Why Japan isn’t ready for the Olympics

Coronavirus aside, Japan isn’t ready for the Olympics. Sure, Japan has hosted the Olympics before but that was back in the 90’s. The 90’s were a time when people didn’t invest in traveling so much. It was also a time when barely anyone had the internet (super slow, btw) so they were limited in what they could learn about a country. They were restricted in learning about what they could do/see and needed to rely on travel agencies. Visiting Japan in those days, especially for the Olympics was truly for the privileged.

Fast forward to today and times have really changed. You have a lot of people investing in travel and the one common Instagram photo you’ll come across when someone visits Japan is none other than the ever so famous Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine.

Travel has become more accessible and while it’s unclear how the coronavirus will impact the way people will travel in Summer 2021 for the Olympics, all I know is that Japan isn’t ready for the Olympics. Here’s why:

1. Japan is crowded.

Tokyo, where the Olympics will be hosted is notoriously crowded. I’m not sure how people (natives and visitors) will take the crowded atmosphere. Rush hour will be “interesting” for commuters. Traveling will be a nightmare with the many visitors trying to get around Tokyo and beyond. Of course, if the coronavirus is still present in 2021, visitors might not have as much freedom to go about as they please.

2. Japan isn’t English friendly.

Sure, many of Japan’s signs may be written in both Japanese and English but the bilingual signs have nothing to do with the fact that the average person in Japan is probably not too willing (or comfortable) to communicate in English. The “funny” thing is that everyone in Japan is required to take English for many years in school. The flaw lies in how the classes are taught and how you won’t need to make use of the language to survive in Japan. If you don’t use what you learn, you lose the ability and confidence to communicate in English.

3. It’s difficult to accept others aka non-Japanese.

In wanting to boost tourism for the country’s economy, it’s easy to put out a blanket statement that visitors are welcomed but not actually mean it 100 percent of the way. Fortunately, the Summer Olympics won’t be running forever but can feel like an eternity for those that are bothered by foreigners and just don’t want to deal with discomfort.

Japan is a homogeneous country that has kept itself isolated from the outside world for a long time. Visitors may encounter natives who are xenophobic or just downright frustrated.

Example: A foreigner is talking on the phone while on public transportation in Japan. This is normal in the states but not considered normal in Japan. Some natives will give you bad looks for doing this. Other natives will just be like whatever if it’s obvious that you’re a foreigner (non-Asian looking). While the glares are bad (and sooo unnecessary), things enter murky territory once a native turns it into something -phobic or discriminatory. An example would be native saying something like, “He’s not Japanese. No wonder he doesn’t know better.” Depending on how this is said, it can be negative, unwelcoming and even reveal a superiority complex that needs to be gotten rid of.

4. Catering to people’s different dietary needs will be a challenge.

With excess people comes excess dietary needs. For some, it’s a choice. For others, it’s a medical necessity. In general, Japan isn’t used to catering to people with different dietary needs. Vegetarianism. Veganism. Kosher. Keto. Raw. (Is this fad still in?)

Visitors with specific diets may find it challenging to request their desired dishes at restaurants to be made a specific way. Of course, trying to get the message across when language is a barrier is going to be another challenge in itself.

5. Japan lacks smoke-free environments.

I believe Japan is in the process of transforming smoke friendly places into smoke free environments. Not sure why they’re so late on this when many other countries have required restaurants, malls and so forth to be completely smoke free since a long time ago but it is what it is.

When it comes to the great indoors, the average visitor is accustomed to it being smoke free which means they’ll be taken aback when they smell cigarette smoke while shopping, or worse, while dining. But Japan seems to be putting effort in this arena and all I can say is better late than never. Hopefully, by summer 2021, the bulk of places in Japan are truly smoke free.

6. Japan’s trash cans are hard to find.

Japan’s streets are clean. The question is will Japan manage to keep its streets clean once a bunch of people visit in summer 2021?

People from the West are used to tossing their rubbish into large bins. Japan doesn’t exactly offer such bins, though. Trash bins, in fact can be difficult to find in Japan. And when found, it’s a process of sorting your trash. While Japan’s trash sorting system should be respected, it might not be respected if visitors are in a rush to get rid of their trash so that they can go about their day more quickly.

Personally, I feel that it’d be best for Japan to install more trash bins, at least for the duration of the Olympics.

7. Japan offers free Wi-Fi but is it sufficient?

I can still remember my first time in Japan and how frustrated I was with their lack of free Wi-Fi and its dial-up like speeds. (No joke!) Fortunately, Japan seems to now be offering free Wi-Fi at decent speeds in a lot more places. But less isn’t more when it comes to free Wi-Fi. More would be better as it’ll definitely be used and appreciated by visitors.

The question is will Japan be ready to prevent their Wi-Fi service from becoming congested and will they be okay with visitors hanging around to make use of the Wi-Fi?

8. Japan lacks seating.

Most visitors will probably want to see as much as they can of Japan while they’re there but some are not going to always be in the fast lane when it comes to traveling. Heck, even people living life in the fast lane will want a breather every now and then. The question is where will you plop down for a rest in Japan when there aren’t enough seats or structures to sit on? Most train stations in Japan can’t even offer respite for the wary traveler as there aren’t many seats made available, if there are any to begin with in the first place.

Any of you have anything else to add to this list? Feel free to let me know in the comments section below.