Japan Tourist Traps

  %Eat first before you start exploring...
by joiwatani
 
  • %Eat first before you start exploring Kyoto!%c*
      %Eat first before you start exploring...
    by joiwatani
  • %Ask information from the guy in blue!%c*
      %Ask information from the guy in blue!
    by joiwatani
  • %cbThe cheapest hotel we had seen!%c*
      The cheapest hotel we had seen!
    by joiwatani
  • %crExplore the city!%c*
      Explore the city!
    by joiwatani
  • The choices of food at a local restaurant
      The choices of food at a local...
    by joiwatani
 

Most Viewed Tourist Traps in Japan

1.

Tokyo Tower   Tokyo

Tokyo Tower, Tokyo

 10 Reviews  When you are in a crunch time, you don't have to visit the Tokyo Tower. There are many other places to see close to the Tokyo Tower. The line going to the Tokyo Tower just to purchase tickets is very... 

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2.

Food and Dining   Kyoto

Food and Dining, Kyoto

 7 Reviews  If you are a picky eater, make sure to point the food at the window gallery if you wanted a particular food. Don't choose the food that you don't know how it looks like or taste like. The reason why?... 

 See All 29 Tourist Traps in Kyoto

3.

castle   Osaka

castle, Osaka

 4 Reviews  u will see travel books introducing this place ** but there is really nothing to see here besides sakura ** ** there are so many such kind of similar castles in japan ** during spring time this... 

 See All 13 Tourist Traps in Osaka

4.

Amusement Facilities / Theme Parks   Tokyo

Amusement Facilities / Theme Parks, Tokyo

 7 Reviews  These shops at the entrance sell all the Disneyland merchandises. You may just keep swiping you plastics (credit cards) because all your friends expect you to bring back some souvenirs. Most of the... 

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5.

Gion (Geisha District)   Kyoto

Gion (Geisha District), Kyoto

 3 Reviews  Looking for geisha's? Be satisfied with the knowledge that you are not gonna see them in Kyoto. Even not on the time the billboards in the hostel (J-Hoppers) says they are on location. One should say... 

 See All 29 Tourist Traps in Kyoto

6.

America Mura   Osaka

America Mura, Osaka

 2 Reviews  I always have a tough time with the "American" quarters that you can find in the major city of Asia. It can be interesting if you're not a "Westerner" but otherwise, why would i be amazed to see... 

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7.

Ginza   Tokyo

Ginza, Tokyo

 5 Reviews  Ginza, the famous shopping and entertainment district in Japan, full of department stores, expensive boutiques, art galleries, restaurants and theatres. Here you will find the department stores... 

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8.

Toei Movie Village   Kyoto

Toei Movie Village, Kyoto

 2 Reviews  This place is recommended if you have kids, but my kids were less than enthusiastic about this place. It is quite expensive and many rides and shows cost extra when you get in. The rides were not that... 

 See All 29 Tourist Traps in Kyoto

9.

Dining / Drinking   Tokyo

Dining / Drinking, Tokyo

 7 Reviews  Not quite a trap, its all usually authentic enough, but unless you're happy sitting on the floor on your knees for 4 -four- hours where the prize is a terribly tasting green poridge- like tea, well... 

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10.

Kyoto Tower   Kyoto

Kyoto Tower, Kyoto

 2 Reviews  You can´t miss Kyoto Tower. It is standing tall above the city, opposite the Kyoto station. I t is built in 1964 and is 131 m high. The observationdeck is 100 m high. The admission fee is like the... 

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11.

Shinjuku Station   Tokyo

Shinjuku Station, Tokyo

 2 Reviews  Don't bother going to Asakusa to look for overpriced, unimaginative souvenirs. It's crowded and over-hyped!! If you're feeling adventurous, walk along the small lanes and streets and look for mom &... 

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12.

Asakusa   Tokyo

Asakusa, Tokyo

 2 Reviews  DON'T shop around this area i.e. Asakusa. The souvenirs here are exhorbitantly priced. DON'T shop at major department stores too unless there's a MAJOR sale going on. If you can, refrain from shopping... 

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13.

*Day Trip out of Tokyo   Tokyo

*Day Trip out of Tokyo, Tokyo

 1 Review  I would NOT suggest this TOKYO big buddha for your itinerary. I can't really remember the entrance fees for this one, but in short it's just NOT worth to visit. And it's about 30minutes away from... 

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14.

