Kyoto Declines As A School Trip Destination In Japan: Overtourism And Rising Costs Push Schools Toward New Regions

Published on September 21, 2025

Japan’s astir celebrated schoolhouse travel destination, Kyoto, is presently seeing a crisp driblet successful inferior precocious schoolhouse visits. Many schools are being forced to reevaluate nan metropolis arsenic a recreation destination owed to its overwhelming crowds, traffic, and increasing tourism-related costs. This alteration is simply a reflection of nan increasing problems caused by overtourism, not conscionable a fad. Even though Kyoto has a rich | history and taste significance, nan tourism manufacture has changed recently, starring schools to look for different places to return their section trips.

The Challenge of Overtourism

For years, Kyoto has been a apical prime for acquisition schoolhouse trips. With its temples, shrines, and accepted culture, it offers an perfect situation for students to study astir Japan’s past. However, nan congestion caused by millions of visitors each twelvemonth has started to interfere pinch nan acquisition goals of these trips. Many students, alternatively of immersing themselves successful Kyoto’s heritage, find themselves much focused connected navigating crowded streets and dealing pinch proscription delays.

The precocious number of visitors has made it progressively difficult for schoolhouse groups to sojourn nan sites they had planned. Long waits for buses and overcrowded carrier systems person forced immoderate groups to wantonness their itineraries altogether. Schools that erstwhile included aggregate taste sites successful their schedules now find that only a fraction tin beryllium explored, overmuch to nan vexation of some students and teachers.

A Shift successful School Trip Preferences

One notable alteration successful schoolhouse travel readying is nan move distant from Kyoto successful favour of little crowded regions. For instance, aft experiencing nan challenges of a travel to Kyoto successful September of nan erstwhile year, Nishi-Ikebukuro Junior High School successful Tokyo chose nan Shikoku region arsenic its destination for nan upcoming world year. The determination came aft a difficult schoolhouse trip, during which students had to wantonness visits to respective cardinal humanities sites owed to postulation delays. The students spent overmuch of their clip stuck successful buses, pinch galore incapable to sojourn much than half of nan intended destinations.

Instead of nan accustomed temples and shrines of Kyoto, Shikoku offers a much hands-on attack to taste learning. Schools are now opting for destinations wherever students tin participate successful cooking and crafting, specified arsenic making “katsuo nary tataki” (fresh skipjack tuna) aliases preparing accepted udon noodles. These experiential activities let students to prosecute pinch section cultures much profoundly and meaningfully. Moreover, nan absence of overcrowded carrier systems intends that students tin attraction much connected learning and little connected navigating logistical challenges.

Tourism Numbers and nan Impact of Overtourism

Despite these changes successful schoolhouse travel destinations, Kyoto continues to pull millions of visitors each year. According to information from nan Kyoto municipal government, nan metropolis welcomed 56.06 cardinal visitors successful 2024, making it nan second-highest number recorded, pursuing nan 2015 peak. However, while tourer numbers stay high, nan number of students visiting Kyoto connected schoolhouse trips has seen a decline. In 2024, astir 750,000 students visited nan city, marking a 7.4% driblet from nan erstwhile year. Many of nan schools that reduced their trips to Kyoto person opted for world destinations, arsenic schools look to broaden students’ world perspectives post-pandemic.

Some officials judge that Kyoto’s overcrowding is partially responsible for this trend. With nan expanding number of world and home visitors flooding nan metropolis each year, it has go difficult to support nan serene and acquisition situation that schoolhouse trips erstwhile offered. This displacement is further emphasised by nan emergence of different locations arsenic replacement acquisition travel destinations.

New Emerging Destinations for School Trips

As Kyoto grapples pinch overtourism, different cities and regions crossed Japan are becoming much charismatic for schoolhouse excursions. Kanazawa, located successful nan Ishikawa Prefecture, has been gaining attraction arsenic a favourable replacement to Kyoto. Just arsenic accessible arsenic Kyoto via Shinkansen from nan Tokyo area, Kanazawa offers galore opportunities for students to research Japan’s history and culture, including tours of nan celebrated Kenrokuen garden. The metropolis has besides go a celebrated destination for guided tours led by section precocious schoolhouse students, providing visitors pinch a much friendly and acquisition experience.

In summation to Kanazawa, Hakodate, located successful Hokkaido, has besides seen accrued liking from schools, peculiarly those successful nan greater Tokyo area. Hakodate’s compact size and well-organised nationalist carrier strategy make it an perfect destination for schoolhouse groups. Students tin easy research nan city’s landmarks, including nan historical Fort Goryokaku and nan scenic Mount Hakodate, without nan logistical challenges that travel pinch larger, much congested cities.

Cost of School Trips: A Growing Concern

Aside from nan challenges posed by overcrowding, rising recreation costs are different facet influencing nan displacement successful schoolhouse travel destinations. Transportation and accommodation dress up a important information of nan full costs of schoolhouse trips, and these expenses person been steadily increasing. The mean costs of a home schoolhouse travel for nationalist schools roseate from 61,206 yen ($413) successful 2018 to 67,844 yen successful 2024, according to a study by nan Japan School Trip Association. For galore schools, managing these rising costs is becoming a important challenge.

Some municipalities person responded by implementing caps connected recreation expenses aliases reducing nan number of overnight stays, hoping to alleviate nan financial load connected some students and their families. While immoderate reason that schoolhouse excursions are unnecessary, others support that these trips are captious for students’ development, school them important skills for illustration readying and cooperation.

The Future of School Trips successful Japan

The ongoing displacement distant from Kyoto arsenic a schoolhouse travel destination signals a broader inclination successful really tourism is shaping acquisition recreation successful Japan. While Kyoto will ever stay a metropolis of humanities significance, it whitethorn request to rethink its attack to tourism guidance to proceed being a viable action for schoolhouse trips successful nan future.

As nan inclination toward replacement destinations for illustration Shikoku, Kanazawa, and Hakodate continues, it is apt that different regions of Japan will go caller hotspots for schoolhouse excursions. This whitethorn not only thief alleviate nan unit connected Kyoto but besides supply students pinch caller opportunities to study astir Japan’s divers cultures and history.

Conclusion

The difficulties facing Kyoto’s tourism assemblage service arsenic a reminder of nan good statement that must beryllium drawn betwixt protecting taste practice and controlling nan antagonistic effects of excessive tourism. Destinations that supply rich | taste experiences without nan hassles of congested streets and exorbitant prices are becoming much and much celebrated among schools organising acquisition section trips. It will beryllium absorbing to observe really these caller hotspots create into celebrated acquisition recreation destinations for upcoming generations arsenic Japan continues to set to nan shifting dynamics of tourism.