Comments by "XSportSeeker" (@XSpImmaLion) on "Kyoto to raise accommodation tax to 10,000yen per night" video.

  1. I'm surprised it didn't happen earlier... I dunno if people get this, but if you say that you're not going there anymore, or that you're staying in another city, complaining that it's too expensive, or badmouthing the city, etc.... you're only making it look like this is the right decision. The problem is overtourism, high traffic, too much garbage and illegal photo shootings in private properties, stated in the description. Entitled people is exactly what the government is aiming to get rid of. It's an actual case of them not wanting you or your money. Been to the city twice... before the pandemic, and 10 years earlier. On my first trip there it was already pretty hard to get a place to stay on short notice around Hanami holidays, and that's around 15 years ago. Mostly about local tourism that time, but it was already packed. On my last trip it was just insane. Hotels fully booked a full year before the trip, and that was when the Arashiyama vandalism case got worldwide attention. Main tourist attractions were so packed that we didn't go to most of them, there were lots of garbage spread around the places we went, and too many people to enjoy places properly. Lines to go up Fushimi-Inari, Kyomizu-dera we just gave up, and even small street markets/matsuri had shoulder to shoulder packed movement. It was very clear that the city was not designed to support that many people at a time. I predicted the problem with overtourism all the way back on my first trip. I knew changes would happen all the way back then. Some stuff just seemed too vulnerable and unprepared for a huge rush of tourists. But of course, this isn't a great solution for anyone - except for the government. Local businesses don't profit from that, it's an added tax for accommodation business, and who knows how the money will be invested. But I just can't think of anything else for such a case. Minpaku laws are pretty strict as is, but I think it'll become even stricter for major urban centers overtime there. And I'm all for it. I absolutely hate what short stay and AirBnb is doing to touristic cities, and to neighborhoods. And these measures will eventually happen more and more to Japan's major cities. They have to find some way of spreading tourism around instead of it all becoming heavily concentrated in the so called Golden Triangle. As someone with a dream to move there someday, as long as I find a way of supporting myself outside of local economy and properly speaking the language to integrate into society better, the over reliance on tourism is quickly becoming more like a curse than a blessing, from personal perspective. If I were to move there, even I as a foreigner wouldn't want to live anywhere near major tourism spots, quite honestly. :P Locals must feel this even more strongly.
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