Report of a recent trip regarding overcrowding.

Apologies in advance for the giant wall of text.

I just wanted to share my recent experience, particularly to comment on overcrowding/over tourism from a neuro divergent point of view. We went to Japan for 18 days and this was our 3rd trip in as many years. This time my wife and I took her parents as they were recently retired and we wanted to share our passion for Japan with them.

It's worth noting that I am diagnosed AuDHD and my is diagnosed ASD. My ADHD diagnosis is fairly recent and I am currently still in titration for Lisdexamfetamine. This is related to the trip as most ADHD medication is either a controlled substance or outright banned in Japan.

To bring my medication into the country I needed permission and a certificate from the Japanese authorities in advance of the trip. My interactions with the Japanese side was great, very clear and understanding and replied promptly each time. I did have a bit of an issue getting some of the details from my prescriber (harrow health). My advice would be to apply for this certificate as early as possible and try submitting additional documentation, to help with anything that may be missing from the UK doctors side of things. For example they excepted a photo of my drivers license as proof of address (they prefer it to be on the one letter from the Dr but….) and you have to explicitly state that the (probably) printed prescribing doctors name on the bottom of your letter is their “signature”. But I eventually got my permission and received my certificate by email a few days before flying. I had to declare it on my customs declaration (via Japan web) and two staff members asked to see the certificate when coming through Haneda airport, but there were no issues or any additional stress. But I will say, anyone going with or without anything to declare, fill out the customs forms on Japan web before flying, makes things easier when you land.

I won't do a full itinerary, though I would recommend at least making a rough one to help with fitting everything in to the trip (especially when neurodivergent). Also check routes/trains in advance so you know how easy/long that will take. We also bought our shikansen tickets in advance (via smart ex), this helped to spread the cost and if you buy the tickets one month or less before the journey, then you can also book your seats, this just makes it easier and more relaxed, knowing everyone was together. We booked the green car for all our trips as well, just to make them easier/calmer as I think traveling arround as much as we did can really be tiring/draining.

We also used luggage forwarding a lot, but did have to occasionally be without our cases and just with our rucksacks for a couple of days as the luggage forwarding is not always next day. But coin lockers can help until you can check into the next place.

During our trip, we started in Tokyo for a few days, then went to Kyoto, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Osaka and then back to Tokyo via Hakone.

I would say we had two big incidents with overcrowding/tourism during our trip, though everywhere was generally busier than it was the previous two years.

The first area that we struggled with was Shibuya, particularly at the scramble crossing. That day we had been to Harajuku and walked to Shibuya, while busy, it wasn't overly crowded, it was still manageable. The Pokémon centre in Shibuya had a crazy long line and was far busier than the 4 or 5 times we have been there before (also far busier than any of the other Pokémon centres we went to on this trip). However, leaving the area via Shibuya station and crossing the scramble to get to it was a nightmare! So busy, but the issue was so many tourists stopping after a few meters to turn around for photo shoots or video recording. This just made it so much harder for everyone else who was just trying to cross. People were seriously in groups and one person would go out each time to just stop for photos and then come back to the same side they started on. It was madness!.

Outside of Shibuya things were generally better. Particularly down in Hiroshima, everywhere felt a lot less crowded and everyone there was so friendly. The museum at the peace park was a bit overcrowded though and eating a slice of cake in the cafe next door afterwards felt very weird (just as a juxtaposition from a very intense subject to, well eating cake!). Miyajima was also very busy but as we were staying overnight on the island, we could walk around a bit later in the day which was a much better experience, around sunset for the main strine. I would say that restaurants are limited there so if possible I would reserve ahead of time. I did have (in my opinion) the best tasting pudding there, so good I had it twice!

Osaka wasn't as crowded as I expected it to be, it was still busy but Dontenburi didn't seem much busier than when we first went three years ago. My wife did think the street had started being gentrified though. There were more, new big glass fronted shops, less of the smaller independent ones. But you can still find them just a short walk away. I will mention to check if a restaurant allows smoking as we found many places had smokers inside in Osaka, which we haven't really noticed in other cities.

Hakone we did as a one day trip this time while travelling between Osaka and Tokyo. Last year we stayed overnight at a Ryokan. I would say this is the second of our big overcrowding disappointments. It was mostly a day spent queuing for the cable cars and ropeway. Both up the mountain from gora and down towards the pirate ship. Last year was busy but this year was a whole other level. Probably not worth doing it, especially as a one day trip. Though by the time we got to hakone shrine it was quite late in the day and as it was closed, it was very quiet, giving us more of the peaceful vibes we have previously experienced at shrines & temples in Japan before.