Akihabara   Tokyo

Akihabara, Tokyo

 2 Reviews  Be forewarned that before you buy any electronic items like phones and music gadgets, be sure to check with the store if they will work in your home country since a lot of items appear to be cheaper... 

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15.

Time Zone   Tokyo

Time Zone, Tokyo

 3 Reviews  Almost every traffic in Tokyo gets too heavy within these time zone.7:00-9:3017:00-19:00I mean almost all. Both railways and roadways including The Metropolitan Expressway. Every train will get... 

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16.

Rainbow Bridge   Tokyo

Rainbow Bridge, Tokyo

 1 Review  Strong winds, clouds of dust, heavy and noisy traffic, endless one way walking without any additional scene......Excellent preparation if you'd like to become a maintenance staff of the Rainbow... 

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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Beware of Unlicenced Guides

by taigaa001

In Japan, only licenced guide can have a paid tour guides. Today, largely because of lukewarm measures by the Japanese authorities, use of unlicenced guides are very widespread. In fact most organized tours to Japan use the unlicenced guides to win the price competition. If you truly love Japan and want to enjoy the tour in Japan, stay away from such scum who employs the unlicenced.Currently Japanese police are reluctant to arrest the unlicenced guides, so you have to fend yourselves to avoid such cheaters. 1. Make sure that the tour guide is licenced. If the tour agency is not sure of this, don't sign the tour if you prefer the guided tour.2. Unlicenced guides entail nothing but trouble, their employers think of nothing but exploiting tour participants. Unlicenced guide can provide incorrect information about Japan. Using unlicenced guide itself shows that the tour agency is not...

Crossin' a street in japan

by msc_23

I was walking on the street in a warm evening at Tokyo.I looked the road if there were any cars coming because the light was red for pedestrians and there weren't any car so i decided to cross the street.when i was at middle of the way an old japanese lady started to shout at me.she was angry at me for breaking the rules.it was an usual thing in my country but japanese people pay attention to the rules from basic to top at a high level of commitment.at that time i thought these people were wasting their times with some silly rules but after that i realized she must understood that i was a traveler and the road traffic in japan like england is the opposite direction.and i didn't look the right direction because of my habit.and then i understood how these people are helpful and caring lives of others'.It was amazing for me to see that how a simple street crossing made me change.These...

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Beware of "Toji-an" inn in Kyoto

by traveldream

Toji-an is an inn near Toji Temple in Kyoto. I saw a good review here on VT in 2005 when I booked a room to stay. I arrived in Kyoto JR Station after a long ride from Kanto area (East Japan) late in the evening, tired. We walked from the station to Toji-an and as we were entering the wooden house, the noren (the Japanese cloth pinned at the upper side of the door frame) was dirty and torn. We were greeted by a sleepy guy. And when we were walking in, the hallway smelled like toilet (the toilets are at the end of the hallway). When we entered the room, the sheets looked like it hadn't been changed with new ones and there were wrinkles everywhere. And there was a used towel on the hanger! We could hear the guests from the next room talking, and the room door cannot be locked.At the common room the host was having a small party - a few people looked drunk.On the web site they said they had...

Not in Japan but at the Airport in India.

by ladagspa

Thay have this World Calling Card by AirTel at Delhi Airport that you can call from any public booth. But DO NOT buy those as they Does not work from Japan. You can't just make calls. You can buy Calling card from Airport at Narita.Or just use those coins to make calls.

The rush hour

by gogonicetrip

During the rush hour, you should not travel in the cosmopolitan cities by a local train, a subway or a bus.It is very difficult to find a right train and to carry your luggage.Normal rush hours are 6am to 9pm and 5pm to 8pm. After or before the rush hour, you can travel easily and conveniently.

Tip Photo
Festival Gate OSAKA - a creepy ghost town!

by Pixiekatten

From the outside this place looks amazing. The roller coaster twists and turns OUTSIDE the buildings! I saw it from my hotel window and thought: "WOW, gotta try that one!"Festival Gate turned out to be a ghost town, not an amusement park at all! Everything in there was shut except for a few cafes (and they looked cool tho). Roller coaster was not running. The place was abandoned! Only me and and a few drunk men was in there. Let's just say I got out of there faster than the speed of light. I got that chill down my spine telling me to get out. Not that the drunks did anything but their looks were nasty...I have no clue if Festival Gate has closed down permanently. Make sure to look it up before you go here. Take a few good pics of the roller coaster! Then run!

