In case you haven¡¯t heard, Japan has a lot of tourists ¡ª more than ever, in fact.
The first half of 2024 saw 17.78 million foreign tourists travel to the country, eclipsing the previous six-month record of 16.63 million from 2019. Alongside this surge in overseas visitors, however, the reported ills of overtourism have similarly spiked: From an entry ban in certain parts of Kyoto¡¯s Gion district and the introduction of fees to climb Mount Fuji, it seems each week brings new news on how Japan is ¡ª or isn¡¯t ¡ª dealing with its popularity on the global stage.
But why does Japan seem flooded with tourists all of a sudden? One obvious answer is social media.
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