Kyoto tightens the rules as crowds return

Kyoto moved to tighten the management of tourism in its most beloved and overwhelmed districts this spring, introducing new measures to ease the crowding that has strained the ancient capital as visitor numbers to Japan climbed to record highs.

The historic city, with its thousands of temples, shrines and traditional streets, has long struggled with the pressures of its own popularity. Nowhere is the strain more acute than in the geisha district of Gion, where crowds of tourists seeking photographs had grown so intrusive that residents complained of harassment, prompting restrictions on access to some private lanes.

The new measures formed part of a broader effort to balance the economic benefits of tourism against the quality of life of residents and the preservation of the city's atmosphere. Officials encouraged visitors to spread out across the city and the seasons, to behave respectfully, and to venture beyond the handful of overrun hotspots.

Kyoto's challenge mirrored that of historic cities across the world grappling with overtourism, and of Japan more broadly, where a weak yen and pent-up demand had driven a tourism boom that brought both prosperity and friction.

For travellers, the message was a familiar and important one: that Kyoto rewards those who explore its quieter corners and lesser-known temples, who come outside the peak crush, and who treat the living city and its residents with the respect that such a place of profound beauty and tradition deserves.