Could luxury travel offer a shot in the arm to the economy of Japan after the Olympics?

Evelyn Teplass-Mugii asks herself why there is no other foreigner in sight, almost any time she finds herself enjoying the view or eating local cuisine in one of Japan's many picturesque backwaters.

All too often, she notes, the visitors follow the well-worn "Golden Road," which connects the bright lights of Tokyo and Osaka with a traditionally thrown-in cultural and historic detour to Kyoto's ancient capital.