get the tourists to spread out a bit more in the areas they do go to? Tourists aren't all over. In Tokyo they're basically just in a tiny little section of Shinjuku, Shibuya, Akihabara, and Asakusa. Basically everywhere else it's just a few tourists here and there. I went in the Saizeriya in Asakusa and it was literally just Japanese people. The tourists were all waiting in line for gyuukatsu.

Whats appealing of japan is how encompassing the politeness and teamwork is for the natives, no one else does it like this. If you tried to move the way you would in japan in literally any other country you would get hurt really bad

I agree with Connor on this one. Japan advertise tourism so much; they have a Twitter account (Chiitan) who is a God of promotion for the country. I obviously think people should be respectful of other people's cultures but there has to be some middle ground. I've visited Japan recently and the locals I met were so nice and welcoming. but then I get online and KZfaqrs and Blogs are like "They hate you all" Another thing Connor is right about is Japan is VERY capitalistic even if people don't like to think so. There they should be smarter and not so heavy handed with their decisions. importantly if you are thinking about visiting Japan don't let this scare you off. It's as great as you hear, just try to learn as many small and big things about how to be respectful as possible because it is important but the people I met where nice enough to teach me when I did mess up. if you care you'll pick the stuff up fast.

The other problem with this is a lot of tourism industries in Japan will just straight out die. Japanese people in their limited free time are not going to take a traditional Japanese tea ceremony class, a dress up as a samurai class experience, where you get to cut stuff with a katana. Or that Japanese amusement park experience where you get to be a ninja. Not to mention the traditional Japanese archery classes along with the traditional calligraphy classes all of this stuff is tourist crap. Normal Japanese people are not doing this. These industries will die without tourism.

I live in a coastal town that suffers from over tourism and can confirm it is awful. I don't know what it is about people that make them think its ok to trash places they're visiting, act over entitled and not respect the people who live there.

I am glad to hear a nuanced opinion that doesn’t glorify Japan or Japanese people, each mega city in the world feels divided about tourism now that it’s become accessible for many, Barcelona recently banned Airbnb apartments altogether

My friend who lives in Setagaya-ku said that the local govt is closing the nearby park for the entire summer to prevent kids playing in the park from getting heatstroke. Problem solving

Being such a fascinating country with insane popculture fandom will attract so many different people. The fact that the Yen is now in such a bad spot, it does attract the not so great tourists... . I went last year, prepared so hard to know the customs of the japenese, learned a bit to get around, and spend so much time to be respectful to the culture and yet i was shocked to see so many people just being impolite and rude to the japanese... i was so sickend to say the least. Respect the culture of any country before you set foot their, they may have a starbucks, netflix, etc. . That doesn't mean they live on your rules. Still highly recommend visiting Japan it's incredible and the food is just godtier.

This discussion coming out while I’m on vacations visiting Japan for 3 weeks 😂

It’s always foreigners in Japan telling other foreigners what to do

Italy gets 57 millions tourists yearly and we're not even top 3, Japan gets 32 millions, and I live in Florence, so a tourist hot spot. They're obviously entitled to do whatever they want with their own country but this tourists ruining Japan thing is definitely being blown way out of proportion, tourists can be mildly annoying sometimes but that's about the extent of it, and a few annoying clout chasing streamers, which everybody gets, don't mean much in the grand scheme of things if not for rage baiting and easy good boy points in social media for people who attack them Loads of people fetishize Japan to something akin the sacred land of the gods that must be protected at all cost from foreign barbarians, which especially coming from foreigners is just weird as fuck.

Tbf here in rio de janeiro all the street vendors have a “for gringos it is more expensive” and most tourists dont even get mad at it, most backlash comes from brazilians. There is certainly something to be learnt

I visited Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo within two and a half weeks and personally, all the tourist-related issues I saw was in very specific areas of Kyoto mostly in Gion. Elsewhere wasn't as crazy or was quiet. Then again, I didn't always go to places that were touristy so maybe its just an over saturation of those hotspots thats breeding issues. By the way, SF Bay Area in the USA has some businesses that offer discounts to locals. I guess its different because everyone don't look the same and its the owners of those businesses implementing those policies rather than the entire country.

