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Most of the things I’ve done in Japan have been amazing – a few, though, were a little less stellar! So, while the above might be a slightly clickbait headline, if you’re tight on time, these are the places I’ve visited in the past that did not live up to the hype and that you might also want to skip.
I prefix this by saying that I am easily pleased. I am a giant child in an adult’s body and so the smallest thing can bring me glee.
I have written an entire post on here about hot tea from a vending machine, I will happily walk 40 minutes out of my way to order coffee from the paw of a bear, and I once went on a detective mission Poiret would have been proud of to find the location of an Osaka shrine dedicated to teeth.
Rarely am I not enthused about something in the smallest way – so to make this list of underwhelming sights, it has to be serious!
Article by Helen Foster. Disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links. See our Affiliate Disclosure.
Interestingly, looking at the list, it’s often things that are popular on Instagram that have underwhelmed me the most in reality – maybe because both the hype and the crowds visiting them are so big. Perhaps if I’d found them first, I’d have been as delighted by them as the original person who featured them, and, even now, they might delight you, too. So, this piece is not so much to say don’t visit the sights below, it’s more to say that if you’re tight on time don’t feel too bad if you can’t fit them in.
1. Arashiyama’s Forest of Twigs
Most of you will know this as the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest in Kyoto. It might even be on your ‘must-see’ list, so you might be a bit shocked to find it on my list of things I need not see again.
I first went here about eight years ago, at the beginning of its Instagram fame. I’d seen the pictures, I was expecting a lush green forest full of towering bamboo forming a luscious canopy over my head – I got a small path lined with slightly dingy brown trees. As we’d dragged our butts across Kyoto to get here before 8 am and the impending crowds, the words ‘twigs’ and ‘bl**dy Instagram’ were mentioned.
It’s not all bad. If you can get here when it’s quiet, looking up and seeing the towering trees above you is kind of impressive, and listening to the sound of the trees clacking together is a unique experience, but it’s often so busy now that you don’t get to enjoy any of that. One good thing is that walking through it can lead you to the AMAZING Otagi-Nenbutsu-ji, a temple of tiny stone figures up the road. This turned out to be my favourite thing in Kyoto – and still is, after four more visits.
The funniest thing about this is that the bamboo path you see on the Kyoto tourism posters isn’t even the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove – it’s up the road in Adashino Nenbutsu-ji! There are also at least four other bamboo groves in Kyoto you can visit, including the nearby bamboo temple, one in Kodai-ji in Higashiyama, one around the ‘secret’ entrance to Fushimi Inari (this tour can take you to that one) and a very untouristed one in west Kyoto. Look for the Rakusai Bamboo Park and Bamboo Museum to find this. They all have a lot fewer people than this one.
If you do come, get here early. Our Kyoto crowds guide also has some other specific tips on beating the crowds in the forest.
2. The Golden Temple—Gold Plated or Overrated?
I ummed and ahhed about whether to put any shrines on this list; after all, they’re spiritual places, which means there’s far more meaning to them than just somewhere to visit as a tourist, but, after a bit of consideration (and leaving off one other place I’d like to have mentioned), I decided that this one could stay on.
Why? Because the crowds at Kinkaku-ji Temple in Kyoto can be large, and the journey to get here can be long – and once inside the site, all that happens is you walk in a big loop behind everyone else around the lake to see the outside of the building.
Yes, it’s beautiful, but, frankly, it’s not that exciting. You can’t go in it; you can’t even get that close to see any details, so if you’re tight on time, you might want to cut it.
3. Nara’s Mochi Pounding Scrum
At least one tour guide I know says that all of Nara should be on this list. I firmly disagree with that. The deer are cute, the huge gate at Todai-ji blew me away, and the walkway to Kasuga Taisha has gone onto my list of prettiest sights in Japan, but the viral mochi pounding shop in the city can firmly be left off your list unless you’re desperate to get the same video that you’ve seen on Instagram, but through the heads of about 70 people.
It’s so bad, they have policemen with whistles controlling the crowds while it happens.
Again, this isn’t to discourage you from visiting the shop, Nakatanidou, and trying the mochi – they’ve been here for 33 years and that doesn’t happen unless your sweets are good, but, unless you want to experience the Japanese equivalent of a mosh pit on your travels, skip the demonstration and come to the shop when the queues from it die down.
Related Read: 10 things I wish I’d known before I visited Nara.
4. Aoniyoshi’s Lime-Green Letdown
As I said, the word ‘Instagram’ appears frequently in this post, so let’s add another social media sensation, the Aoniyoshi sightseeing train, to the list.