One thing to note, we all got bitten quite a lot by presumably mosquitos, pretty much any time we were near forests or water. So consider lots of bug spray. Team labs in hiroshima botanical gardens were especially bad for this.

On our last few days in Tokyo we went to less obviously touristy areas which was a lot more enjoyable. We have a particular shrine we like, about a 20 minute walk from Ueno park and a little cafe there that we really like, both just far enough away to not be crowded. (Though I totally appreciate that as a tourist, I was part of the problem).

Our only other let down was we booked a tour to go out to Mt Fuji and around Yamanashi as we felt it would be a nicer experience than taking the train/coach out there. But be careful, we thought we had found a good deal with a tour for about £600ish for the four of us, including picking us up from our hotel and dropping us back off there at the end. Unfortunately you do kinda get what you pay for. It wasn't so much of a tour as more of a taxi between sites. With no explanation or guidance really and lunch they kinda kicked us out at a place that said it was closed but still had a line (thankfully it wasn't closed). Then the journey back from the Yamanashi area to central Tokyo took 3+ hours. Over an hour longer than it took going the other way. Unfortunately our “guide” didn't warn us about this, though when asked he did say the traffic was always that bad. The “guide” also drove fast and a little erratically on the journey back. Frequently going over the speed limit by quite a lot (though from looking online it seems speeding to a certain degree in those areas is kinda the norm). So that was a disappointing experience and it was also overcast and a bit rainy so we couldn't see Fuji. But we had managed to see it from every other opportunity, so we didn't mind too much.

We had view of Fuji; coming in to Tokyo on the plain, the top of Mt Takao, the shikansen to Kyoto and to hakone later (perks of booking your seats in advance) and from hakone (all from the cable cars to the pirate ship).

Price wise I feel like hotels, shikansens and luggage transfers have had a big increase in price from previous years but metro trains and food has not gone up too much. Food is always hard to price. Some places will have amazing food sets for only ¥1000 (£5ish) but then in another place your coffee will cost more than that alone. I think simple, independent, local area places tend to be really cheap and the places in more central locations that offer fancier food/ingredients can get a lot more expensive. One of our favourite places is a chain that feels like a fantasy European cafe vibe or a little old cafe on the outskirts of Kyoto that seems to just be run & owned by two sisters that could probably have retired a decade ago. So I advise, try looking for smaller, more out of the way places. Though bear in mind that a lot of places close earlier than you would expect, often between 6pm to 8pm.

For late night food, conveyor belt sushi places, like sushiro are normally open late, but again then ones in more touristy areas will have longer queues. Case in point we ate the first night at one near asakusa shrine, had about a 30min wait, then on our last night we ate in one just across the sumida river (as my in-laws wanted to do the skytree and then we were struggling to find open places near there that were open when they had finished), just next to the asahi beer hall and that sushiro had no queue whatsoever. It was also in a fun location. We entered on the side furthest from the river and there is very little signage and you walk past a rock climbing wall and gym to get to the restaurant (helps make it memorable!). These places are also on the cheaper side food wise, we all ate loads but always cost ¥8000ish or £40ish for all four of us.

So yeah, that's my recent experience. Certain places have gotten a bit over the top busy with tourists. But it's still a great experience if you go a little further out. My in-laws loved the trip. I would advise not travelling around quite as much as we did, especially if you're neurodivergent like me and my wife, as I was knackered and almost dead on my feet by the time we left, though I did have to do almost all of the navigating.

Also be prepared for someone in your group to get ill. Both my father in-law and my wife got a cold/flu bug at different times during the trip. I think lack of sleep and a really long plane trip was the big cause. Look up medication that you can buy in Japan. Their drug stores are always open really early and late. For UK travellers you can get Eve A (that's like their paracetamol) and Tylenol (their version of ibuprofen). My wife also swears by a hot honey and lemon tea you can buy from some vending machines/combinis.

Last little tip, if you find you always have too many big notes (¥10,000) and never enough smaller ones. I always tried to use a big note anytime there was a self service payment machine, so suica top up, some combinis, sushiro, ect. Then I would always have some smaller bills for the more independent shop. I withdrew some money via my revolute card, I found that 7eleven were the easiest for this, the one in Lawson charged me a little more to withdraw and the one I tried in a familymart didn't accept my card.

Apologies for such a long and rambling account. I hope you all enjoy your own trips, just don't act like an idiot on shibuya scramble, it's a busy road crossing not your private Instagram shoot location (same for all the temples….)