This goes both ways though. I remember a small village in either Germany, Austria or Switzerland have built a wall at a place that got overrun because it was so idealistic and Ghibli-esque. Apparently both countries don't have the resources to get people-shovers, so that the traffic keeps on rolling. In the end we might all be inconsiderate because we want to take that shot. I am guilty of completely zoning out at times when I take photos.

Japan: Notice me Senpai! *tourism explodes* Japan: wait, no

In Malaga (Spain), we are falling in ruin due to over turism. Our corrupt politicians get comisions from constructors, so they use turism as a way to sell at X4 the price they normally could. As result it's impossible to access housing and 65% of people under 35 live with their parents. Some of my childhood friends are living in a van. This shit breaks my heart. I can only imagine how bad it has to be in japan. You guys have better laws, but also a lot more of people.

Admittedly their are a tonne of Chinese tours anyone can book to get pictures of specific locations from popular instagram posts. This includes the Lawsons because there was a popular picture of it. The thing is it's also the easiest option to see Mt Fuji, most people don't care about the Lawsons but it's on the easiest tour to book. Ideally a better tour option would be better.

They do the “local discount” thing in the US too. Usually they check your state drivers license, and if you are from the same state you get the discount.

I have been to Japan 13 times since 2000. The only rude tourists I have ever come have across all come from one single country beginning with the letter C. Boy are they rude.

They shouldn't treat everyone the same just because some idiots ruin things for everyone by being disrespectful, etc. Case by case, all that.

Sorry I strongly disagree with 2 things: 1. The Lawson with Mt Fuji background should NOT be a tourist spot because it's a very cramped residential place, but tourist vans keeps coming there. 2. Implementing dual pricing for tourists is not "racist": many other countries implementing the same thing too at tourist spots, for example Taj Mahal and national museum in some countries.

Asians in General - plz behave, plz no photos here, don't do this, don't do that etc .. Asians as a Tourists themselves - photographs everything, blocks the way in a group that is loud af, forces you to speak there language if they need directions. (I see it every day. 😮‍💨 believe me, living next to a tourist spot sucks hard. So i can understand them but also see there doublestandards. )

If you go a bit out of the way and the tourists disappear. Last trip I went to a mountain town in Gifu and I went to this yakitori place for dinner and some locals ended up paying for all my food and inviting me to go izakaya hopping with them because I’m guessing they don’t see a whole lot of foreign tourists. Good times. I’ve never had a bad experience with people honestly even In Tokyo. I got lost trying to find a station once and I asked a dude for directions and he just ended up walking me there. Maybe times are changing because the media paints tourists in a bad light I’ll find out next trip I guess.

Absolutely not, I believe those individuals got charged unfairly. I lived in Japan and was part of a ministry where I would write to inmates and when I was given someone’s case it was absolutely ridiculous how stupid the sentencing is for foreigners and disgusting.

I was just in japan and the tourism levels were literally fine

Discounts for locals is nothing new - and it DOES exist in the US. Even Disney does this - they have discounted prices at Disney World for Florida residents.

As someone travelling to Japan in October I almost feel bad for wanting a holiday

The problem are the tour groups, the ones that drop bus loads of people into the same spots, and the people exist in a bubble. They don't need to interact with the locals to ask for assistance, everything is done for them. It's a delicate balancing act - Japan needs to tourist dollars to keep the economy going, but it can't deal with the over saturation in the same spots.

My own experience as a tourist in Japan: We went to Sendai in May and were shocked at the long queue for the sightseeing bus. Because the bus only comes about twice an hour, there is a long line at the station, and you can't get on the bus at the following stops because it is so crowded. Such mismanagement could easily be solved by adding more buses during peak times. It would make the main station less crowded and give people easier access to the sights. Instead, there are station workers trying to manage the line.

