Japan’s post-pandemic tourism recovery has seen huge and growing numbers of inbound visitors, and Kyoto has been one of the focus destinations—but the local government has noticed that the trend is not matched with domestic tourists.
The Kyoto government’s annual tourism trend study showed a huge increase in foreign travelers between 2023 and 2024. Top sights such as Kinkakuji/the Golden Pavilion, Fushimi Inari Shrine, the scenic Togetsukyo Bridge, Nishiki Market, the Kiyomizu Gojo neighborhood, and Kitano Tenmangu Shrine all had increases of 24% or more.
But, the study found, numbers for Japanese visitors were going in the opposite direction, in some cases startlingly so—Kitano Tenmangu saw a 42% drop, and Kiyomizu Gojo was down 34%. The others all also had double-digit drops. On the other hand, they found increases in the number of Japanese visitors to parts of the city farther on its outskirts with less world-famous attractions, and also less convenient access by public transportation.
That suggests that perhaps crowds of international visitors have been the engine making those top attractions less attractive to domestic visitors who have more options.
Image by G Poulsen from Pixabay
