Foreign visitors to Japan top 3 mil for 3rd straight month in May

JGovt love those foreigners but not with locals, that's really great collaboration.

https://skift.com/blog/japan-likely-to-target-a-record-foreign-visitor-count-in-2025-report/

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Travel-Leisure/Japan-targets-1-500-for-spending-by-foreign-visitors

Mythical Japan is allways fascinating!

I believe travel broadens the mind and will foster good relations between people.

Half a million Chines visitors "cant be wrong "

For those expats here, we know, or should know, the 80% of Japan off the beaten track....so no complaints from me....I'll just drive down another empty country road.

I hope the J-gov't can be truly hospitable with the visitors they are so dependent to keep their economy afloat. News such as that one mayor in a city considering on hiking the entrance fee for foreigners to a castle is unacceptable.

The Japan National Tourism Organization attributed the strong tourist arrivals to China's holiday season and an increased number of flights and ships coming from East Asia.

.

Those tourists so beloved by the Japanese people and the NPA.

It’s ironic that tourism is one of the fastest growing businesses in Japan largely dependent on …China!

Promising news. Those export numbers ticking up nicely. Japan should log a record 33-34 million tourists entering this year.

It’s ironic that tourism is one of the fastest growing businesses in Japan largely dependent on …China!

Japanese tourism is definitely not "dependent on China". There are millions of others from countless other nations planning trips to Japan to sample the famous hospitality, history, food and unique culture.

This is a gift to the hospitality sector if managed to a positive conclusion will keep on giving.

Don't cut your nose off to spite your face.

And with them the complaints will continue to grow.

Mythical Japan is allways fascinating!

Yeah and many of the things said about Japan are myths too! Along with a bunch of urban legends as well!

Let’s see, how can we suck more ¥¥¥ out of them and have it cost us NOTHING?

It's the new Bali for Aussies with the yen closing in on ¥106 for the dollar.

Yen 106 to the Aussie dollar {formerly known as the Pacific Peso }

Crikey.

It's all snakes and ladders actually....sometimes you're hot...sometimes you're not.

But PLEASE....not the "new Bali "....the "old Bali " was so beautiful.

3 million in in a month and less than 1 million out. It seems that Japan has tourism overproduction.

I see 1 million Chinese visiting from the Mainland and the island of Taiwan. Chinese from HK and Macau might be counted separately as well.

Japanese tourism is definitely not "dependent on China"

I think at least half of that 3 million were in line in front of me at Don Quijote last weekend.

Hopefully they're informed enough to stay away from most of Honshuu in August and September, the sweltering heat is no fun at all!

Excellent, good for Japan's economy...

Welcome foreign tourist, but behave well..

"Mythical Japan is allways fascinating!"

Down-voted for the inability to correctly spell 'always', and for the fantastical naivety which continues to attract the cellphone-addicted herds of sheep clogging Haneda...

It's very interesting how things are framed. Some time ago, there was a huge campaign to promote tourism in Cool Japan. I don't see anyone trumpeting the success of the campaign now. It's been a massive success; think of all that money they're making from it!

I hope the J-gov't can be truly hospitable with the visitors they are so dependent to keep their economy afloat.

Nonsense. They're contributing very little to the economy. Check the value of the yen and the amount of debt the country is carrying.

In the aggregate, this is good for Japan. It’s helping economic growth. It’s showing people from around the world what a great place Japan is to live in terms of safety, courtesy and cleanliness. And it’s showing the Japanese population what the outside world is like (to the extent tourists can) beyond the wide-show blather.

Of course there will be bumps along the road, Mt. Fuji photo misbehavior and Himeji castle being two notable examples (people using selfie sticks to get holy water at Kiyomizu-dera got on my nerves…), but all societies have ups and downs in making progress.

And this MAY be transitory depending on the future of the yen as a major currency. If so, Japan should enjoy it while it lasts.

Cool.

Let me know when my residual check is supposed to come in.

Wait.............I don't get one?

Then who cares?

The yen is still worthless for traveling out of Japan.

It is so important that Japan, for the economy, is welcoming, to the opportunity presented with a record number of visitors willing to spend and engage with the culture.

I was in Ebisu last night for yakitori and there were tons of what appeared to be tourists. I barely could get a seat to enjoy skewered chicken parts and beers. Unfortunately many place will require a reservation and you order via your iphone which I detest.

Japanese tourism is definitely not "dependent on China". There are millions of others from countless other nations planning trips to Japan to sample the famous hospitality, history, food and unique culture.

Funny, as I hear Mandarin Chinese all over the place.

Also, by visitor numbers, Chinese mainlanders hold second place after Korea.

Over 500,000 people.-that’s a large dependency by any definition!

More tourists....Thank the stars that regulation and covid tanked the Airb&b flareup around our neighborhood. There were two that popped up around my house and there was nothing but trouble from them. Parking issues, noise, trash, cigarette butts over the neighbor's fence, and the list goes on. The "guests" would wander around at night and enter yards, sit in outdoor furniture and were rude if confronted.