Why didn't that town make the wall out of a clear material? Then the tourists could still get their picture, but they can't get in the street

I hate how they act like they are not immigrants themselves.

One thing to note. America does the "local pricing" thing and has done it in Hawaii for Hawaiian natives called kama'aina discounts. Considering Hawaii is a very traveled destination by Japanese tourists it seems they copied us.

The price thing, Barcelona already has it and common wtf, don't do it on appearance, you do it on ID & place of residence, a cousin of mine lives in Barcelone, it's fine, they have similar problems, insane tourism, too many airbnbs. I don't think many Japanese get it, there's is a thin line between reasonable policies and being xenophobic or just racist. I don't think it's a racism born out of bad intentions, but it is racism nonetheless. What I mean by this, some people are openly racist, they just don't care, but here they do care, but they're still being racist without realising.

Sounds like Japan is a reverse-tsundere. Instead of "I say I don't like you but I really do" it's "I said I like you but I really don't."

You can just see in Grant’s face that he doesn’t agree with Connor and Joey 💀

What is dumb about this whole situation is that, as Connor said, we are not ready at all. But the local governments, authorities and politicians all says sight seeing business is the biggest thing right now in our country. We became really poor due to the political failure through this 30 years and we all know it. So on the surface level, we all understand that we have to make this sight seeing business much bigger and make money out of it. But deep inside, we still consider ourselves as "progressive" people who can get respected by any other country. That's why we act like such a moron and still think we can get the pay.

I think Japan will have to find a balance between maintaining their cultural values and accommodating foreign influences, and each side will inevitability have to compromise. Even beyond tourism, Japan is facing a fertility and work/life balance crisis that I doubt it can solve by itself without diversifying it's population.

" 'Open the country. Stop having it be closed' said the united states" - history of japan

One of the big issues at the lawsons was that its right next to a busy street, and people are standing in the middle of the road to get the picture. One of the intentions of the wall was to stop tourists from risking their lives. There's a live stream from onlyinjapan that shows off the location.

The problem is that so much of Japan is reliant on tourism money that if limits are put in place, it would be detrimental to so many businesses. Even just during Covid, countless places shutdown including famous ones that should have had the money to stay open. It wasn't just stay at home mandates that killed these businesses. Japan is stuck in a hard spot where in order to stop over-tourism, it has to be willing to accept that businesses are going to go under and it's going to mean less money, which is NOT what they need right now on the verge of a recession.

I find it fascinating that when faced with an issue like the Lawson Fuji thing or the tree thing, they chose the nuclear option of putting a black screen up and cutting the tree down. A similar thing happened in Korea with native English teachers roughly a decade ago. Basically, some schools would let you go home once you finished your lessons and if you were set for the next day. A few teachers ended up at schools with stickler administrative staff that made them stay the full workday. These teachers complained, and the program's solution to this was to make 'everyone' stay their full workdays. Instead of trying to smooth things out, find a compromise, or make things better- everyone suffers more. I'm not sure what this method of problem solving is, but I really don't get it.

Japan after COVID: Please, I’m begging you, our small tourist towns dying, please come to Japan 😢😭😭 Japan now: Can you guys go away please, you are a plague on our enlightened society

More than tourism, I think Japan has exposed a rude awakening for many people, especially Americans. Before it was a small handful of people saying "I want to move to Japan" now it's a mammoth, growing swath of people declaring "I WILL move to Japan."

I got back from Japan a month ago and I've never felt more welcome in another country. People bend over backwards to help make your experience better.

