The explosive growth in tourist numbers in Japan
April 22nd, 2025 by Roger Darlington
If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ll know that, following a professional visit to Japan in 1998, I’ve just made a return visit as a tourist for a more extensive trip.
In 1998, there were 4.1M foreign visitors to Japan. By 2014, there were 13.4M. By 2024, the figure was 36.9M. This is a staggering rate of growth, but the government is aiming for 60M.
Already I found parts of Japan – especially Kyoto – overtouristed. I find it hard to imagine how the extra numbers will be absorbed.
You can find full details of tourist figures here.
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A review of “Abroad In Japan” by Chris Broad
April 21st, 2025 by Roger Darlington
To be honest, this is not really a biography, instead it is part memoir and part travelogue. I read it while travelling in Japan and found it a very accessible and useful introduction to this wonderful but strange country. It is written in a casual, even conversational, style and it is often quite funny.
Broad – note how he incorporates his surname into the title of the book – went to Japan as a young man straight after graduation when he took part in a scheme to locate native English speakers in schools to assist with the teaching of English. He was assigned to a relatively remote corner of the north-west of the main island, a town called Sakata, where he spent his first three years in this country, painfully managing to learn Japanese.
Increasingly, he made videos for YouTube about the cultural curiosities of Japan and, as a result, moved to the north-east of the main island, a town called Sendai. More and more, he travelled around the country: he writes particularly about Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara and Mount Fuji (each of which I have visited) and he has now been to all 47 prefectures that make up the country.
In short, amusing chapters, he explores the complicated language with three writing systems, the rarity of swearing, the long periods of silence, the formality of the education process, the forbidden-footwear culture, the attraction of hot springs, the experience of an earthquake, a missile from North Korea, the thriving drinking culture, the varied and often odd foods, the role of hostess bars, the commitment to service, the prevalence of cleanliness, the wearing of face masks, the shortage of living space, the introduction of capsule hotels, the efficiency of the railways, the ubiquity of road tunnels (an estimated 10,000), the preference for presentism over productivity, the superiority of group conformity over individualism, the low obesity rate, the extensive longevity, the explosion in tourism, the antipathy to foreign residents, and the obsession with cats – and more.
Towards the end of the book, the tone becomes more serious as he makes videos about the consequences of the devastating tsunami of 2011. The book covers the decade January 2012 to March 2022, but the story continues on YouTube where Broad has now posted over 250 videos.
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A review of “Japan: A Short History” by Mikiso Hane
April 21st, 2025 by Roger Darlington
For the last two millennia, Japanese history has been divided into eras named after the capital or after the shogun or emperor of the time:
the Yamato period (c.300-710) with the political centre located in the area around Kyoto, then known as Yamato; the Nara period (710-784) named after the capital city; the Heian period (794-1185) when the capital was Heian, present day Kyoto; the Kamakura period (1185-1333) named after the headquarters of the shogunate; the Ashikaga shogunate (1338-1573); the Tokugawa or Edo period (1603-1868) when the country was ruled from Edo (current Tokyo); and, more recently, the eras of the emperors Meiji (1868-1912), Taisho (1912-1926), Showa (1926-1989) and Heisei (1989-2019).
Mikiso Hane (1922-2003) was a history professor at Knox College, Illinois, USA and most of his 200 or so pages cover the years from Tokugawa rule onwards. Japan was effectively – and deliberately – cut off from the rest of the world until the arrival of four American warships in 1853, but the Meiji restoration period saw rapid modernisation and the emergence of the country as a major world power.
Japan entered the First World War on the Allied side in order to take over German concessions in China. The annexation of Korea in 1910 and the occupation of Manchuria in 1931 were followed by the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the unconditional surrender to the USA after the dropping of two atomic bombs in 1945.
Hane makes a point of covering not just political developments, but social and cultural changes, including the role of women. When covering the contemporary scene, he highlights the increasing longevity of the Japanese and the restrictions on immigration. although his book was published in 2000 before the full effect of the falling birth rate, all of which are dramatically impacting the demographics of the nation.
He is frank about the social situation: “Despite the rise in living standards, problems of overcrowding, housing shortages, poorer sanitation facilities compared to other industrial nations, and pollution continue to plague the populace.”
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It will take you 18 minutes to listen to this talk – but you won’t regret it
April 20th, 2025 by Roger Darlington
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Holiday in Japan (13): reflections
April 18th, 2025 by Roger Darlington
How to summarise such an exciting and varied holiday?
