“Sustainable Localized Tourism”
Be Here Now and Leave Us your Memory
By Chris Summerville
Chris Summerville has been teaching about Sustainability and Environmental Education at Japanese universities for thirty years. He lives on the shores of Lake Biwa with his family and loves bicycling, camping, and actively trying to share his ideas on learning from Japan’s past to help move towards a more community-based and spiritually ecological future paradigm.
One of the key enigmas of modern-day tourism is that we can now visit some of the most beautiful natural and cultural places on the planet and that our visits are sustaining many of these stunning wonders at least economically while at the same time are destroying them both environmentally and socially. To put it bluntly ‘We are loving them to death’. A further enigma is that during this time of Covid-19, when overseas tourism has almost come to a standstill, the natural environment and the people living in these desirable locations-though suffering economically from the dearth of visitors-are breathing a sigh of relief at an at least temporary respite from the overcrowding and strain mass tourism unavoidably leaves in its wake.
Imagine this: Kyoto City, with a population of 1.5 million, absorbed 54 million tourists in 2019 with an average of 5 million tourists a month. Overseas tourists made up half of this number, an increase of 8 times the number that visited in 2000. Meanwhile, domestic Japanese tourists had been declining each month since 2016 with a total decline of 12% over those three years. Research has shown that a huge reason for this drop was unsurprisingly the constant state of overcrowding. Particularly if they’re first-time visitors, foreign travelers head to Kyoto’s most famous sightseeing spots, and fill up the buses, trains, and subways that go there. That extra congestion runs counter to the quiet elegance that’s long been seen as Kyoto’s primary attraction, making it a less desirable destination for domestic travelers who, with a more in-depth knowledge of their own country, are more aware of other, less-famous options to get their temple-and-shrine fix.
Addressing over-tourism, like subduing over-consumption, is one of the most complex yet necessary challenges our planet is presently facing as the effects of the Climate Emergency become more obvious each day. Like everything else in our present capitalist-driven world system, the travel industry focuses almost exclusively on growth with little or no concern for the impacts. It is somewhat easier to control the numbers in the planet’s natural wonders, such as the Alps, popular beaches and the famous national parks in the US, such as Yosemite and Yellowstone, by instituting a booking system which limits the number of daily visitors who can hike or stay, increasing entry fees, and banning private cars in place of electric busses, for example. But how to do this in cities and towns such as Venice, Oxford, and Kyoto for example without infringing on the human right for people to travel and enjoy a break from their often-harried work lives?
First is to replace the negative connotation and impact of over-tourism with the positive words responsible/sustainable/eco-tourism and to follow the necessary steps that will make them the usual way of travel, and in the process guarantee a more positive and enjoyable experience both for ourselves and for the people and places we visit. The key word here, like with the movement in general to create a sustainable paradigm is LOCAL. By staying and eating at locally owned small guest houses and restaurants and supporting local tour guides, we not only ensure that our cash stays local, but also increase the possibility of meeting and interacting with the local community and becoming in their eyes an individual ‘overseas visitor’ rather than an anonymous ‘foreign tourist. Decreasing congestion and inconveniencing residents by renting bicycles or walking is another way, as is taking a taxi instead of a bus or train on arrival and departure when we have luggage. Visiting outside of the peak season is often cheaper and puts less stress on the local infrastructure while also offering more opportunities to meet locals and to enjoy uncrowded sites. Finally, why not head out to the nearby villages and the mountains and hills that surround Kyoto for a real glimpse of the countryside away from the tourist hoards?
Just over the eastern mountains that surround Kyoto, and just 35 minutes away by local train to the more remote and beautiful area, is Japan's largest lake, one of the ten oldest in the world, known as Mother Lake Biwa as she supplies the drinking water for the residents of Kyoto as well as those who live around her in Shiga prefecture. It is here on the lakes scenic western shores that is home to ‘Tour du Lac Biwa’ a small experiential tour company founded by Hiromi Kawaguchi in 2014. With the concept of offering ‘Slow Life, Slow Food, Leisurely Tours, Alongside the Tranquil Shores of Lake Biwa’ the five married Japanese women who act as professional English-speaking tour conductors have introduced the traditional villages, culture and way of life that continues still vibrant and close-knit to over 2100 visitors from more than 30 countries, predominantly from the USA and UK and Europe.
Hiromi states “Tour du Lac only takes orders for as many people as the locals are happy to receive, and only offers private or small group tours. Whenever we create a tour, we always try to find a way to boost up the local economy, as the places are clients visit are mostly suffering from depopulation and rapid aging. We urgently hope that tourism for the next era after Covid-19 should be the way to counter these problems.”
On their full or half-day small group or private tours, participants are offered a unique opportunity to encounter authentic local Japanese life amidst the stunningly beautiful countryside from a variety of choices that all feature sharing and participating in various activities in the homes and environs of people who have lived in Shiga for countless generations. Categorized under enticing headings such as ‘Farm to table lunch cooking experience’, ‘Time for Tea’, ‘Finding peace of mind’, ‘Pedal or Paddle Into Nature’ and ‘A Touch of Culture’ the tours feature such diverse experiences as Cooking with a Japanese Grandma, Enjoying traditional mochi (sticky rice) making and delicious Chicken sukiyaki lunch cooking, a behind the scenes visit to a 100 year old onigawara artisan workshop where craftsmen have continued the ancient hand-carved tradition of onigawara roof edge tile creation and Walking The Sacred Gyoja Pathway with one of only five living Mt. Hiei ‘Marathon Monks who have completed one of the most physically and mentally demanding challenges in the world, among a number of unique and unforgettable other tours.
Covid-19 has offered all of us the opportunity to reassess the unsustainable ways of living, working and travelling we have come to consider as ‘normal’ and in so doing evolve onto more creative, dynamic, simple, community and family-based, slower and more ecological ways that will benefit us all. Cruise ships, package tours and tourist resorts are some examples of ‘elephants in the room’ as they offer pleasure and profits to the few while contributing little or nothing to the local economy and diminish the quality of life and economic survival of those who live in the places they visit or are located as well as the surrounding environment on which we all depend. So, please do ‘Have a great holiday’ for the sake of all of us and for y/our children’s future and that of mother earth.