The government has been promoting the country to foreign visitors for years with immense success. Yet from increasingly unaffordable hotels to suitcase-clogged streets becoming nigh-unwalkable, the downsides are mounting for ordinary residents. Many of the country’s iconic experiences, from the Mount Fuji convenience store to shooting video at Shibuya’s “Scramble Crossing,” simply do not cost any money. The country needs to grapple with these problems before over-tourism replaces omotenashi. Japan needs fixes better than simply blocking everything off.