7:03 "Do you think Japanese culture wants that though?" Money? Yeah, kinda. Sorta self-evident with the tourist-facing businesses in Tokyo (like those fucking go-karts). Idk, I think that people ascribe way too much "exceptionalism" to Japanese culture, where they treat it as completely separate from the rest of humanity, but like... They like money. They like people admiring their culture. They don't like disrespect, or obnoxious or loud people. I don't think they're really any different from any other place when it comes to how they feel about tourists, it's just the out-of-touch old men running things that are weird about it.

USA has local discounts all the time they just ask to see like your diver's license or etc... and boom free trip to the zoo/theater/park and etc... the fact that this seems strange to Japan is more weird to me.

I dont think overtourism is the right word. Its people who go to the "main" things and everything is concentrated there

The way you make money from these areas is putting up vending machines and allowing people to sell souvenirs and/or other goods. If a lot of people come to an area, make it easily accessible and allow your citizens to make money from it. And also don't tax them into poverty.

So that Lawson situation is definitely not as simple as Connor made it out to be. The tourists were most definitely not just showing up there because it was convenient, there were many instances of people pulling up in cars only to take photos of the thing. On top of that, they wouldn’t take photos from the Lawson’s parking lot because that was too close to the convenience store, so they’d all cross the street and set up full blown tripod camera setups for their “perfect shot”. Now mind you, they were all doing this on a narrow footpath, meant for people to walk on and go about their business. Plus, this part of the footpath is the front area of a dentist’s office, who was the one who had initially complained about this to the local government as he was quite unpleased about the number of people clogging up the front of his business. That is why the tarp was put up across the street, I.e. in front of his office, and not behind the Lawson. I can go on, but the point is, that issue just doesn’t have a simple solution.

Wasnt one of the solutions to combat covid reduce the number of trains and also store hrs, therefore making more people use trains and stores at the same time

I saw 6 people I knew go to Japan within the last month or so, 2 of which from my office went at the same week and didn’t even realize it until they left to go there. It’s wild right now.

It's so strange to me that things like this even happen because I remember back in like 2013 that Japan threw a lot of money into tourism because it just wasn't a popular place to go and now that everybody wants to go to Japan. Japan doesn't want anybody showing up, which is weird, and then there's solutions to some of the things that they consider to be problems is strange.

It's funny that Connor complained about the whole having two price policy for locals and tourists, while he got scammed for paying a premium for Pad Thai and a Tuk Tuk (which is very common across Asia, not only exclusive to Japan)

In Britain, they call it cultural enrichment

Here in Rio we have the "Carioca Pass" that gives cheeper prices to people who live in the city. This stimulated locals to visit more tourist places at the same time that prices are higher to turists. We welcome thousands of turists each Carnaval every year, so is a matter of adapting and valuing the profit that this people bring to the city.

The Japanese are worried that people hang outside of Lawsons and take photos. When I try to go to 711 in my country I have to navigate past groups of junkies that are nodding off on fenty. They don’t know good they have it

As someone who’s in Japan rn, I can confirm it is FLOODED with tourists. When I first arrived here, the line for the tourists passport check was INSANE. Thankfully, I have a dual citizenship for Japan (since my mother is Japanese) and I could easily get in with the residential passport check. And not to mention how almost every single place I went to here, there were either 1-2 tourists or dozens of them depending on the location. But a lot of them are very polite and looked like they researched a lot about this country. So far, I haven’t seen that many rude tourists (probably because I haven’t been to the big areas like Shibuya or Harajuku yet). So I don’t think we need THAT big of a guide if all the tourists I saw so far haven’t caused that big of a scene. All you really need to do here is act polite, be quiet and you won’t be judged. Also if you’re wondering why I’m judging other tourists when I’m one too is because I’ve been here multiple times and I’m also from here, I just don’t live here. But, I have a Japanese citizenship and I travel here often (idk why I wrote that last part, I was just concerned if anyone was going to doubt me)

Lol guys live in japan for a couple years and start gatekeeping a country

Japan/ Tokyo still will not reach the same amount of tourists Paris got last year (57million). They expect around 30 million in Japan this year and the government wants to actually push tourism to 60 million as well next year soooooo…just look at how Paris handled it and also contact architects who specialise in crowd control construction (that is a real thing). However that locals in Tokyo will suffer from what was already called “the Paris effect” (it occurs due to overtourism / culture clash when people start getting rude and overly grumpy towards all tourists because they get overwhelmed) is unavoidable.

