Tourism Kamakura: higher tourist density than Kyoto

[thomas]

According to Kamakura's tourism division, the city surpasses Kyoto and Nara regarding the number of tourists per square kilometre, according to data compiled in 2019. The figure compares density data from 2015 by Kyoto and Nara, which similarly draw upon their history as a tourism asset.

According to the figures, Kamakura, which covers an area of about 40 square km, had 573,000 tourists per square km. In comparison, Kyoto (covering about 828 square km) saw 69,000 tourists per square km while Nara (spanning roughly 277 square km) had 54,000 visitors per square km. The figures indicate that the density of tourists in Kamakura is about eight to 10 times higher than in each of the western Japan cities.

Kamakura compiled the statistics as it struggled with "over-tourism," in which an excessive number of visitors causes transportation and commercial facilities to become overcrowded. The number of tourists in Kamakura before the COVID-19 pandemic had hovered around 20 million per year. Even after coronavirus infections that started spreading in 2020 pushed down the number of visitors by 60%, the city still saw about 7.4 million tourists that year, indicating that its brand power remained strong. When the virus spread this year began to settle down, crowds of people were seen daily on TV near Enoshima, a small island close to Kamakura.

Japan Trivia: Kamakura has 8-10 times more tourists per square km than Kyoto, Nara - The Mainichi

As Japan's travel industry recovers from the coronavirus pandemic and tourists flood back into the country, the Mainichi Shimbun has turned the spotli

mainichi.jp

 

[Lothor]

I was in the area with Mrs Lothor today!

 

[thomas]

I was in the area with Mrs Lothor today!

How was the crowd density?

 

[Lothor]

Crowd density was fine!
Here's a photo taken from the Enoden line.

 

[mdchachi]

Crowd density was fine!
Here's a photo taken from the Enoden line.

How was the crowd density by the Big Buddha?

 

[Lothor]

How was the crowd density by the Big Buddha?

Didn't go there. We caught the Enoden from Fujisawa to Kamakura, got off at Kamakura station, and wandered north into the forest and one of the temples. It was busy near Kamakura station, but not unpleasantly so.

 

[Lothor]

How was the crowd density by the Big Buddha?

I can answer your question just one year later! I went last week and it was very crowded on the Enoden line and on the road up to the Big Buddha. However, once you were inside the shrine (temple?) it wasn't too bad. We went on a Monday, so it was mainly foreign tourists.

 

[thomas]

October in Kamakura, what a lovely family tradition!

Just like in Kyoto, tourists stick to the trodden paths.

 

[mdchachi]

I can answer your question just one year later! I went last week and it was very crowded on the Enoden line and on the road up to the Big Buddha. However, once you were inside the shrine (temple?) it wasn't too bad. We went on a Monday, so it was mainly foreign tourists.

I could answer my own question in June! It was fairly crowded when we went. It was a weekend in ajisai season. The bigger problem was the traffic backups. We ended up walking a lot. At least 10km I think.

 

[thomas]

Wow, I have never seen so many tourists at the Great Buddha!

Gentlemen, next time, rent a bike!

As Kamakura faces increasing crowds, visitors and locals are turning to a new solution: bicycle sharing.

Kamakura, a popular residential area and a renowned tourist destination, is home to iconic sites like Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine , Hasedera Temple, and the Enoshima Electric Railway famously featured in the anime "Slam Dunk." Known locally as "Eno-den," this railway connects Kamakura to Fujisawa. In response to increasing tourism, the railway operator, Enoshima Electric Railway, has partnered with SoftBank's "Hello Cycling" service to introduce bike-sharing in the spring of 2021. Wataru Kosaka, from Eno-den's Micro Mobility division, explained that this initiative was part of their commitment to ensuring a comfortable travel experience for their passengers.

In 2023, Eno-den began testing the service in spring over the annual Golden Week holiday period when Kamakura is especially packed with tourists. Eno-den has encouraged tourists to walk or ride bicycles between Kamakura and Hase stations, which are three stops apart, and has set up bike rental ports available to riders on an ad hoc basis near the stations and in residential areas. In the first test conducted from May 3 to May 5 that year, the service was used about 300 times, according to Eno-den. Meanwhile, in March, OpenStreet added bicycle booking and paying to Alipay, an open platform for payments widely used in China. Eno-den has some 200 bike ports in Kamakura and the neighbouring Shonan area. Locations for rental ports are chosen from places convenient to residents rather than visitors. Such selection of places "also makes it convenient for tourists and increases the use of [shared bicycles]," said OpenStreet CEO Tomoaki Kudo.

Paywallalert:

Overtourism in Japan: Kamakura offers ways to manage crowds

Bicycle sharing program catches on as congestion hits visitors and locals alike

asia.nikkei.com