I’d seen all the content creators making videos about this green and purple train that travels between Nara and Kyoto and booked my trip around visiting it – but after getting off, I wondered why.
Granted, the train is pretty, but it’s far more expensive than getting a normal train. Buying tickets is an online scrum as they sell out fast, and you have to pay double if you’re traveling solo. And most importantly, the view out of the window isn’t that good. Considering it’s a sightseeing train, I would have thought that was the important bit?
The Kyo Train Garaku is far cuter and much cheaper – and you just walk onto that.
If you’re still keen on the idea of the Aoniyoshi here, though, see my longer review on the train here. so you know what to expect and how to navigate the slightly confusing ticketing system.
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5. The Odaiba Gundam
I love Odaiba, it’s one of my favourite place in Tokyo as it’s full of fun things to do like the Poop Museum, and Small Worlds Tokyo, one of my favourite attractions. I had high hopes for the Unicorn Gundam.
I even made Mr Japlanease come and meet me, promptly, for the 3 pm showing, even though he’d been happily browsing second-hand shops in some other part of Tokyo as, as an engineer, I was sure he’d be impressed by this giant transforming robot.
He wasn’t! It moved a bit, some lights flashed, but, erm, that was it…
Again, if you’re a Gundam fan, you’ll love it. If you’re not, and you’re here expecting it to do something fascinating like shoot lasers out of its eyes or birth an actual unicorn, lower your expectations, and you won’t be disappointed!
it’s worth watching if you’re here, but don’t hang around in the rain (or drag your significant other halfway across Tokyo), just to see it.
6. The Observation Deck at the Tokyo Metropolitan Building
Whenever I post a link to my post comparing Shibuya Sky, Tokyo Tower, and Tokyo Skytree online, someone always asks me why I haven’t included much on the Tokyo Metropolitan Building in it. The answer is that I was decidedly underwhelmed when I went up it.
Now, the first night I went up there was tired and I had sore feet, so I thought maybe my opinion had been tainted – but, no. I went again and I was like ‘well, it’s nice but… meh’
However, even that wasn’t quite enough to get it onto this list. The decision was made when I asked my friend, who has also visited Japan a lot, whether anything had underwhelmed her on her trips. It took her a while to think, and then she answered, ‘The Shinjuku observation deck. It was a lot of lining up for a glass box and not an interesting view.’ Tourist trap no. 6 was found!
Again, it has it does have some good points – it’s free (huge bonus) and if you’re staying in one of the nearby hotels then it’s no real hardship to nip in on a clear day as, if you’re lucky, you might see Mount Fuji – but, the other towers have a more rounded view of the city and if you’re traveling out of your way to get here, you could skip it.
7. The Hakone Pirate Ship
I approached the famous Hakone Loop with trepidation. I knew it would be busy, and I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it at all. In reality, I did enjoy most of it (especially when I worked out a route that meant I could escape a lot of the crowds). However, the Pirate Ship can get in the sea (no pun intended).
It runs at ridiculously long intervals, meaning you’re standing around wasting time. The view is nice, but once you’ve seen the Hakone Shrine in the distance, that’s it. And while from outside it looks cool, inside, it’s pretty much like every ferry you’ve ever been on.
Next time I go, I’ll either catch the bus or walk the 6km along the lake from Hakone Shrine to Todengai—it’ll probably take as long in the end as faffing about with the boat, and I can visit some smaller shrines and another ropeway on the journey.
However as I’m trying to show positives as well as negatives in this piece, if you have kids I appreciate that riding the Pirate Ship is going to be very exciting, and, if you don’t want to do a long walk, it’s the best way to get across Lake Ashi – and, if you have the Hakone Free Pass (which is a good idea if you’re doing the Loop), it’s free anyway, but, man it was a time suck. If you can, check the timetable to minimise the time you’re waiting around for the thing.
And I think that’s it – pretty much all the underwhelming things I can think of. I don’t think that’s too bad after eight trips to Japan, taking over 16 major cities, numerous small towns, and hundreds of sights and attractions. Go Japan!
Who Writes This Blog?
My name is Helen Foster, and I’m a journalist and author. My travel articles have appeared in publications including The Australian, Escape, RAC Horizons, Jetstar Magazine, Sainsbury’s Magazine, and more.
I’ve traveled to Japan eight times before – solo and with my partner and visited over 25 towns and cities. My last visit was November 2024 so, everything here is pretty up to date.