I was looking at tours to Mount Fuji from different tour companies in Japan and half of them take you to that Lowson to take a photo! Maybe restricting tours companies would help 😅

Around 2019-ish, when Japan was preparing for the Olympics, I told my co-workers that I don't think Japan is ready for the surge of tourists. Covid happened, so they dodged it back then, but there's no dodging it now.

Over-Tourism is ruining everywhere tbf lmao

These solutions definitely need a south park episode like yesterday. The whole situation needs a South Park episode.

They could put in measures that allows money earned from tourists to go towards making things better towards tourism while also helping the locals but instead just choose to discourage tourism instead.

I would like to share some important information. There is a KZfaq channel called 'Mayuhina' run by an actual Maiko/Geiko. She speaks fluent English, so I strongly recommend watching it as much as possible. It's much more beneficial than watching a video like this and getting a misunderstanding.

Was in Japan last year. Was just fine to me. amazing place. Wanna return.

It’s crazy how this happened right when I started to go to Japan. It’s like everyone knew I was coming 🤦🏻‍♂️ it’s literally MY favorite country and always wanted to go since I was a kid unlike 98% of people who go. They don’t bother trying to learn Japanese, don’t have respect for the culture or people. Honestly it is ruining tourism for those that actually care. Just influencers and their followers.

Hawaii has local prices for things. Disney has a local price for residents of the state. Vegas charges you a whole bunch of fees on top of your hotel bill.

Fuji Lawson has a hospital in front of it, and every time tourists gather there to dump their trash, or a tourist bus pulls into the hospital parking lot without permission. First of all, that's private property, and it already carries established revenues and activities for the local residents. If you want to monetize from tourists, it would be easy to turn it into a café or something, but have you ever thought about the feelings of a hospital that has been in the local community for a long time? It is the same with the trees in Hokkaido. It is farmland, and there are many cases where crops have been ruined by epidemics as a result of the arrival of various people from foreign countries, and there are also cases where people have entered their land without permission and taken pictures. And there have been cases of people entering their land without permission, filming, riding on their work tractors, and various other nuisances. Monetizing there? No. That is a place that already has a local industry, not a tourist industry. Hanamikoji in Gion was originally a road that was released for good on private property, where all the local people know each other, and all the other people just say it is forbidden. Of course, the ban includes Japanese people, and none of what they say is accurate news, only ridicule. Even they don't care to understand exactly what's going on, they don't care to understand Japan, and they think as if they will always be in their own country. These places were initially opened to the public, but every time a problem arose, the restrictions became stricter and stricter, as signs and billboards were made to warn people to stay away, but to no avail. Tourist spots such as shrines that have attracted crowds for a long time receive a little money from the government to help them cope with the problem, but photo spots that have become popular on social networking sites do not receive any money from the government even though this kind of thing is commonplace. The people who want tourists are those who can profit from the tourism industry, and to the uninvolved, they are the barbarians who come onto people's land without permission. They don't discriminate against foreigners, they hate people who can't follow the rules, and that includes Japanese people. It's not racist to overlook this and call it discrimination against foreigners. If it's that easy to solve the problem and make money, then show us where Trash Taste is located. Put yourselves in the shoes of the victims for once. You're going to monetize it, aren't you? What if the community complains? What if there's a problem and you guys can handle it? They would probably move the place as well. Because this problem is not because of Japan, but simply because of overtourism, which is happening everywhere in popular tourist destinations.

