Kyoto Tourism

Kyoto is Japan's leading light in tourism, an industry the government is aiming to boost, in the near term to 10 million inbound tourists annually, and long term o 20 million tourists. The obvious country to market towards is China, and this is happening with easing of visa regulations.

An article in the New York Times takes a look at the debate among vested parties in Kyoto on how and where that city's tourism industry should focus. For some, Orix's proposed aquarium (Japanese only) in the city center is the right approach to draw in new crowds. But for the majority, Kyoto's value and draw for tourists is in presenting traditional Japan to the world. Kyoto was spared the massive carpet-bombing other Japanese cities endured during World War II, and preserves many World Heritage-quality sites. During the post-war decades, the Kyoto people tore down the old city themselves and re-built it in post-modern concrete, as is Kyoto Station itself. Only over the past decade have stronger zoning policies been implemented and an appreciation for the old Kyoto been nurtured. This has fostered a vibrant inner city of old renovated machiya houses, coffeeshops, boutiques and traditional artisan stores, which fills out a tourist's experiences beyond historical site visits and allows them to interact with locals. One such area is the Nishiki market.

Beyond Kyoto, Japan is looking for ways to make itself more tourist-friendly. The big draw this year is Nara's 1300th anniversary, which has had problems in promoting itself and standing apart from Kyoto. The Japan Times has a quick summary here. Perhaps in the end the private industry will need to lead the effort to promote Japan and make the pitch to potential tourists, as the Japan Times reports.