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Tokyo's Asakusa

by dlandt

Good God what a nightmare. This place is just packed wioth people so bad that you can hardly move. In theory, you walk through a line of stalls to go to some shrine in the middle but if you go with friends you are sure to be separated if you take your eyes off of each other for half a second. Children on foot will surely be trampled, and those being carried are doomed to be crushed in your arms. Getting into the shrine proved impossible and everything in the godforsaken place seemed ourtageously expensive. Off to one corner is a small idol to Amano Uzumi. I thought that was cute, but aside for her, there is nothing to interest and everything to annoy. Volunteer to go to a warzone and step on landmines but don't come here.

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The Gion corner

by Maline

This is something that many independent travellers would regard as a real tourist trap. However, it is not fair of me to put it in this section, as I am not so sure of it.The Gion corner in Kyoto is the name of a sort of cultural center where visitors (both Japanese and foreign) sit down for an hour-long show with samples of Japanese culture. There is tea ceremony, flower arrangement (ok this IS phony to do on stage...), rakugo (storytelling), bunraku (puppet show), Japanese dance, gagaku (court music) and so on. The performers were ok, albeit perhaps a little weary of having to go through the same short performance twice a night to an endlessly ignorant crowd flashing their cameras...Somewhat costly and of course not at all the real deal (we got to experience tea ceremony, incense ceremony and flower arrangment privately instead) this could qualify as a tourist trap thing. But then...

Tip Photo
Test electronic purchases before flying home

by DonaldDeLeon

When I was a kid, my dad bought me a Nintendo entertainment system from a store in Japan. We didn't test out the machine because we assumed that what had come in the box was brand new. After flying home, we discovered that we had been sold a broken machine. We couldn't get a refund for obvious reasons. We couldn't get the system repaired either because at the time, the Japanese Nintendo systems were different from the machines sold in the U.S.

They look like the real thing...

by j-san

They look like the real thing to tourists... maiko-san wandering the slopes of Kiyomizu Temple and the Gion area... BUT they are just girls, usually from out of town, who have paid about 100USdollars for the experience of being dressed up as Maiko/Geisha. To see real Maiko/Geisha I suggest hanging around the back streets of Gion just before dinner. They are often scurrying to appointments then.

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Tourist Attractions in Japan

Top 3 Hotels in Japan

Park Hyatt Tokyo  Tokyo

 7 Reviews and 526 Opinions  Most memorable 

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Hotel Granvia Kyoto  Kyoto

 6 Reviews and 743 Opinions  We stayed 3 nights at Kyoto Granvia Hotel from Feb. 27 to Mar 1, 2008. We paid Yen 17,600 per night,... 

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The Ritz-Carlton Osaka  Osaka

 1 Review and 353 Opinions

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Reviews and photos of Japan attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Japan sightseeing.

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Tourist Traps: Cities in Japan
  1. Tokyo Tourist Traps
  2. Kyoto Tourist Traps
  3. Osaka Tourist Traps
  4. Nagoya Tourist Traps
  5. Kobe Tourist Traps
  6. Hiroshima Tourist Traps
  7. Sasebo Tourist Traps
  8. Nara Tourist Traps
  9. Fukuoka Tourist Traps
  10. Nikko Tourist Traps
  11. Narita Tourist Traps
  12. Takayama Tourist Traps
  13. Okinawa Tourist Traps
  14. Yokohama Tourist Traps
  15. Nagano Tourist Traps
  16. Hakone Tourist Traps
  17. Nagasaki Tourist Traps
  18. Hamamatsu Tourist Traps
  19. Fuji-Hakone-Izu-kokuritsu-koen Tourist Traps
  20. Niigata Tourist Traps
  21. Naha Tourist Traps
  22. Kanazawa Tourist Traps
  23. Miyajima Tourist Traps
  24. Kawasaki Tourist Traps
  25. Hakodate Tourist Traps
  26. Kitakyushu Tourist Traps
  27. Chiba Tourist Traps
  28. Yokohama Tourist Traps
  29. Koyasan Tourist Traps
  30. Ise Tourist Traps
  31. Toyama Tourist Traps
  32. Tsukuba Tourist Traps

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Questions and Answers

yirojam profile photo

Q:  Hi there, Will arrive in Tokyo, Narit Airport for a layover and wanted to take advantage of seeing something. I will arrive at... 

Fugu profile photo

A: youre lucky to be arriving so early, so you will likely pass through immigration fairly quickly. lets still count with an hour just in case. you can either take the... 

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