I've been to Japan. Before going I (genuinely) spent 3 years researching in depth how their culture works and how to avoid causing offence. Countless Abroad in Japan and other content provider videos, where I took in the advice on how to act. So I feel somewhat qualified to comment: They are xenophobes. They don't want immigration. They don't want the bother/hassle/potential embarrassment of having to speak to foreigners. They don't want tourism. Yet their country is dying, the population is crashing, their demographics are aging massively and as a result the economy is in the toilet. I follow a popular Japanese chap who's in his 50's on youtube, who repeatedly puts out videos saying "Japan is dying". He's not the only one. They'll never learn, they are like Americans who can't understand how and why another school has been shot up, while the rest of the world looks at them like "well....yeah., because...America".

I completely relate to Japan. Canada is absolutely overflowing with people from India now to the point where they have recolonized this place. It absolutely becomes incredibly frustrating feeling like you're the minority in your own country.

Japan police see a woman getting harrassed/stalked: I sleep Japan police see kamen rider masks: ARRESTED!!! IN JAIL FOR 100 YEARS!!!

It is funny listening to a bunch of non-Japanese natives discuss this topic

Damn the comments are hard riding the hate foreigners bandwagon

They could've easily implemented a law around that area that does not allow loitering and double or triple fine them especially if they get on the street. Pay for a proper security or police with proper tourism guides. Tour guides that allow pictures in an area marked in green to take pictures.

Japan does not need to accommodate anyone. Tourists just don't know how to behave. That's why you do your research and learn the customs of the country you are VISITING, instead of expecting them to tolerate your customs.

Irony, everyone is quick to jump to Japans defense, meanwhile Europe and Americans have to deal with the entire world trying to gaslight them into telling them they have no right to exist while dealing with unfiltered migration replacing them in their own homelands.

The British guys should know that "Overtourism" means "badly regulated tourism", as the Brits love to spend their holidays in Spain, and Spain doesn't complain about overtourism (except the idiots form Mallorca). Spain is still the #1 holiday spot on the planet.

Japan needs to start instituting a limit on how many foreigners come to Japan

“Halloween in Shibuya is cancelled.” - Government In reality: people still go every year. Why not just regulate it and make it official and set up stalls and such? Because Japan’s stupidity.

Foreigners are NOT. Tourists are. It's very important to make that distinction

Japan wants the tourist money, without dealing with the tourist

There's nothing wrong with overtourism, it's a good sign of economy. Problem is tourists aren't behaving and don't have manners.

The problem is that not enough tourists think of themselves as guests in someone else's home when they go abroad. If you had a friend or co-worker invite you over to their home, you would respect their furniture and property. You'd be thankful and appreciative for the meals and drinks they serve you. You wouldn't act like an asshole unless you truly are one.

This isn't a Japan specific problem, but rather, a new problem for Japan. Locals wherever you go don't like tourists. Some places more than others. But tourism is always seen as a bit of a nuisance to residents of the area.

I was there a couple months ago and the majority of the time I didnt see tourists unless i went to like Akiba or central Shibuya but most places i went i was the only white guy I even went to popular clubs on weekend nights and art galleries and things and still barely saw tourists if you actually explore youll get out the tourist areas v easily but youll need to know Japanese

that's what you get when the country's leaders are out of touch, or fossils that don't understand shit. you should talk about the tokyo mayoral election and how carzy some of the candidates are.

As a permanent resident of Japan for a couple of decades, like many others, I've gained a deep appreciation for the unique qualities that make Japan exceptional. Many newcomers arrive and, with good intentions, treat Japan as if it needs their guidance, yet forget Japan is one of the world's most peaceful countries and one of the top five largest economies. Instead of attempting to find out what's "wrong", immerse yourself in understanding what makes Japan so wonderful. If, after time, you find it isn't a fit for you, cherish the experience and continue your journey. Japan will continue to flourish in its unique way.

My grandmother is from Japan and moved back right before covid we would go back and visit here every year I am so obviously a foreigner and my Japanese is so broken I police man actually asked my grandmother if this tourist was bothering her..😢