Australians can be bad tourists in Japan. I was one of them

I’ve been one of the bad travellers in Japan. I went on a buck’s trip to Hakuba once, a snowboarding holiday with a bunch of boozy thirtysomething blokes, and we were the exact sort of visitors the Japanese must fear.

Pack mentality does funny things to people. We sat on the public bus from Nagano to Hakuba making way too much noise and drinking obnoxiously from beer cans. We dressed as superheroes one night and slid down the ski hills on our bellies after a big night at the izakaya. We were rowdy the whole trip, obvious, insufferable.

Kyoto is not coping with the number of tourists it is receiving.Credit: iStock

So I say what I’m about to say with the admission of someone who has taken part.

Australians are at risk of ruining Japan. Ruining it as a destination for ourselves and for everyone else. The legendary Japanese hospitality and politeness can only be pushed so far, and we must be near that breaking point.

Partly, it’s sheer numbers: a record 765,000 Australians visited Japan last year, up a phenomenal 74 per cent on the previous year. One in every 40 or so foreign visitors to Japan right now is Australian – outside Asian nations, we’re behind only the US in terms of foreign visitor numbers.

That’s a huge number of tattooed, board shorted, thong-slapping Australians turning up on your doorstep.

Maiko and geiko can’t get far without being harassed by tourists in Kyoto.Credit: Getty Images

And there’s already obvious tension in Japan about the influx of foreign tourists and their impact, particularly on popular, relatively small destinations such as Kyoto. This city just can’t house and feed the number of people who want to visit. Even if they were all perfectly well-behaved, they would be a problem.

And they aren’t all well-behaved. Sometimes that’s out of ignorance, sometimes out of disdain. But you only have to walk around Kyoto for an hour or two to see tourists hassling any geiko or maiko (the words used for geisha in Kyoto) brave enough to walk the streets, sticking cameras in their faces and following them around.

I’m not here to tell anyone to avoid Japan. Japan is popular for numerous reasons, but what those reasons mostly boil down to is that it’s just an amazing, extremely enjoyable destination. It’s my favourite country in the world to visit. It’s so good.

I’ll be visiting again this year, all things going well. I want to check out more of Hokkaido, the northern island where all of Japan’s best produce comes from. I want to eat all the good things from the source.

However, if we Australians are to continue visiting Japan, and Japanese people are to continue welcoming us in the same manner they always have, some things are going to have to change.

To begin with, the places we visit. It’s time to step out of the “golden triangle”, the popular trio of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. You’ll probably arrive for your Japanese holiday in Tokyo, which is fine, but then there are so many great options outside the over-touristed spots.

Look to Fukuoka, Kanazawa, Hiroshima, Matsumoto, Sapporo, Akita or Hirosaki. If you’re keen to ski, steer clear of Niseko and Hakuba and instead try Myoko Kogen, Rusutsu, Shiga Kogen or Tomamu.

Regardless of where you choose to stay, however, one of the most important factors to being a good tourist is how you behave.

In Japan it’s important for tourists to be as unobtrusive as possible.Credit: Getty Images

In Japan there are so many unwritten and complex rules that need to be observed and obeyed; the essential nature to almost all of them, however, is that as you move through Japan you need to make yourself as small and as unobtrusive as possible.

Don’t be loud, particularly in confined spaces. Don’t eat on public transport or on the street. Don’t smoke or drink in public places. Don’t litter. Don’t rove around in packs being obnoxious.

The key to the harmony of Japanese society is the elevation of community above the individual. You may not want to live your whole life like that, but if you hope to be welcomed and respected in Japan, you have to abide by it while you’re there.

It’s also essential that if you book something while you’re in Japan, particularly a high-end restaurant, you need to turn up and you need to be on time. You also need to eat everything you’re served – this is a big deal to Japanese people. Don’t waste a bite.

Already there are restaurants in Japan reluctant to take bookings from foreigners out of fear we won’t obey or understand local etiquette, and it’s up to all of us to show that fear is unfounded.

Another key to success is to take with you a genuine interest in Japanese culture and society. This interest will be appreciated by locals, but it will also go a long way towards demonstrating to you the best way to behave, and the reasons why.

This isn’t that difficult. Harmony between visitors and residents in Japan only takes a small amount of research, and basic diligence while you’re there. But if Japan is going to remain one of our favourite destinations, and the country is going to preserve its happiness to welcome us … well, don’t be that guy on the buck’s trip.