We all agreed that the highlight of our trip had been the day viewing the majestic Mount Fuji. Often the sight of the volcano is hazy or poor or simply impossible. We could not have had better weather and clearer views. For me, the other highlight was the time at the two magnificent temples in Kyoto.
Overall, we had seen Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples and ancient castles, gardens and bamboo forest, huge railway stations and amazing shopping malls. We had visited a peace museum, a railway museum and a folk village, and we had experienced a miso factory, a tea ceremony and a sake brewery.
Travelling by bullet train was a wonderful experience and trying Japanese food was fun.
Four long flights, seven hotels, a different language, a different script, a different culture, different food – Japan can be a disorientating experience, but such a thrilling one.
Quite simply, Japan is another world. Everything is neat and orderly and works. There is no litter and no graffiti. There are vending machines everywhere selling everything. There is WiFi everywhere.
The Shinkansen (bullet train) system is a marvel of engineering – very fast, very punctual and very comfortable (although with no catering facilities).
For all its embracing of technology, Japan used to be be a cash-based society, but clearly the Covid pandemic has changed that because I was able to use my debit card almost everywhere and never obtained any local currency throughout my holiday.
Japan is a conformist society. Nobody crosses a road unless they have a green light even if there is no traffic. Everything is automated with screens everywhere. Japanese timekeeping is ultra precise. Service is excellent, people are polite, there is no tipping in Japan.
Japan is an easy country for English speakers to visit because – at least in the major cities and transportation centres – so much signage is in English and instructions for things like coffee machines have an English option. There are public toilets everywhere and they are always clean, sometimes even with fresh flowers. All the toilets in the hotels have heated seats and bidet functions.
If I was the Emperor of Japan, the one thing I would change is the toilet paper and the tissue paper – it is ridiculously thin.
How to characterise Japanese society?
Japan has a fascinating history, stunning terrain and thrilling cities, but it is a seriously odd nation for foreigners to understand. The language is inaccessible and the people reserved, so that it is hard to make a connection. Everything is so ordered that it begins to feel regimented.
There is a sense of being in a theme park: everything is so clean, everyone is so polite, the advertisements are frequently so garish. There is a feel of infantilism: young women often dress like girls, women of all ages like to don a kimono, and women especially seem to giggle and smile excessively.
It is a land of obsessions: an obsession with samurai and shoguns (with no reference to the murderous 20th century), an obsession with bizarre foods (such as bits of meat and various seafoods), an obsession with certain forms of entertainment (anime comics and films, electronic games, figurines of fighting characters), and an obsession with cats (think of the brand Hello Kitty).
And always there is that sense of conformity: at school, at work and at leisure, people do not like to stand out and bully or intimidate those that do, foreigners are tolerated but not really accepted, and so few Japanese have ever left the country or even own a passport.
For the 265 years of the Edo period, Japan was cut off from the world. It is an open country now – but on its own terms, determined to stay different and even aloof and with minimal immigration and work permits.
I thoroughly enjoyed my second visit to Japan, but I could never live there: my height, my extroversion and my love of desserts mean than I would stand out too much.
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Holiday in Japan (12): return
April 18th, 2025 by Roger Darlington
Thursday was a day of departures with different members of the Great Rail Journeys group flying off to different destinations. Those flying to London had the day free in Osaka. Four of us joined together as a Northern Brigade: Dave & Jen from Grimsby, Jenny originally from Huddersfield, and me originally from Manchester. The weather was excellent: 23C.
After a late breakfast, we walked all the way to the towering Osaka Castle and had a good look around the grounds, but we did not go inside because the queue for entry was so long. Next, we stopped at a boulangerie for coffee and cake and it was warm enough to sit outside.
We failed to find a bus tour of the city, so we took a taxi to the Dotonbori district which we visited yesterday. We explored different streets and paused for a cold drink and a snack. Again we were able to sit outside.
Another taxi had us back at our hotel about 3.30 pm. We had had to vacate our rooms, so the next three and a half hours were spent in and around the hotel, with the Northern Brigade venturing out to a nearby mall for what was either a late lunch or early dinner. The group left the hotel at 7 pm to spend four hours at the airport before take-off.
