JAPAN HAS CHANGED | 10 NEW Things To Know Before Traveling To Japan 2024!

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JAPAN HAS CHANGED | 10 NEW Things To Know Before Traveling To Japan 2024!

Another year of Japan being open has gone by and with that comes a year’s worth of major updates you need to know about! From recent year-round drinking bans in Tokyo to the yen falling to its weakest point in almost half a century, to even dual pricing between tourists and residents becoming more common, these are just a few of the major changes Japan has gone through in the past year that you NEED to know about! So without further delay, let’s get into these major updates so you can properly plan for your vacation in Japan!

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0:00 – 0:33 Intro
0:33 – 0:59 Hidden Japan Journeys
0:59 – 2:35 (1) Public Drinking Ban??
2:35 – 3:18 (1.5) More Bans To Follow??
3:18 – 4:38 (2) Suica Shortage Solution!
4:38 – 5:47 (3) Yen Hits Historic Low
5:47 – 6:49 (3.5) Why The Weak Yen Is Bad
6:49 – 8:45 (4) Tourism Hits Historic High
8:45 – 10:19 (5) Tourism Pricing Scam??
10:19 – 11:43 (6) Mt. Fuji Restrictions
11:43 – 12:06 (6.5) Mt. Fuji Alternatives
12:06 – 13:40 (7) Kyoto Tourism Ban?
13:40 – 14:35 (8) Kyoto Overcrowding Solution
14:35 – 15:55 (9) Record Setting Summer
15:55 – 16:28 (10) New Tokyo Attraction
16:28 – 16:45 Outro

another year of Japan being open has gone by and with that comes a Year’s worth of major Japan updates that you need to know about from year-round drinking bands in Tokyo being enforced to the Yen falling to its weakest point in almost half a century to even dual pricing between tourists and residents becoming more common these are just a few of the major changes Japan has gone through in the past year that you need to know about so without further delay let’s get into these major updates so you can be one step closer to getting ready for your trip to Japan if you are overwhelmed with the endless amount of things to do for your upcoming trip to Japan well I have the solution that is just for you and that solution is my business hidden Japan Journeys after years of living in Japan I have gained a wealth of knowledge about how to easily get around and help plan your Japan trip as efficiently as possible if you are interested contact me at my business email which is located right here or check out my website which is located in the description below starting off with one of Japan’s recent and more surprising updates is Tokyo’s move to ban drinking year round in one of its most popular nightlife districts Shibuya as many of you may already know Shibuya is one of Japan’s Central hubs for nighlife and partying here they have all different types of ways to party the night away whether it be at a yokoo Japanese bar known as an isaka or many other official activities if you will I mentioned the word official because tourists and locals alike have been partaking in one of the less official ways of spending the night in Shibuya which would be none other than Street drinking one of Japan’s more famous and unique rules that you will not typically find in Western countries is the fact that public drinking is surprisingly legal allowing people to openly walk around with a beer or other alcoholic beverage in their hand while this rule is largely a nonissue in this country Shibuya has unfortunately become a pretty notorious place to do it as there has been a lot of trouble surrounding this unofficial Pastime in the area originally it started out as only a ban on public drinking in shabuya during Halloween and New Year’s Eve as Shibuya Halloween got way out of hand only a few years ago but recently the issues from Halloween have spilled over into almost every night during the year in this area prompting the government to make the decision to ban drinking in Shibuya year round this ban will come into effect starting October 1st this year prohibiting public drinking in the shabuya district from 6 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. which is when most of the problems associated with public drinking occurs here the even more surprising news to me is the fact that Shinjuku might also be following the same line of bans very soon in another recent move by the city government Shinjuku another very popular nightlife district will join Shibuya in Banning public drinking during Halloween as well and while this might not be a big deal right now it wouldn’t be surprising if we saw Shinjuku extend the ban to a year around enforcement as well whether this possibility will become a reality for Shinjuku as well has yet to be seen But if there are any major updates pertaining to this news you’ll be sure to hear from me first while the last update might not be the best news to hear I do have a good recent update to share with you Japan is finally implementing an electronic sua app that all tourists will be able to use over the past year Jr East has faced a severe microchip shortage limiting its ability to provide icua cards the reason why this is such a big deal is the sua cards are the primary methods used to navigate all of Japan’s public transportation systems and while visitors with iPhones have been able to use apple wallet for virtual sua cards Android users have been unfortunately left without a similar alternative however with the introduction of the mobile sua app both Android and iPhone users will have a solution to the physical icua card this app might even become the preferred alternative for Apple users as well since Jr East claims they will be able to use multiple credit cards rather than being restricted to the few options Apple wallet allows the only bad news about this electronic sua update is that this update will not release until early 2025 so until then tourists will still have to rely on the other icua alternatives to get themselves around the public transportation systems in Japan which you can check out in one of my other previous videos which is located right here here anyways let’s cover another piece of news that while it might be good news for tourists in the short term it could prove to be a disaster for Japan in the longterm over the past year the Japanese Yen has consistently gotten weaker and weaker around this time last year the Yen was sitting at around 145 Yen to the