Ditch the guidebook to avoid Japan's worst tourist draws  Ditch
the guidebook to avoid Japan's worst tourist draws  From
climbing giant ashtrays to watching tea grow cold, there's far
too much attention lavished on the duller side of Japan  C.B.
LiddellIt’s no secret that Japan is trying hard to attract
tourists. How can it not be, of course, after the industry fell
to its knees in the wake of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami?
Sure, the country has much to offer, but mixed in with the
interesting stuff there’s also plenty of dross that means first-
time visitors can easily end up having a very disappointing
time.  Especially if they blindly follow the guidebooks ...
These often recommend extremely boring activities simply because
all previous guidebooks have done so.  They also routinely
misinterpret key Japanese concepts, like “wabi-sabi,” which
Western travel-guide writers think denotes an aesthetic of
rarified beauty.  By contrast, most Japanese know that it tends
to signify the most soporific elements of