In the months before March 2020, the food sellers in Kyoto's Nishiki market often wished for an end to the tourists.
Nobuyuki Hatsuda, who leads a business alliance promoting the shopping street in the city center, said that they weren't used to foreigners.
Visitors rifling through the meticulously arranged merchandise, haggling with frazzled shopkeepers and blocking storefronts with their luggage interfered with the flow of daily business in Nishiki.
The swine flu hit. The sellers had a change of heart after the tourists stopped patronizing them.
He said that Japan had the strictest border controls of any economy. More than one million foreign visitors have visited the country since the beginning of the year. As other countries began welcoming tourists back in numbers close to their highs, Japan only allowed a small number of travelers in. As of September, the country still limited tourism to travelers on package tours who were willing to negotiate a labyrinth of red tape.
Soon that will change. In October, the country will eliminate a cap on daily entries and allow tourists to travel on their own. Chinese visitors are unlikely to return in large numbers until Beijing relaxes its strict Covid Zero policy.
Kyoto is grappling with how to accommodate the crowds without sacrificing quality of life for those who call the ancient capital home.
Kyoto's government is trying to take more time for self-care after years of promoting "omotenashi."
Daisaku Kadokawa, the mayor of Kyoto, said during a recent interview at his city hall that the city is not a tourist city.
Kyoto has produced more Noble Prize winners in the sciences than any other city in Japan and is home to several globally known companies. It was dependent on tourists in the years leading up to the epidemic.
Domestic travelers have always been attracted to Kyoto. Pilgrims from all over the country traveled to Japan to visit its many temples and shrines. It was spared from the ravages of World War II and became a popular destination for school trips and people looking for a glimpse of the country's history.
People don't come to Kyoto to look for a party. The smell of roasting brown tea, known as hojicha, and the clatter of a geisha's wooden sandals are just some of the sights visitors want to see in Japan.
The realities of the modern travel industry had begun to compromise the city's anachronistic charms. Kyoto experienced a surge in popularity among foreign visitors as a result of Japan's all-out effort to promote inbound tourism.
The number of foreign visitors had more than tripled by the start of the Pandemic. One of every five workers was employed in the tourism industry in Kyoto. The sector made up 13 percent of the revenue.
Locals became fed up with tourism pollution. There were suitcases in the bus aisles. geisha's apprentices were harassed for taking pictures on their way to work lost tourists stumbled into people's homes while looking for a place to stay
Tourism in the city was influenced by social media. It's not for the best.
Before the Pandemic, the itineraries of his clients were almost entirely determined by the social media site. The bamboo groves of Arashiyama, the orange gates of Fushimi Inari, and the golden mountain are some of the best places to take a photo in Kyoto.
The polite residents of Kyoto began to complain.
There are signs in Nishiki telling tourists not to eat while walking. Some long-established sellers closed and neighborhood shoppers went to supermarkets because they were tired of the crowding.
Buddhist monks didn't lose their cool.
People couldn't leave their houses when the streets were crowded with tourists. The Kyoto Buddhist Federation includes three of the city's most famous temples.
The group has advocated moderation in Kyoto's economic development. In 1991, it took out a full-page ad in The Times opposing the construction of new, high-rise hotels in the city.
The economy was nothing but tourism before we knew it. When enough was enough, the city didn't know.
The city cracked down on investors who were buying traditional houses in residential neighborhoods and converting them into rentals.
Japan closed its borders in 2020. Kyoto was on the verge of bankruptcy after the fire hose of foreign money was turned off.
The mayor said that the combination of the coronaviruses and red ink was a double punch.
The residents have come to realize the importance of tourism.
Businesses have not recovered yet. It was almost impossible to get a reservation at one of the many restaurants in Pontocho before the Pandemic. Many of the terraces looked out on the water, but on a recent weekend night, there were no terraces to look out on.
Manabu Kusui, the general manager of the Hotel The Mitsui Kyoto, said that the hotel has operated below capacity for most of the time it has been open.
As tourists return to Kyoto, the hotel hopes to differentiate itself by providing guests with exclusive experiences it has negotiated with some of Kyoto's less-trafficked destinations. A private tour of Nijo Castle, the residence of Japan's first shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, is one of the first things you can do.
As part of its new strategic plan, the city is trying to promote a style of tourism.
The famous Buddhist temple of Kiyomizu Temple is located on Kyoto's east side and Mr. Kusui knows that people come to Kyoto with a specific itinerary in mind.
The government wants to reduce traffic so it is less concentrated in the same times and places. Planners are talking about how to fix crowded city buses that make people angry. Efforts to educate visitors in Kyoto's traditional "morals" and hoping for the best are some of the soft measures so far.
Nishiki market wants to encourage tourists instead of admonishing them, so it will swap its list of "don'ts" for a list of "pleases" The market gives visitors a list of suggestions for enjoying the market and rewards them with free access to the internet if they read it.
Many in the city are trying to improve the experience for tourists and residents at the same time.
The Kiyomizu Temple is trying to promote a new type of tourism that encourages tourists to think of the city as a place to live, not a theme park.
The temple was as well known for its congestion as it was for its architecture and view of the city below. The temple had become an enervating and dispiriting experience that few locals would willingly go through.
When Covid hit, the temple's abbot was experimenting with ways to allow visitors to experience it as it was intended, but with limited success
He said that the last two and a half years have given him an opportunity to "press reset." He has begun opening the temple at night to small groups, taking the time to personally lead them in prayer.
He believes that seeing the temple at night transforms visitors' relationship with the space, as they are replaced with the chirr of cicadas, the rich smell of incense and the soft flicker of shadows on ancient statuary.
Mr. Mori wants guests from abroad to know that the experience is focused on contemplation.
A general manager at a Japanese travel giant said that Kyoto is anticipating the return of guests with a mixture of longing and fear.
Mr. Otsuki said that they hoped the number of visitors would increase gradually and that they would have a soft landing.
The people in the city are excited to see the new visitors.
Fuminari Shinbo is part of a group of retirees who trained ahead of the Tokyo Olympics to give English tours to visitors coming to Kyoto.
A group of volunteers gathered in front of Fushimi Inari, a shrine that has become Kyoto's most popular tourist destination.
The shrine's most famous feature is a corridor of nearly a thousand bright orange gates that provide a vibrant punch of color to countless vacation photos.
Mr. Shinbo was excited to be able to use his hard work after the tour.
He said that he had only been able to practice on his grandson.
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