US dollar and while this was a shocking number at the time it only continued to worsen as the year went on now after the prolonged strength of the US dollar and the consistent weakness of the Japanese economy the Yen now sits at a staggeringly low 160 Yen to the US dollar and despite every effort by the Japanese government to strengthen the Yen all of their efforts have been futile as the strength of their currency will remain weak as long as the United States keeps their interest rates high now on one hand this is a pretty good thing for tourus as Japan which was once a very expensive vacation spot to visit has now not only become affordable but is even considered one of the top countries to visit right now due to its budget friendly prices for tourists from Europe the United States and other Western countries however while this is a big Advantage for tourists right now it might not be such a good thing in the long term the weekend has been very damaging for Japan as a whole putting a very tight pinch on many Japanese residents who are already strained from low wages on top of that the weekend has caused prices of various Commodities and products to Skyrocket due to high import costs this cost in turn is now being transferred to the consumers both from at home and abroad so while the Yen being weak will be good for tourists in the short term if the weak Yen continues its current Trend it could eventually spell disaster for the country in many ways for one it will force stores and restaurants to continue to raise prices to keep up with the rising import and energy costs eventually canceling out the weekend advantage that tourist had in the first place and as a worst case scenario this could cause even the most famous tourist to close shop for good as their profits won’t be able to keep up with the rising costs as for the other unintended negative side effects due to the weeken well we will get into those with my other Japan updates right now Japan has seen record-breaking levels of tourist for the third month in a row this year with no signs of slowing down either as of May of 2024 the country has already welcomed over 15 million visitors with the country expected to break its previous record of tourist by the end of 2024 a year faster than expected not only that but the country is forecasted to continue to see more tourists year over-year with the Prime Minister expecting a staggering 60 million visitors to come to Japan in 2030 alone now let me give you some reference as to what those numbers might mean for you and your future trips to Japan if you visit Tokyo or Kyoto right now you will see what almost looks like an Endless Sea of people with long Lines reservations for almost every favorite site booked months in advance and also being packed shoulder-to-shoulder in famous areas like shuya Crossing Shinjuku and other major tourist areas and that’s only considering that the country is experiencing a record-breaking 30 million tourists a year right now which don’t forget the Prime Minister predicts that they will see 60 million tourists by 2030 now now that you have the current situation in your head imagine that scenario but doubled if the government meets its projected Mark of 60 million Visitors by 2030 if that predicted number actually becomes a reality Tokyo might just become impossible to visit without getting lost in a sea of people and navigating your way through impossibly long lines and crowds and with the Yen continuing to weaken against the dollar this situation is becoming more of a reality every day and on that note of the Yen let’s touch on another unintended side effect that is taking place due to the weakening Yen not only has the weak Yen brought in an unprecedented level of tourists from around the world but it has also caused an unusual amount of strain on businesses and attractions across the country because of what is now considered over tourism and the weak Yen that has negatively impacted Japan businesses and major sites have taken it upon themselves to set up a double pricing system for tourists and locals this double pricing system is where a local pays the normal price for whatever service they are receiving whereas the tourist has to pay a higher fee for the same service that local is getting the logic behind implementing this two-tier pricing system is since the tourists are coming from a place with higher currency strength they will be able to offset the cost of keeping the store open while lessening the burden on the locals while this might seem like a viable and understandable Solution on paper this has unsurprisingly sparked a lot of backlash and controversy from Taurus and I can definitely understand why Taurus would be upset with this move people come to Japan for vacation with the idea that the country is a welcoming one and has many unique things to do and see however when they arrive at a restaurant or at famous sites that are considering this double price tier system like HEI castle and get charge a clearly biased and unfair price for tourists this can really leave a bad taste in their mouth making the tourists feel unwelcome and forever change their view on Japan for the worst perhaps to the point where they would never want to return if you do see that and don’t want to support it it’s better off just to immediately leave and not say anything just to show that you don’t support this unfair double tier pricing system and while the double pricing system is one of the more recent updates for tourism there is another major update that has occurred within the last year that you definitely need to know about last year Japan’s famous volcano went through a pretty rough time with over tourism causing many of the public facilities to become overwhelmed and the mountain to become littered with trash because of these overcrowding issues the government announced that they would Implement a visitor cap on the Yoshida Trail to 4,000 visitors maximum daily a 2,000 Yen entry fee per person and a reservation system to claim your visit to the mountain in advance and now just a couple weeks ago the local government began allowing tourists to reserve their visit to Mount Fuji through their website all you have to do is head to this website select the options that lead you to the reservation page and then set your date and number