Last Updated: Sep 20, 2025

The Other Side of Japan

Why Get Off the Beaten Path

This story was originally published on donnykimball.com and has been syndicated here on Medium.

Rather than take a look at one of the countless hidden gems in Japan as we usually do, this week, I want to zoom out and discuss why one ought to, or even needs to, get off the beaten path when visiting. Truth be told, as all OG readers will know, this is a topic that I’ve touched on a few times in the past. Alas, with the government looking to welcome upwards of 60 million tourists and existing infrastructure in mainstream locales already stressed to the breaking point, never has it been more important to explore alternative destinations.

By now, it should really come as no surprise that overtourism in Japan is an ongoing issue. Simply put, Kyoto and its ilk are now so crowded that they have become mockeries of the very image that put them on the radars of visitors to Japan in the first place. That quiet and quaint ancient capital of Japan that is chock full of charming shrines and temples? Yeah, that has largely fallen by the wayside these days, instead replaced with hordes of tourists packing the streets leading up to sites like the famed Kiyomizu-dera. As you might imagine, the appeal is little more than a fleeting dream that no longer exists.

Now, one of the theories that I put forth years ago is that truly authentic travel…