"Please Don't Show People This": Japanese Viewers Beg Media to Stop Hyping Kamakura's 'Hidden' Autumn Spots

What Japanese visitors said — picked from the top 21 of 23 comments

• North Kamakura already has plenty of people too lol

  北鎌もすでに十分人多いだろw

  — @sas012423 likes

• Whether it's 'north' or 'hidden,' why would you even want to go to overcrowded Kamakura lol

  北だろうが裏だろうが、混みまくってる鎌倉になぜ行こうと思うんだろう😅

  — @ギャル系モザイク有り清楚系無8 likes

• The Kamakura area doesn't have the transit capacity for it, so you shouldn't be funneling more people here

  鎌倉エリアは交通インフラのキャパがないから人を集めちゃダメ🥺

  — @un_chi7 likes

• Well, empty places are empty for a reason... North Kamakura has narrow roads and walking out toward Kamakura Station takes real stamina, so unless you're a repeat visitor you don't need to force yourself to go. Don't get swept up by TV.

  まあ、空いてるところには空いてるだけの理由があるからね。。。 北鎌倉は道が細いし鎌倉駅側に歩いて出るのもかなり体力要るからリピーターでもなければ無理して行かなくてもいいよ。TVに乗せられないように。

  — @ysasset7 likes

• In Kamakura the Enoden line gets so crowded you can't even board! 20 years ago it was practically empty! And it's about to get even more packed once Hase-dera's autumn leaves peak. Wadazuka used to have nobody around either, but it's gotten crowded ever since the taiga drama aired!

  鎌倉は　江ノ電が人で多すぎて　乗れなくなった!20年前はスカスカでしたよ!　これからまた長谷寺が紅葉で江ノ電ますます混む　和田塚も前は人なんていなかったのに　大河ドラマやってから混むようになりました!

  — @森崎さゆり10 likes

• I always walk around North Kamakura and think it's crowded, but I guess this still counts as 'quiet'?

  いつも北鎌倉散歩して、混んでるなぁと思っていたが、これでも静かなんか😢😢😢

  — @tmyiz82881 likes

• What even is 'hidden Kamakura'? At this rate the 'main' part is tiny and it's almost all 'hidden.' No actual local calls it 'hidden Kamakura' — how stupid.

  裏鎌倉ってなんやねん！これだと表がちょっとだけで裏がほんとんどじゃん。地元民は誰も裏鎌倉なんて言ってないし、あほくさ。

  — @atarashia53 likes

• It's fine. These aren't famous shops at all, just places outsiders who moved in opened, that actual local people don't even go to. Kamakura's real favorite shops are mostly tucked away off the shopping streets on their own, and since it would trouble the regulars, they decline this kind of publicity.

  大丈夫。こんなの名店でも何でもなく、地元の人間も行かない外部からの参入者が出した店ばかりだから。 鎌倉の名店は、商店街から外れた場所にポツンとある場合がほとんどで、常連客が困るので、こういった宣伝はお断りします。

  — @ruis164 likes

• A few people are commenting here, but if you're going to say 'avoid the crowds,' think about what reporting on it even means...

  何人かコメントしてる人いるけど混雑回避とか言うなら報道する意味考えて…

  — @kyo94926 likes

• You don't need to introduce anything at all. It only gets in the way of locals' daily lives. Kamakura is finished.

  何にも紹介せんでいい 地元民の暮らしの邪魔にしかならん 鎌倉は終わった

  — @熱海ムチウチ4 likes

• Spreading tourists out is supposed to be an overtourism countermeasure — the tourism industry is probably sponsoring this.

  観光客の分散化はオーバーツリズム対策、観光産業がスポンサーでしょう。

  — @nekoforest70540 likes

• Please, go somewhere else instead. 20 million visitors a year is too many. The population here is only 160,000. Zushi, Yokosuka, and Miura are great too. Chigasaki, Hiratsuka, and Oiso are wonderful places as well.

  ぜひ、どこかほかのところに、おでかけください。年間2000万人は、多すぎます。人口わずか16万人です。逗子も横須賀も三浦もいいところです。茅ヶ崎、平塚、大磯もすばらしいところです。

  — @taakakitsubaki0 likes

Should you seek out 'hidden' spots in Kamakura to avoid autumn leaf crowds?

Japanese commenters under a 2024 TBS segment say no. The top comment (25 likes) begs the broadcaster to stop naming quiet spots, since the publicity floods them too, and another (23 likes) points out the 'quiet' alternative already has plenty of visitors.

Why can't Kamakura handle more visitors during peak autumn leaf season?

Commenters say the local Enoden train line already gets too crowded to board (10 likes) and that the area's narrow streets weren't built for bigger crowds (7 likes). One adds the trains got busier after a popular TV drama was filmed nearby.

Are the 'hidden' shops featured in these segments really local favorites?

One commenter (4 likes) says no: the featured shops are often opened by newcomers that longtime residents skip, since genuine favorites tend to sit off the main streets specifically to avoid this kind of publicity.

Where do commenters suggest going instead of crowded Kamakura?

One suggests skipping Kamakura altogether for quieter nearby coastal towns: Zushi, Yokosuka, and Miura, plus Chigasaki, Hiratsuka, and Oiso, all a short trip away without the same crowds.

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