Again we flew with Emirates: Osaka to Dubai (five hours behind) in an Airbus A380 for ten and a half hours and Dubai to London (eight hours behind) in another Airbus for an additional seven and a quarter hours.
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Holiday in Japan (11): Arashiyama & Osaka
April 16th, 2025 by Roger Darlington
It was the last day of the official part of our tour (Wednesday).
Leaving Kyoto after three nights, we first journeyed to the nearby town of Arashiyama. We were there to see a bamboo forest.
The company’s description of the location suggested: “Listen out for the soothing sounds of trunks creaking and knocking together and leaves rustling in the captivating canopy above.” We couldn’t hear a thing above the noise of a throng of tourists.
It was another hour or so before we reached Osaka so our local guide Kazoo took the opportunity to explain the education system, the health system and the tax system in Japan. I’ll spare you the details.
Osaka has a population of 2.7 million, making it the third most populace city in Japan (after Tokyo and Yokohama). It has a raw, gritty feel quite unlike the rest of the country.
As soon as we reached the city, we went to the Umeda Sky Building which consists of two 40-storey towers linked by a Floating Garden Observatory almost 570 feet (174 metres) high. Actually the observation deck does not have a garden and could hardly be said to be floating, but there are grand views of the metropolis.
It was lunchtime and we were dropped at a district called Dotonbori which is the entertainment section of the city with a multitude of eating establishments. All the advertisements and crowds were more reminiscent of Hong Kong than other parts of Japan.
One of the features of this trip has been the strict timekeeping of the itinerary. Dontonbori was yet another example of us having a set time to be back on the coach with the threat that, if one missed that time, the bus would have gone because there are so many tourist coaches that officials rigidly enforce tight restrictions on drop off and pick up times.
In the evening, the group had a farewell dinner at our hotel, the Sheraton Miyako. We were served a set menu of four courses, each small but exquisitely presented. Our Tour Manager Bill and local guide Kazoo each made short speeches and I responded on behalf of the group.
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Holiday in Japan (10): Nara
April 15th, 2025 by Roger Darlington
On the penultimate day of the official part of our tour (Tuesday), the pace slackened, when we did not leave our hotel in Kyoto until 9.30 am and we were back at 3.20 pm. We were out of the city all day.
At a place called Fushimi, we visited a sake brewery called Kizakira. This proved to be much more entertaining than one might have expected as a result of the manager talking to us being an atypical Japanese, loud and exuberant. And, yes, there was a tasting session.
As we drove on to Nara, our local guide Kazoo attempted to explain a few of the complexities of the Japanese writing system.
Japanese utilises three primary writing scripts: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. These scripts are used in combination to represent respectively native Japanese words, foreign loanwords, and ideographic concepts.
Hiragana and Katakana are phonetic scripts, each representing a syllable. Kanji, on the other hand, are ideographic characters borrowed from Chinese, representing entire words or concepts.
Nara was the capital of Japan during most of the Nara period from 710 to 784 as the seat of the Emperor Shomu. We visited the grand Todai-ji Temple which is surrounded by a park full of tame deer.
Though it was originally founded in the year 738, Todai-ji was not opened until the year 752. The temple has undergone several reconstructions since then, with the most significant reconstruction, that of the Great Buddha Hall, taking place in 1709. Today temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Great Buddha Hall houses the world’s largest bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana, known in Japanese as Daibutsu.
As our look around the Hall was concluding, the weather suddenly turned cold and dark and then it started to rain heavily with thunder and lightning. Fortunately, Jenny and I managed to find a French restaurant where we had a tasty galette pancake.
Back in Kyoto, in the evening Jenny & I decided to revisit the futuristic station. Now that we knew what to expect, it was not quite so awe-inspiring, but it was good to have a slower and more thorough look around, followed by dinner nearby.
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Holiday in Japan (9): Kyoto
April 14th, 2025 by Roger Darlington
We spent the whole of Monday in Kyoto. The city is most famous for its fabulous temples and, in the morning, we visited two of them.
On my visit to Kyoto in 1998, I saw four temples: Kiyomizu Temple, Sanjusangendo Temple, Nijo Castle and Nanzen-ji Temple. Today we went to a new location for me, the Kinkaku-ji Temple, and then a return location for me, the Kiyomizu Temple.
The Kinkaku-ji Temple is essentially one building – but what a building. The place is commonly known as the ‘Temple of the Golden Pavilion’ and is set by a lake surrounded by beautiful vegetation. The temple is nicknamed after the shrine whose top two floors are coated in 0.5 μm gold leaf.