of people coming with with you for that day and once you have paid your fee you’ll be locked in for your reservation as for how fast all of these reservation slots will get filled up that’s as good as anyone’s guess as this is the first year that this has been implemented we will simply just have to wait and see how fast each day gets locked up as people start reserving their visits to Mount Fuji and make sure to keep this in mind for next year as well so if you want to play it on the safe side and make sure you can get your visit to Fuji locked in then be sure to head over to the website and book it early I have for provided the link for the reservation in the description below but if you don’t want to worry about this reservation process and want to avoid tourists at the same time then I have an even better solution for you and that’ll be taking one of the other alternate trails to the top instead there are five total Trails you can use to climb the famous Mount Fuji with the other four being nearly tourist free and more importantly just free in general and without reservations required so be sure to check out these alternatives to save you from the crowds and save yourself some money money over tourism hasn’t only created headaches for Tokyo and Mount Fuji either as Kyoto has been experiencing some similar pains as well the Gia District which can be found throughout the back alley streets of Kyoto has become a growing point of contention between locals and foreign tourists over the past year with the steady increase of Taurus visiting Kyoto reports of gisha being harassed by Taurus has also been on the rise these reports have ranged from pulling a geisha’s hair to tearing another geisha’s kimono to even putting a cigarette butt in one of the gish’s collars because of these terribly disrespectful acts it is no surprise that Kyoto has been forced to ban not just tourists but anyone from entering the narrow alleys of gon without having a specific reason to do so and this is just another clear-cut example of how it only takes a few rotten apples to spoil the rest of the bunch it is pretty frustrating to see this consistent trend of how a few disrespectful visitors can ruin it for everyone else that are just trying to appreciate Japan’s culture and Society now for anyone that is watching this video right now and thinks that I am pointing a finger and blaming every tourist that is definitely not the case I know the majority of people who visit Japan are very respectful of their surroundings and do not try to cause trouble and I know that especially goes for all my viewers who are watching right now just like you but you know how it goes it is always a few people’s bad conduct that can paint a bad picture for everyone else visiting Japan as for the measures that are being implemented in Kyoto we’ll just have to see if the 10 ,000 Yen fine is enough to deter those bad behaving tourists and of course you’ll be sure to hear from me if there are any other major updates to these types of incidents but wait we’re not done with Kyoto just yet after months of planning Kyoto has finally opened up their newest bus route that is designed specifically to help tourists Kyoto has been experiencing some of the biggest unintended side effects from Japan’s over tourism boom with the public transportation systems getting absolutely swamped with too many people and creating an unpleasant experience for pretty much everyone well on June 1st of 2024 kilo finally put their bus plan into action launching their first tourist specialized bus routes from kilo station this express bus service will stop only at major tourist spots allowing not only tourists to access their top spots on their lists quickly and effectively but also to help alleviate the congestion that has been plaguing kilos buses for everyone as for when the tourist Express Roots will become available it will be open during weekends and holidays usually when the most amount of people are traveling around if there are any additional developments on this type of news you’ll be sure to hear from me as well unfortunately it appears Japan will be going through another scorchingly hot summer certain regions of Japan like Fukushima have already experienced an uncharacteristically hot day of 35 C or 95° F this isn’t the only sign of hot days to come either as the country’s rainy season has barely been around so far usually by mid June Japan sees a consistent amount of rain until about the middle of July when it just becomes hot and humid however it appears that since the temperatures have been higher than usual the rain really has not come around yet with only a couple of the days of this rainy season so far being even remotely rainy but this is already a Surefire sign of an unusual summer that is about to hit Japan so come mid July you should expect to see some extremely scorchingly hot summer days that will not only come with very high temperatures but very high humidity levels too which can be just as dangerous so if you are coming during the peak season of summer or even until October my advice to you is this come ready with plenty of changes of Light summer clothes and always have a water handy on you so you can properly hydrate and prevent any major risks of overheating or worse and while the forecast is scorchingly hot days of summer is definitely coming around the corner I do have a nice update to end the round of this year’s updates on a good note Tokyo Disney has officially opened a brand new section of the park which has been given the name of Fantasy Springs this section of the park includes four new rides which are based on the famous Disney movies Frozen Tangled and Peter Pan along with these new rides and section of the park Disney has also opened a brand new hotel for the area which has been aptly named the Tokyo Disney sea Fantasy Springs Hotel both the hotel and the new theme park are now fully open so make sure you plan accordingly so you can be one of the first visitors to explore this new area email me to to ask about my Japan planning services like this video if you found it useful subscribe for more videos about Japan and be sure to check out my affiliate links in the description below for when you plan your next trip to Japan all right that’s going to do it and until next time I’ll see you then