Japanese Tourism

Have you ever arrived at your dream holiday destination, only to find it overcrowded with tourists? The Invisible Tourist is a blog dedicated to sharing the best ways to blend in when traveling and minimize the negative impacts on the local culture/environment often created by overtourism.  […]

The Land of the Rising Sun boasts a unique culture that fascinates people all around the world. If you’ve watched films about samurais, eaten sushi in a restaurant, or taken part in martial arts training, you probably already admire some aspects of Japanese culture. But the best way to truly experience Japanese culture is by visiting Japan.

There are several perks to being a tour guide in a city with such a vibrant history like Kyoto. First of all, you will learn so much about the city you reside in, whether it is Kyoto, Osaka, Tokyo or Hiroshima. I thought I knew a fair bit about Kyoto's culture and history before I started doing tours, but I have probably learned more about the city in these past couple of months as a tour guide than I did in two years living here.

The peaks of northern Kyoto are crisscrossed with roads and trails that wind through valleys and over mountain passes to Fukui Prefecture and the Japan Sea. Since at least the Heian Period (794-1185), the mountain passes have connected the imperial capital to the port of Obama City, which was a hub for marine goods. The Saba Kaido (kaido 街道 usually translates to “old road”) that connected these ancient areas…

I was expecting Japan to be more exotic. It actually surprised me, that Japan was more “normal” than I expected it to be. The first thing I saw at the station when I got off, was a young Japanese man who was probably 200 cm of height. Therefore, I totally forgot all assumptions that I had about Japan…

It’s not called a bullet train for nothing! The shinkansen can travel at a rate of up to 320 km/h, depending on which train you take. The speed at which you can zoom across the country is staggering. If you factor in the outside time required to catch an airplane (check-in security etc.) in most cases, the shinkansen will be faster.

My name is Lisa, I’m half Swedish and half American, but I grew up living a little bit of everywhere. I’ve been living in Tokyo for the past 7-8 years. I’m a senior editor at Tokyo Weekedender magazine.