The current pavilion was rebuilt in 1955 after being destroyed in an arson attack. It is a replica of a 15th century building and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Kiyomizu Temple covers a much larger area with many more buildings and I was thrilled to see it again. It takes its name from the waterfall within the complex which runs off the nearby hills. Kiyomizu means ‘pure water’.
The temple was founded in 788, so that it predates Kyoto, Many of the temple’s present buildings were constructed in 1633 on the orders of the shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu. There is not a single nail used in the entire structure. It is another World Heritage Site.
In the afternoon, we visited two very different venues, different from this morning’s locations and different from each other.
First was the site of a giant seated Buddha where we attended a Zen tea ceremony. It has to be said that matcha green tea is an acquired taste which I doubt I would ever acquire.
Then we went to the Kyoto Railway Museum which was opened in 2016, covers three floors, and has a total of 54 retired trains. Not my thing but each to his own.
The official tour was over for the day, but our guides offered to show us Kyoto Station located close to our hotel. This turned out to be a head-spinning, jaw-dropping, mind-blowing, awe-inspiring experience.
The current station was designed by architect Hiroshi Hara and it opened in 1997 which commemorated Kyoto’s 1,200th anniversary. Architecturally, it exhibits many characteristics of futurism and the main hall,with an exposed steel-beamed roof, is called The Matrix.
The place is gargantuan, with a dazzling displays of lights and advertisements and a huge number of retail outlets and eating establishments. Jenny & I had dinner here – Chinese for a change.
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Holiday in Japan (8): Hiroshima & Kyoto
April 13th, 2025 by Roger Darlington
Sunday morning was at the Peace Memorial Museum which I visited in 1998.
The museum consists of two wings with an overhead passageway between them. Since the Covid pandemic, the displays have been changed totally.
The first wing is dark and shows exhibits illustrating the terrible effects of the atomic bomb, especially the long-term illnesses and deaths of children. There are horrific pictures of some victims.
The second wing is brightly-lit and sets out the nature of atomic weapons including how they were developed and who now has them. It highlights post-Cold War reductions in numbers and the more recent collapse of disarmament efforts.
The problem with the museum in 1998 and the problem in 2025 is the absence of proper context: why the Americans used the bomb and what happened between then and the unconditional surrender (which took another atomic bombing and an announcement by the Emperor).
In 1998, there was a narrative leading up to the end of the war, but it was a flawed story, particularly as regards descriptions of the Nanjing Massacre of December 1936 & January 1937 and the attack on Pearl Harbor in December.
In 2025, there was no pre-war narrative but at least some acknowledgement that not all the victims were Japanese (10% were Korean). However, it is stated that the major reason for the use of the bomb was American concern at Soviet plans to invade Japanese territory.
While this was a factor, the main reason was not even mentioned: the appalling casualties suffered by the Americans in taking Pacific islands from the Japanese and the intention of the Japanese to resist invasion of the mainline which would have caused horrendous casualties on both sides.
Both in 1998 and 2025, the strong emphasis was on the Japanese as innocent victims rather than ruthless aggressors.
At lunchtime, we were on the move again with another experience of the Shinkansen bullet train, this time from Hiroshima to Kyoto, a journey of just under two hours. Ever since leaving Tokyo, we have been travelling broadly south, but now we went up northwards.
Kyoto is the former capital of Japan and Emperors ruled from here from 794-1869. Today it has a population of 1.5 million. The prefecture has an astonishing1600 temples with no less than 17 UNESCO World Heritage sites.
We had just an hour in our Rihga Royal Hotel in Kyoto before we were off again: this time for a walking tour of the Gion district of the city. This is the oldest part of Kyoto and where one can sometimes see a geisha and always catch traditional Japanese theatre.
Unfortunately, it was raining heavily and those who didn’t already have umbrellas had to borrow one from the library.
Remaining in the city centre for the evening, we made our way to Ponto-cho Alley, a lantern-lit street filled with authentic restaurants and shops. At a restaurant called “Pontocho Suishin”,we had our most traditional Japanese food yet which included tofu, raw meat, raw fish, miso soup and tempura.
I confess that this is not my favourite kind of food, but fortunately I had a packet of fruit & nuts to eat on the coach back to the hotel.
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