JJapan

Japan’s ‘hidden gems’ overwhelmed as social media drives influx of tourists

  • February 26, 2025

Japan’s ‘hidden gems’ overwhelmed as social media drives influx of tourists

by Hazzat

14 comments

  1. “Despite efforts to spread the word through the city’s website, social media and flyers, an official admitted, “We honestly didn’t know how to effectively reach foreign tourists.” While I hate to say this and i really dont want to but perhaps through influencers? *runs*

  2. If the Lawson with Mt. Fuji instagram picture is a must for tourists then the answer is simple!

    We just have to demolish Mt. Fuji!

  3. We’re past the era where hidden gems exist. Someone will always need to post something about their amazing little find, word will get out, and next thing you have a line like this.

    It’s a shame, but being upset about it or trying to resist it is like complaining that smartphones killed pay phones. Yeah, they did, but it’s never going to go back.

  4. “Overwhelmed” is such a strange word to describe this.

    I drive past that famous Lawson often and there are never *that* many people there. Certainly not so many people that the city can’t handle it.

    I’ve never seen that much trash thrown there either. The majority of trash around that region are people throwing old TVs and car tires on the side of the road due to expensive recycling fees.

    I really wonder, why is it that pretty much every country in the world can handle such a small crowd of tourists visiting an area, yet Japan seems to be overwhelmed. If there is some trash, put some trash cans there. Most people will use them, but telling people to “take your trash home with you” is unreasonable for many. If it is really that bad, just get people to pick it up. The extra revenue that the tourists bring could easily pay for it.

    If people are walking onto the road, put those barriers that they put on almost every crowded city intersection in Japan. The city can pay the clinic on the other side of the road to erect a new fence.

    If they were really smart, they would make an official mascot for the area. Build a dedicated viewing deck and have shops selling local delicacies from the region. Anyone who has been around semi-rural Japan knows how every town has been slowly dying due to depopulation. Entire shopping strips all boarded up. That has to be one of the highest-grossing Lawsons in the prefecture.

    You are not going to stop tourism. The barrier only made people walk 10 meters further to the next photo spot. It did nothing.

  9. I don’t even understand why this is considered a photogenic spot. It’s a bad view of mt Fuji from a parking lot. 

  11. The title is definitely clip-baity, but the meat of the article is pretty literal about the real issue. These small towns don’t have the robust infrastructure to deal with a sudden surge in popularity. It’s probably a difficult decision to make to invest money into certain things if they don’t know for sure if it would be profitable… The Fuji on a conbini shot can probably be replicated in many other locations, and it’s already lost its lifespan of peak popularity.

    But then again, 20,000 dollars to prevent one stupid death was probably worth it. I think the tarp to block the view is dumb if it’s permanent. If I were a local I’d be more mad at the tarp if it is indeed permanent.

  12. I live in a hidden gem that nobody visits despite having the world’s #1 ranked ramen, #1 ranked tofu and arguably #1 katsudon. They’re desperate for tourists but I am horrified at the thought of foreigners flooding the place.

  13. The whole concept of a hidden gem in Japan seems off to me. That Lawson is not a hidden gem, it’s “the” hidden gem. I lived in Tokyo for four years (and Yamanashi for three years long before that) and went on walks nearly every day. You can go down a road you’ve been on a hundred times and then suddenly notice a little side street that is completely different than the ones around it. Restaurants are tiny and plentiful and in every level of a building that also houses other types of businesses. Yes, I’m mostly speaking of Tokyo, but if Japan is new to you any small town is full of similar delights and surprises. It’s such a great place to find your own hidden gems–there aren’t right or wrong ones.

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