Foreign visitors to Japan top 33 mil in Jan-Nov, breaking annual record

The photo of Asakusa looks like a scene from Dante’s inferno…

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And the media keeps pushing this idea that they’re all going around being badly behaved and breaking all these secret rules that only Japanese people know.

Addressing issues related to overtourism, such as traffic congestion and disruptions to local residents' lives, will be essential for the government to achieve its goal of attracting 60 million foreign visitors annually by 2030.

The media wants to distract from the fact that only a tiny minority of Japanese property holders are actually benefiting from this tourism boom. The vast majority get only busier minimum wage service positions and strain on taxpayer funded infrastructure,

But look! A foreigner is standing in the road to take a selfie!

Victim of your own success. Tourism can create a lot of unwanted outcomes.

dagon Today | 07:20 am JST

Spot on! Up-voted!

Japan is a slowly declining industrial country and needs the tourism industry to keep its economy afloat.

That’s a fact that the government knows.

A few media just like to show the examples of a few breaking the tacit manners

A few media just like to show the examples of a few breaking the tacit manners

Most media in Japan just will go to what JGovt narratives, tourism will revive Japanese economy.

Addressing issues related to overtourism, such as traffic congestion and disruptions to local residents' lives, will be essential for the government to achieve its goal of attracting 60 million foreign visitors annually by 2030.

Overtourism is a problem for local Govt not central JGovt, so from central point of view no problem at all

I always advice people who listen the same thing.

If you work in tourism, remember, this won't last either. At most I give it another 3 years after Banpaku, before people get tired of "cool Japan". Boom time is the perfect time to save majority of your earnings, so when hard time comes for your industry, you have money to invest and don't stress out on your finance.

Save at boom, invest at doom.

Maybe I've been here too long, but Japan doesn't really strike me as a tourist paradise.

Kyoto / Nara? Yeah, lots of culture, but overcrowded to hell and back.

Tokyo / Yokohama? I mean I like Tokyo. I live there. But I'm hard pushed to think of large numbers of iconic, must-see things. Tokyo Tower, Sky Tree, Asakusa, Shibuya crossing, some decent gardens, maybe.

Shizuoka has some great places, but how many people are going to risk going off the beaten track to see them?

Nobody goes to Nagoya for tourism, and I don't think Osaka is high on most itineraries.

Outside that, you're looking at going further out, places like Kanazawa, which is a good place.

Maybe just over-familiarity on my part.

goal of attracting 60 million foreign visitors annually by 2030.

On current trajectories Japan should get there.

If the boom continues, the next goal could be to overtake France as the most visited nation on earth with 100 million+ by 2040. Japan is certainly well placed geographically to achieve this. Is there enough accommodation and staff? Probably not...yet.

Good grief.

The photo of Asakusa looks like a scene from Dante’s inferno…

Not far off. I made the mistake of going to the Asakusa Donki Hoti looking for a replacement for a broken kitchen item the other day. Big mistake. The place is a zoo. Douchebags sitting on the stairs and floor, eating in the store.

The media wants to distract from the fact that only a tiny minority of Japanese property holders are actually benefiting from this tourism boom. The vast majority get only busier minimum wage service positions and strain on taxpayer funded infrastructure,

But look! A foreigner is standing in the road to take a selfie!

BEST COMMENT here today could not agree with you more mate...SPOT ON

J gov wanted more tourist money J gov did not invest in the infrastructure to support many more millions of inbound tourists. See situation today.

Maybe provide someplace to eat if you don't want people standing around in the stairs eating. Maybe provide someplace for trash to be thrown away if you don't want litter. etc.

Maybe put a limit on Chinese and Korean tourists, that seems to be most of it by itself. Everything I hear on here is about how evil US citizens are as tourists, yet they are barely represented at all by these numbers.

My small town with less than 6000 residents got over 2 million tourists by itself in 2024. You think you got it bad?

Get a car and a naviguide and drive away from all the big cities. Most of Japan is surprisingly empty with all the cultural things still around.

The first three years here , in only my area, I seem to have found something new nearly every day.

But agree ,crowds ruin the fun. Country roads and little Shrines by the wayside for me.

Maybe put a limit on Chinese and Korean tourists, that seems to be most of it by itself. Everything I hear on here is about how evil US citizens are as tourists, yet they are barely represented at all by these numbers.

The clowns in my example spoke North American English, or Slavic sounding European languages.So you're wrong.

Glad to see people coming to visit Japan, good for everyone.

Mass travel is described with the Japanese words 安・近・短　(an-kin-tan, inexpensive, close and of short duration). China's huge population and close proximity to Japan make it a logical choice for people wishing to take short foreign vacations. Likewise for South Korea and Taiwan. And Vietnam, which is also prospering economically. The number of visitors is likely to keep growing as long as peace prevails in East Asia.

Tokyo GuyToday 08:28 am JST

Maybe I've been here too long, but Japan doesn't really strike me as a tourist paradise.

I think it really depends on what kind of tourist they are - and Japan has a huge range of very different aspects that appeal to different people. It's a cliche to say there's "something for everyone," but Japan definitely has more overall appeal than, say, a country that only has beaches.

Some very rough areas that tend to draw tourists:

Pop-culture: visiting famous spots from games and anime, maid cafes in Akiba, etc. Perhaps the number one reason?

Traditional culture/very "Japanese" things: onsen, gardens, temples/shrines, kabuki, food, sumo, etc.

First-time visitors: curious to see what the Japan they've heard so much about is actually like (many of them then end up loving the country and come back)

Location: interesting, reasonably convenient destination for the growing number of Asian travelers with disposable income

And the media keeps pushing this idea that they’re all going around being badly behaved and breaking all these secret rules that only Japanese people know.

Really? You mean like this:

American tourist arrested in Japan for defacing a religious shrine by carving into gate with his fingernails

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/american-tourist-arrested-japan-shrine-b2647899.html

????????????????

Great news for cultural exchanges and some much needed boosts to the economy.

Hopefully the tourists really enjoy their time in Japan.

The media wants to distract from the fact that only a tiny minority of Japanese property holders are actually benefiting from this tourism boom.

Exactly! Tourism is less than 1% of GDP. Japan does not need tourism. Foreign companies need it. Not the Japanese people.

Great news for cultural exchanges

Foreigner ‘nuisance dance videos’ shot in Japan drawing attention

https://www.tokyoreporter.com/japan-news/foreigner-nuisance-dance-videos-shot-in-japan-drawing-attention/

Great news for cultural exchanges ????????

I wonder if tourism would win an open vote with the Japanese people.

*Pop-culture**: visiting famous spots from games and anime, maid cafes in Akiba, etc. Perhaps the number one reason?*

Good point, I'd overlooked that. Probably a result of seeing too many foreigners in Akihabara dressed up like anime characters despite being about ten sizes too big for it. That kind of trauma takes time to dissipate.

Foreign visitors to Japan top 33 mil in Jan-Nov,

But are they not afraid of Japan's hostage justice system? But why do they want to visit a xenophobic country run by old men???