Kyoto is the worst run city in Japan

It’s hard to imagine that Kyoto, the city that attracts millions of tourists for its incredible blend of traditional beauty and modern allure, is the worst-run city in Japan.

And yet, after reading this article, I'm sure you'll agree with me…

A recent tweet highlighted an ongoing issue that seems minor but is emblematic of the larger systemic problems the city faces: “Kyoto city used to have about 700 public trash cans but reduced it to about 300 because they overflowed (?)…. A few $1000+ 'smart' trash cans that were donated to the city didn't overflow, but the local government doesn't have the funds to buy more.”

Yes, Kyoto is a tourism mecca, with up to 90 million international and domestic tourists visiting the prefecture each year (GoWithGuide) so trash will inevetably pile up.

However, it is not exactly a budget destination; tourist go there to spend serious money, and yet the local government can't afford to buy trash cans?

Kyoto’s ridiculously stupid spending spree

Kyoto city is broke, but how?

One word: Incompetence.

Daisaku Kadokawa, who served as Kyoto’s mayor until February this year, was incredibly incompetent. He approved a ¥15.9 billion city hall renovation project while slashing childcare seats and pushing the city towards financial ruin.

You might be thinking “maybe the city hall renovations were really crucial?”

And the politicians certainly agree. They stressed the importance on maintaining Kyoto’s cultural aesthetic, and included extravagant additions like a tea room and a council chamber that resembles a European palace.

The Kyoto City Hall Renovation Project

And just to add salt to the wounds of Kyoto’s residents, they decided to spend another ¥2.5 million on a city mascot, Tsukasa Kyono, ironically created to boost Kyoto’s public relations efforts.

This is Tsukasa Kyono (京乃 つかさ - Japanese wordplay loosely meaning “from Kyoto”),

This lavish spending came as the city contemplated raising subway and bus fares, which are already among the highest in Japan.

Kyoto’s public transit is a case study in incompetence

Kyoto's political mismanagement has a long history, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the saga of its subway system. With construction starting in the 80s with the aim of modernizing travel within the city, it was a fiasco marked by cost overruns and misdirected planning. Originally budgeted at ¥245 billion, the total cost spiraled to an astounding ¥451.5 billion. These overruns were largely due to unforeseen archaeological discoveries and subsequent delays.

This could be excused for a city packed with so many historical sites, if the subway system actually went to any of them!

In fact, the subway doesn’t go where most tourists or even locals actually want to go…

The fanfare was short lived for this subway project…

This fact has unsurprisingly deterred people from using the subway, turning what could have been an asset into a financial sinkhole. The fares, initially set high to make the system self-sustaining, have only climbed higher, pushing even more people away from using the subway. As a result, the subway system is hemorrhage money, contributing to an annual deficit projected at around ¥6.1 billion!

These inefficiencies has had a domino effect on Kyoto's other major mode of public transport: The buses.

Kyoto City Subway map (left) and Bus map (right)

The lack of options have made the city’s buses the default option for both tourists and locals. This would be merely inconvenient in a normal city, but Kyoto is anything but.

In fact, much of Kyoto consists of narrow, winding streets, many of which date back to the Edo period (1603-1867).

Try to run a bus through these streets…

The result?

Daily commuters and the millions of tourists who visit Kyoto each year are funneled through a bus system that were never meant to support such a volume of traffic. It's a misstep of monumental proportions, one that every visitor and resident pays for every single day.

What do the Kyoto politicians do in response?

They fuel the "Let's blame the tourists" narrative, urging tourists to stop using the buses without offering any viable alternatives. This tactic is proving effective, as local residents frequently vent their frustrations on Twitter (X), angrily condemning tourists for crowding their commuter buses. But really, what other options do the tourists have?

I understand how terrible some tourists can be (as the "bell incident" in the last tweet show), but directing the frustration over Kyoto's deteriorating infrastructure at tourists—both by locals and politicians—isn't the solution

It's not all Kyoto's politicians fault though...

Kyoto's political mismanagement, as glaring as it might be, isn't solely to blame for the financial strain and urban planning woes the city faces. A significant part of the fiscal challenge comes from the very cultural heritage that makes Kyoto unique. Japan’s tax laws exempt religious sites from municipal taxes, yet these sites often require significant upkeep of surrounding infrastructure, such as roads, electricity, and transit systems. This issue is particularly pronounced in Kyoto, a city with an unparalleled number of shrines and temples.

Any income generated on these ground are completely tax free

With so many properties off the tax rolls, Kyoto must fund its infrastructure, including the costly public transit systems, without the financial support these sites would ordinarily contribute in property taxes.

Thus, the city's struggles are not merely a product of mismanagement but are also structurally ingrained in the way its finances are legally structured around its cultural heritage.

But let's not give the politicians too much of a break…

While it's true that Kyoto's religious sites are exempt from property taxes while they still benefit from the city’s infrastructure, these very temples and shrines maintain themselves without municipal funds.

They are also the main draw for tourists, yet these tourists do not sleep, eat, or shop within the sacred confines of these temples; instead, they pour their money into the city’s coffers through hotels, restaurants, and stores—all of which are very much subject to taxation.

This is where the irony deepens. The city's leadership, rather deftly, shifts the narrative to blame the very tourism that sustains the economy, painting it as a destructive force. This scapegoating distracts from their own fiscal mismanagement and policy failures. It’s a clever misdirection, a tragic abdication of responsibility that disguises the failure to harness this wealth effectively.

As annoying as tourists may be, they are the lifeline Kyoto needs to not go bankrupt

As Kyoto inches closer to potential bankruptcy—predicted before 2028 if current trends persist—the window for effective intervention is rapidly closing. The city stands at a crucial crossroads: It can continue down the path of fiscal irresponsibility, blaming tourism, its economic lifeline, or it can fully embrace its role as a premier tourist destination and leverage this status to forge a robust, sustainable future.

Indeed, this might mean imposing additional taxes on tourists to fund more tourism-oriented infrastructure, but such measures must be underpinned by more competent leadership. This leadership must recognize and embrace tourism as Kyoto’s indispensable lifeline.

Along the same lines, enhancing tourist services could profoundly transform the city's narrative. Why not develop more engaging cultural experiences that could also serve as significant revenue streams? Interactive workshops, cultural performances, and seasonal festivals could engage tourists throughout the year, smoothing out the fluctuations in tourist numbers and creating a more stable economic model.

The conclusion is as clear as it is urgent. Kyoto must recalibrate its strategy and governance to align with its economic realities and opportunities. To preserve its past, it must secure its future—not by scapegoating tourism, but by embracing and enhancing it. Only then can Kyoto hope to avoid the dire fate of becoming as well-known for its governmental failures as it is for its temples and history.

The clock is ticking, and the world is watching. Will Kyoto rise to the challenge, or will it continue to let its potential crumble under the weight of mismanagement?

The answer to this question will define Kyoto’s legacy for generations to come.