The popular lighting up of the city lights at night for tourists was actually one of the overtourism measures to disperse the crowded time of the day. In fact, the number of tourists in Kyoto has remained almost flat for more than 10 years. The official website of Kyoto Tourism provides a “Kyoto Sightseeing Comfort Level Map” that shows congestion by time of day around popular sightseeing spots. “It is not because the number of tourists has increased that overtourism has become a problem. It is because the quality associated with behaviors and tastes has changed, and a typical quality problem is that tourists have become concentrated in the same places. The Kyoto Sightseeing Comfort Map is one of the countermeasures. The aim is to spread out tourists by informing them of times and places that are crowded. Kyoto City and the Kyoto Tourist Association have launched the “Totto no Okino Kyoto Project” to provide information on the best spots to visit. These measures to disperse tourist places have been in place since around 2018. Also, various improvements are being made during the Corona Disaster, and I believe their effectiveness will be demonstrated when foreign tourists return.” The Underlying Strength of the “City of a Thousand Years” to be Tested in the Rebirth of Tourism Japan is now a “cheap country” that is more attractive to inbound tourists than ever before, as the yen has weakened to a level not seen in 24 years. Even if it will be some time before foreign tourists resume full-scale entry into Japan, Kyoto will once again be flooded with foreign tourists after Corona. “The inbound boom in Japan was mainly caused by a surge in Chinese tourists, and according to Chinese travel agents, Japan’s popularity remains high. The World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Development Rankings released last month ranked Japan at the top for the first time. I don’t expect inbound tourism to return anytime soon, but I have no doubt that Kyoto will eventually be flooded with foreign tourists.” How will Kyoto’s tourism revive itself for the after-corona? “Kyoto has become an advanced testing ground for tourism measures over the past few years. New policies tailored to the circumstances of this town are being put in place. At this stage, it remains to be seen whether they will have the desired effect, but I am looking forward to seeing the results.” The “City of a Thousand Years,” Kyoto’s underlying strength will be put to the test. Jiro Nakai, sociologist and part-time lecturer at Ryukoku University, was born in 1977 in Osaka Prefecture. Born in Osaka in 1977, he graduated from Ryukoku University’s Faculty of Sociology and completed his doctorate at the same university. His major is sociology of tourism. Based in Kyoto, he researches the symbiosis between tourism and local communities through issues such as tourism pollution and overtourism, and the conversion of local culture and cultural heritage into tourism resources. He is the author of “Punkusuru Kyoto” and “Kanko wa nerai nai” (Tourism will not perish) (Seikaisha Shinsho), and “Nihon no fushigi na yado: A sociologist chooses his wife’s surname” (PHP Shinsho).