Funny, as I hear Mandarin Chinese all over the place.

Also, by visitor numbers, Chinese mainlanders hold second place after Korea.

Over 500,000 people.-that’s a large dependency by any definition!

In 2021/2022 that number was zero. And Japan got by just fine.

Nope, there is no dependency at all on PRC tourists. Plenty more from elsewhere packing their bags to come as I type. Checking the social media feeds right now and Japan is THE place to be in the world in 2024!

Good News for everyone, keep them coming , the more the better.

Bring all these Dollars, Won's, Euros, Pound's, and Paso's rolling.

Yep, Airb&b is a very polarizing platform. They externalize a lot of their costs onto the neighborhood and take advantage of uneven enforcement of zoning laws.

Yep, the example Droll gave above is happening everywhere.

its not good in my opinion, go ahead and downvote me. I don’t care what you think.

Love to see so many people to be able to visit Japan that previously couldn't due to the costs or exchange rates.

Hope they enjoy their holidays and enjoy the lower prices.

I hope they do not choose to visit that very big hill...........d. I have forgotten its name....Oh yes, Mt Fuji, all at once. All they will see are many large tall fences.

But the locals and local governments don't really want them to come.

Weak Yen = too many tourists.

Strong Yen = less tourists and better for the Japanese people.

Simple equations...

The Japan Tourist agency used to publish average per visitor spend before the pandemic. If memory serves me well it was about the 20 man mark per visitor ( basically free cash for an ailing economy ) but I bet it is much higher than that now. If you want to push back against the negative, defeatist mentality on sale in the press and media recently citing ‘over tourism’ and ‘pesky tourists’ as a problem rather than an opportunity it maybe worth showcasing these figures.

Show them the money and show them where it’s being spent. Either that or keep punching that gift horse in the mouth. Up to people!

More foreign tourists, more rubbish, Shibuya scramble crossing is a pain to cross.

( basically free cash for an ailing economy )

Seen this clueless rhetoric in the media for some reason gushing about young foreign tourists able to splurge on costly delicacies that are out of the reach of most Japanese workers. The 'talents' and some spawn of politicians got to partake as well. Is this a cause to celebrate for most Japanese?

Very little of this is filtering down to the masses.

The convenience store worker has an extra shift.

The hotel staff has to master some English phrases.

The minimum wage shop staff has to do calculations for duty free sales.

For the majority that is the experience of the 'over tourist boom'.

What is left for most is the annoyance and crowds.

It’s ironic that tourism is one of the fastest growing businesses in Japan largely dependent on …China!

Astounding that a neighboring country with more than a billion people makes up the bulk of tourists in Japan...Absolutely astounding!

But the locals and local governments don't really want them to come.

The locals don't want them coming on their property...for selfies. I'm sure the local businesses want as many and more of them "to come".

 hope they do not choose to visit that very big hill...........d. I have forgotten its name....Oh yes, Mt Fuji, all at once. All they will see are many large tall fences.

I live 300km away and I can see it clearly. No need to wander onto roads on foot to take selfies with that very big hill when there are plenty of places from which to photograph it where you aren't a nuisance to others.

Very little of this is filtering down to the masses.

The convenience store worker has an extra shift.

The hotel staff has to master some English phrases.

The minimum wage shop staff has to do calculations for duty free sales.

For the majority that is the experience of the 'over tourist boom'.

What is left for most is the annoyance and crowds.

Dagon, half glass half full mate. You wanna introduce quotas? Hotels having to learn the global language? Say it aint so! What a joke.

Agree there is a gap in communication as to where this extra cash is being spent and it's benifits, but that's not on the tourist, that's on the J leaders to do a better job with.

EdToday  12:12 pm JST

Weak Yen = too many tourists.

Strong Yen = less tourists and better for the Japanese people.

Simple equations...

Totally spot on.Only thing is politicians/businesses want to have their cake and eat it. Some businesses love the weak yen, eg hotels, museums, and theatres, while others can't take the pain, importers. Then it flips and the ones who were unhappy with the weak yen are happy with the strong yen. But even the public wants to have their cake and eat it too. Don't want too many visitors but they(paying customers) also don't want to pay more to support those companies. Better for the Japanese people? As a whole? or for some people? I think it depends on the company Japanese people work for, and where. Especially for those who work in the hospitality industry, airlines, taxi drivers, public services get an income boost too. It's not, one is good or one is bad. They both have their good and bad points. As the world gets richer, and more people can afford to travel, I guess we will have to manage things. It's much more nuanced than that.

The yen is still worthless for traveling out of Japan.

What an utterly brilliant observation. In all my years of living here I have never known a time when the yen was actually worth anything outside of Japan.

Please share with everyone here just what countries one can use yen as the currency of choice?

I wish we got weekly, daily, or even real-time hourly data on tourists visiting Japan, so we could enjoy talking about it more. I'm sure someone selling systems "powered by AI" could make it happen.

