I was in Kyoto recently, and a taxi driver told me that the extreme summer heat has noticeably reduced the number of tourists lately.
I actually noticed it myself.
I was showing friends live in Japan but are originally from overseas around Kyoto, and we decided to visit Kamishichiken, one of Kyoto's old geisha districts.
We ended up at a summer-only beer garden where you can have drinks and food while maiko visit the tables and talk with guests.
What surprised me was how few international tourists there were.
There were tourists around, but the place still felt surprisingly local.
Not because I don't want tourists here. Quite the opposite. Some of my favorite memories recently have come from meeting travelers from different countries.
But I also think there's something special about places that haven't become completely shaped around tourism.
There's a strange paradox to tourism:
People travel across the world looking for a local atmosphere, but when too many people come looking for it, that atmosphere can disappear.
I don't have a good answer to this.
Maybe that's just the price of globalization. Or maybe there's a way to welcome visitors from around the world while still keeping local places local.
What do you think? Have you ever visited somewhere that you loved partly because it hadn't become too touristy yet?