If you were planning your budget for your dream trip to Japan, you’ll need to add a few zeros to your savings. The historic city of Kyoto has officially grown tired of being treated like a crowded amusement park and has decided to hit mass tourists where it hurts: the wallet. The local government has just announced a brutal increase to its hotel tax, and this isn’t just a simple inflation adjustment.

The price of saturating the ancient capital

Under the new accommodation tax reform, nightly rates guests must pay could skyrocket up to 10 times the current rate. The system will work by tiers: the more expensive the hotel room you book, the higher the tax percentage you’ll be charged. The authorities’ message is clear: if you want the privilege of staying in the city of a thousand temples, you’ll have to help fund its survival.

What triggered this extreme measure? The infamous overtourism. After the post-pandemic border reopening, Kyoto has been suffering an unprecedented invasion. Local residents have long complained that their daily lives are a nightmare: they can’t board public buses, trains are overwhelmed by people with huge luggage, and traditional alleys have lost all peace. All the extra money raised from this aggressive tax will be reinvested directly into infrastructure maintenance, shrine preservation, and measures to ease the burden on locals.

The hotel industry panics

As expected, hotel chain owners and tour operators weren’t pleased with the news. Several industry groups have warned that imposing such a high tax on tourists, especially at luxury accommodations, could deter visitors and make Kyoto lose competitiveness against other Japanese cities with less aggressive charges.

Of course, from the city government’s perspective, “detering” part of mass tourism is exactly the main goal of the measure. They want fewer tourists but of higher quality.

With these new abusive charges for rooms, would you be willing to pay the massive surcharge just to stay in Kyoto, or would you prefer to stay in a nearby city like Osaka and simply take the train in the morning?