As a tourist myself, most of the tourists in Japan don’t make any effort to blend in. They are comparably rude, noisy and in general you don’t feel like you’re in Japan if there are tourists around.

You really have to go off the beaten path if you want to experience true Japan. I’m tired of Chinese screaming into my ear, Korean Instagram sessions and drunk Americans.

As a tourist myself, most of the tourists in Japan don’t make any effort to blend in. They are comparably rude, noisy and in general you don’t feel like you’re in Japan if there are tourists around.

Welcome to Japan James. Consider the Hokuriku area. Stay away from the tourist traps in Kyoto and Osaka and venture a bit North to undiscovered territory. Try Fukui, Gifu, Ishikawa and Toyama, all beautiful it their own way. Come to the real Japan, discover it for yourself somewhere where the locals are still welcoming and friendly!

We visited for the fifth time in May. Our first time was in 2002, much has changed in those years. We were approached by a group of school children in 2002 whilst visiting Nara, so they could practice their English. This time in Kyoto we were approached by three very polite young male students from Osaka Kaimei High School, who again asked us questions to improve their English. They were pleased that we were English rather than American. and even more so that we were staying in Osaka!

We noted that more people could speak English this time but where we couldn't speak Japanese nor they English, Google Translate came to the rescue.

This was our final visit due to our age, I wish the Japanese people well and thank you for your understanding and politeness over the years.

@SapperJon what a SAS!!! They were pleased that we were English rather than American. and even more so that we were staying in Osaka! Does that make you better? Are you smarter than a 5th grader, did you give them a "ENGLISH" lesson reminding them that "ENGLISH" is a language that is spoken by many people from different countries and not nationality. Ok I get it, perhaps you didn't know either, to lost in the interview. LMFAO Lost in translation!!

*We visited for the fifth time in May. Our first time was in 2002, much has changed in those years. We were approached by a group of school children in 2002 whilst visiting Nara, so they could practice their English. This time in Kyoto we were approached by three very polite* young male students from Osaka Kaimei High School, who again asked us questions to improve their English. They were pleased that we were English rather than American. and even more so that we were staying in Osaka!

We noted that more people could speak English this time but where we couldn't speak Japanese nor they English, Google Translate came to the rescue.

This was our final visit due to our age, I wish the Japanese people well and thank you for your understanding and politeness over the years.

SapperJonToday  06:32 pm JST

We visited for the fifth time in May. Our first time was in 2002, much has changed in those years. We were approached by a group of school children in 2002 whilst visiting Nara, so they could practice their English. This time in Kyoto we were approached by three very polite young male students from Osaka Kaimei High School, who again asked us questions to improve their English. They were pleased that we were English rather than American. and even more so that we were staying in Osaka!

We noted that more people could speak English this time but where we couldn't speak Japanese nor they English, Google Translate came to the rescue.

This was our final visit due to our age, I wish the Japanese people well and thank you for your understanding and politeness over the years.

Pity you couldn't practice some of that politeness yourself by leaving out your rather unsubtle and unnecessary dig at the States.

SapperJonJune 20 06:32 pm JST

They were pleased that we were English rather than American.

Sure that wasn't just projection?

kurisupisu June 20 10:49 am JST

Japanese tourism is definitely not "dependent on China". There are millions of others from countless other nations planning trips to Japan to sample the famous hospitality, history, food and unique culture.

Funny, as I hear Mandarin Chinese all over the place.

It’s ironic that tourism is one of the fastest growing businesses in Japan largely dependent on …China!

I guess it's no wonder that the flesh-eating virus has suddenly flared up in Japan. Gee, I wonder who brought it in here?

Wesley: I guess it's no wonder that the flesh-eating virus has suddenly flared up in Japan. Gee, I wonder who brought it in here?

It is unclear at this point what is driving the surge in GAS infections in Japan over the last two years, experts told Healthline.

“We need a lot more information to sort this out,” said Schaffner.

He did offer one theory though: infections of many varieties have been on the rise in the post-pandemic era.

During the pandemic when individuals were quarantining at home, avoiding social gatherings, and keeping children home from school, there were global reductions in respiratory infectionsTrusted Source

. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also reported a 25% drop in the number of GAS infectionsduring that same time.

In the years since pandemic-era restrictions and quarantines have eased, other infections, strep among them, have been gaining steam.

“Now that we’ve all started to come back together again, these illnesses are, not surprisingly, coming back too. With group A strep, it came back to normal and then exceeded the norm. This has been seen in this country and in many other countries around the world,” said Schaffner.

Amesh A. Adalja, MD, a Senior Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, echoed those sentiments, telling Healthline, “The most likely hypothesis is that decreased circulation of the bacteria during the pandemic years left an immunity debt and the increase is related to that phenomenon.”

But sure, let’s make sure and give this a racist twist, right? Unless of course, you have some expertise that others don’t.