A record of the author’s unmatched years of walking Kyoto and a critique of overtourism and misguided inbound policies.

Since December 2011, for someone who no longer lived in Kyoto, I was the world’s greatest walker of Kyoto.
October 31, 2020

Since December 2011, for someone who no longer lived in Kyoto, I was the world’s greatest walker of Kyoto.
After all, in 2012 alone, I visited Kyoto (including Shiga and Nara, but overwhelmingly Kyoto) on 300 days of the year.
A few years ago, I visited Arashiyama 100 times in a single year.
Togetsu Bridge, the gardens of Tenryu-ji, the Osawa Pond of Daikaku-ji — I continued to photograph the flowers, birds, wind, and moon through all four seasons.
Today, because the weather was unbelievably clear without a single cloud, I headed to Kyoto, to Arashiyama.
I was astonished.
On the train toward Kyoto and on the train toward Arashiyama, there were so many people.
A friend who accompanied me said:
“We don’t need Chinese tourists anymore. We don’t need Korean tourists either.”
I felt exactly the same.
I had once been a camera enthusiast, so crowds never bothered me.
But what my friend said was exactly right.

Mr. Suga,
What you called a “tourism-oriented nation” was nothing but tourism pollution.
Especially Kyoto cannot accept any more tourists.
Above all, many young women are already saying so.
In fact, we lost many times more than what we gained from the inbound tourism boom that was essentially tourism pollution.
It was utter foolishness to invite unnecessary tourists from China and South Korea — countries that continue Nazi-like anti-Japanese education — and then make Chinese and Korean announcements even in trains and subways, thereby continually emboldening them.

As I have written before, because I have a philosophy that I will never go to their countries as long as they remain what they are, I do not know for certain, but I am absolutely convinced that in their countries they would never broadcast Japanese announcements in subways or trains as Japan has done.

Mr. Suga,
We must stop inviting Chinese and Korean tourists into Japan more than necessary.
No more such foolishness.
Such foolishness must never be repeated.
As they are now, Chinese and Koreans should not be allowed into Japan.
Only by doing so will it be for their own good.
Unless we do so, they will remain forever as peoples of bottomless evil and plausible lies.
We must not lend strength to such people ever again.
That is the fact and the truth the Wuhan virus taught the world.
It would not be an exaggeration to call it the word of God.
The only ones who fail to understand this are the fools of the Vatican.