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I Travelled To Japan But What I Found Was A Disappointment

Doody Richards
5 min readOct 7, 2019
The crowds in Senso-Ji temple
The crowds in Senso-Ji temple.
Crowded Harajuku street
Crowded Harajuku

I was fascinated by YouTubers claiming their best places to go in Japan on their travel channels. I browsed travel photos from the famous lonely planet and found myself mesmerised by tranquil, majestic Arashiyama bamboo grove, and even the dawn at Senso-Ji temple, only from looking at their photos. I wanted to be there right away if I could. Those photos are enticingly captivating. I succumb to Japanese tradition, culture, and modernism as the professional travel advisors describe in their guide books read by millions of people worldwide. So I decided to travel solo to Japan six months ago but what I found was a disappointment.

Japan tourism is booming. According to the United Nations, the World Tourism Organisation from 1995 to 2012 tourists visiting Japan increased from 3.3 million to 8.4 million. 6% of growth rate is undoubtedly an achievement. In 2017, there could be 28.7 million tourists visiting the rising-sun nation. The number will continue to grow following the Tokyo Olympics games 2020 followed by Paralympics in the same year.

The ANA staff from the check-in desk at Sydney airport even hung a little note on my luggage, wishing me a safe and…

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Doody Richards
Doody Richards

Written by Doody Richards

A Travel writer based in Newcastle, Australia. Passionate about exploring places, people & cultures. Published travel stories in various magazines and a memoir.

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