話題 · wadai
Latest Controversies
Overtourism & current issues
Overtourism, dual pricing, photo bans, and the ‘bad tourist’ headlines — here’s what’s actually true, what’s just noise, and the one simple line that keeps you on the right side of all of it.
Japan welcomed a record wave of visitors, and along with it came a record wave of headlines: a fence going up at the Mount Fuji convenience store, geisha districts in Kyoto closing private alleys to tourists, restaurants quietly charging foreigners a different price. If you’ve been reading the travel forums, you may have arrived more nervous than excited — convinced that one wrong move turns you into the next viral cautionary tale.
Here’s the calm version. Almost none of these stories are about etiquette you’d break by accident. They’re about a small number of people doing things any thoughtful person already wouldn’t do: trespassing for a photo, blocking traffic for content, treating a quiet neighborhood like a theme park. The rules that followed are mostly just lines drawn around behavior you were never going to cross.
So this is the honest, current picture — which bans and barriers are real, where the crowds genuinely are, and how the pricing debates actually work — without the fear-mongering. Japan isn’t asking you to be perfect. It’s asking you to be aware, and aware is something you can absolutely be.
What you’ll learn
- Which photo bans and barriers are real and where they are — the Fuji-view spots, Kyoto’s private geisha alleys, certain shrine grounds — so your camera never lands you in a story
- How dual or ‘tourist’ pricing actually works at some restaurants and attractions, why locals are debating it, and why it’s nothing to take personally
- The genuine overtourism hotspots — Shibuya Crossing, Kyoto’s Gion, the Fuji Lawson — and the simple timing tricks that let you see them without the crush
- The real reason behind the eating-while-walking ‘rule’ (it’s about respect for the space, not a fine) and how to handle street food the local way
- What’s behind the viral ‘tourist behaving badly’ clips — and the single line of common courtesy that keeps you nowhere near them
- Where Japan’s trash, smoking, and short-term-rental rules trip up first-timers, and the easy habits that keep you invisible in the best way
The questions travelers actually ask
Pulled from what real visitors are searching and posting — every one answered inside the guide.
- How much is Japan's tourist departure tax going up to in July 2026, and will I have to pay it?
- Can I really be fined on the spot for littering in Shibuya, and does that apply to tourists too?
- What are the unwritten etiquette rules tourists keep breaking on trains, at onsen, and in temples?
- Is it okay to bring my own food and eat or sit on the ground at places like Tokyo DisneySea?
- How should I behave around the deer in Nara so I'm not disrespecting or harming them?
- Is just saying 'arigato' to shop and restaurant staff considered rude in Japan?
- What counts as disrespecting a temple, and how do I avoid being 'that tourist'?
- Are locals actually resentful of tourists right now, and how do I avoid adding to the overtourism backlash?