Some ask me why I stopped adding Kyoto or the Kansai region to my Mt. Fuji Autumn Leaves Japan Photo tours or my Essence of Autumn Photo Tour, where forest bathing shinrin yoku is a daily experience.  I simply tell them, myself and the majority of my clients don’t like being elbow to elbow with tourists.  And in recent years, we have seen an influx of tourists who think it’s okay to stop/grab a maiko or geisha on the street to get a selfie, and in some cases, geishas’ homes, tea houses, and okiyas have been invaded just to get a selfie.  Wow!  The tourism harassment problem has become so prevalent, that the Japanese police have coined a phrase, “tourism pollution.”  “Tourism pollution” is a huge problem on the tourist beaten path, especially in Kyoto, Tokyo, and Kanazawa. Kanazawa used to be off the beaten path until a new bullet train line opened in 2015.  Just to give you an idea about how Kanazawa has changed, a couple staying at a 2-3 star hotel in 2014, before the bullet train line opened would pay $200, but now the price has skyrocketed to $500.  The only reason that the Kanazawa area is being pushed so hard and the rates have doubled or tripled for lodgings and amenities is to recoup the trillions of yen spent extending the bullet train line to Kanazawa, which is partially subsidized by taxpayers.  Large companies trying to recover the costs of the shinkansen brought my time enjoying horseback riding in the Canadian Rocky Mountains to mind.  I had some good friends who were barrel racers and aces at roping, so I know what herding cattle looks like, and that is precisely what is happening with all the advertisements, driving the tourists onto the beaten path in Kanazawa, countless people drawn in by the siren’s call of ‘authentic Japan’, which is not necessarily a bad thing, because there are English speaking staff and some amazing locations.  However, for those looking for the authentic Japanese experience, younger adventurers generally go out on their own, and spend months backpacking, hiking, or cycling, exploring because they don’t have a tight time schedule, so they can afford open ended excursions throughout Japan, including the deep backcountry, but that’s rare.  For those who are serious about photography and actively use their day planner, they join one of my Japan photo workshops, someone else’s, or they go on a different international photo adventure.  Anyone knows the best way to see a country is with an experienced pro photographer.  By the way, I still go to Kyoto, but I only do exclusively private workshops there where we book lodgings at shrines and temples, only venturing out in the early mornings or evenings.  During the day, when all the tourists are out and about, I advise my clients to stay in and refresh themselves with onsen visits or some of the region’s delicious matcha green tea.  Once the sun goes down, my participants, team members, and I indulge in garden parties, low lighting photography, or another evening photography experience.