national

Annual number of foreign visitors to Japan tops 10 mil at fastest pace

22 Comments

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

© KYODO

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

22 Comments
Login to comment

Great news! As China becomes wealthier, this trend will likely escalate to hectic levels unseen before. Tokyo desperately needs to sort out its massive hotel shortage or at least open up rental properties for sublet on Airbnb, etc. otherwise we will see absurd hotel prices in the near future, maybe even towards the end of this year

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Further evidence that we DO NOT need casinos. There are already as many tourists flocking here as we can handle. Please do not add to the misery of the local population with more opportunities for gambling claiming it will "help bring in more tourists".

2 ( +2 / -0 )

" Pukey2 May 20 09:29 pm JST

Ossan: Stop with this Uncle Tom act and take those rose-tinted glasses off. Miniscule, maybe, but very vocal and visible. Hell, we all know what your beloved Abe thinks of the Koreans and Chinese. And the company he keeps forces children to say they hate the Chinese and Koreans in kindergartens. Now THAT'S disgraceful. I don't need to do any painting. These vocal right-wingers do that by themselves, and most Japanese let them get away with it."

The right-wingers are MINISCULE compared to the rest of the population. Furthermore they don't cause any problems other than to people like you. Abe, beloved or not received a standing ovation from both houses of Congress. I doubt you compare.

"These tourists are helping to prop up the economy here."

Of course they are, just as Japanese investment and trade is helping the Chinese economy. None of which calls for your cries of racism.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

see the budget travellers (mainly western) emerging from their backpackers and airBnB digs, off to the combini or supa for their bananas and 100yen coffee for breakfast, pot noodles for lunch and a six pack for drinking on the river before okinomiyaki for dinner. thats about 2000yen a day, plus 1000yen for bicycle hire. so japan can be cheap.

Unfortunately, most of my Japanese friends complain they can't go out to dinner much anymore, the price has gone up about 25%, suddenly occurring the same time as the abundance of English menus.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

The Japanese are considered insular as a society and perceived (rightly or wrongly) as being unfriendly to English-speaking people.

True I noticed that a lot in Tokyo and Osaka then went to the Kyushu Region and had a great time

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Not my experience. Even in regard to Tokyo.

Me neither, in both Tokyo and in the countryside.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

The Japanese are considered insular as a society and perceived (rightly or wrongly) as being unfriendly to English-speaking people.

Not my experience. Even in regard to Tokyo.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

I for one would Love to Visit Japan to meet my face book friends But cannot afford it .

I think Japan is a Wonderful country with many unique Qualities and old world charm places to visit especially the old temples and the verities of food available also from what i can see most Japanese welcome visitors as the revenue brought into the country helps the survival of those providing services and to those that open their homes to paying visitors.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Agree with Trevor about the sheer distance/time involved and he's only talking about 10 hours. Few North American travelers would be so lucky. My family recently visited and to get from the US East Coast to Osaka, door to door, it took them more than 20 hours. They could have flown direct to London in 7 hrs (not much further than a flight to LA). And that flight to the UK would have been 400$ cheaper per person.

66 million Americans traveled abroad last year but 37 million stayed within N. America. I'm sure plenty of Koreans and Chinese and Thais would love to go to New York or Toronto but a much shorter and cheaper hop to Tokyo sounds more appealing.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

 3. The Japanese are considered insular as a society and perceived (rightly or wrongly) as being unfriendly to English-speaking people.

Well China gets over 4 times the tourists per year and when has it ever been perceived as a country friendly to English-speaking people?

4 ( +7 / -3 )

Ossan: Stop with this Uncle Tom act and take those rose-tinted glasses off. Miniscule, maybe, but very vocal and visible. Hell, we all know what your beloved Abe thinks of the Koreans and Chinese. And the company he keeps forces children to say they hate the Chinese and Koreans in kindergartens. Now THAT'S disgraceful. I don't need to do any painting. These vocal right-wingers do that by themselves, and most Japanese let them get away with it.

These tourists are helping to prop up the economy here.

-1 ( +5 / -6 )

" Pukey2 Today 08:36 pm JST

All this despite the hatred toward the Chinese and Korean by some people and politicians in Japan. Don't bite the hand that feeds. One day, that money will all disappear."

Such "hatred" is miniscule compared to the entire population. In fact I can say it's less than most other countries. Certainly far less than China and South Korea. Your persistent efforts to paint Japan as a racist country are disgraceful, not to mention contradictory to the experience of the vast majority of foreigners.

3 ( +8 / -5 )

I see the bulk of the inbound tourists are still from other Asian nations its a pity that Western Tourists don't see Japan as a Tourist destination but at least it hasn't been ruined like Thailand

Let me see, biggest reason...it aint cheap to visit Japan as a tourist. It's not like you are going to find a way to tour Japan for a $ a day. (Not mentioning a host of other reasons....)

2 ( +4 / -2 )

All this despite the hatred toward the Chinese and Korean by some people and politicians in Japan. Don't bite the hand that feeds. One day, that money will all disappear.

3 ( +7 / -4 )

I've always been received very well by people in Japan. I've traveled there 9 times already and there is nowhere where I've felt people were unfriendly. As a matter of fact, I've made quite a few friends there and in Onomichi, I've had the pleasure to be the first non-Japanese person an entire family has had the pleasure to meet. And I say pleasure because they've mentioned to others that I was like "a friend they've known for a long time. My children really liked him very much. He was very approachable and even through the language barrier, my children (13 and 10) were very comfortable with him [me]."

From the disaster area (Minamisanriku to Kesennuma) to Kagoshima to Matsue and Tottori to Otaru and Yoichi, I have not once felt I wasn't welcomed there. I've tried very hard to be cordial and very aware of my behavior when dealing with the local populace. I am a guest and should behave as such.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

It is very good for the Japanese Economy but Japan needs to Make the Visitors spend and spend more on electronic goods cloths also site seeing to help out with employment of those that have no work.available other than tourism.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Trevor, I disagree with point number 2. Japan may seem expensive this year because the Canadian dollar tanked. But as someone who frequently goes to Western Canada, I have been quite shocked at the high prices in Canada in the past. It varies year to year. I will agree Japan is cheaper than Central America. But Japan and Central America are such totally different types of destinations, I can't see where they compete.

I do see a good number of Western tourists, but it's only natural that tourists from nearby countries would be predominant. That's the case for tourist destinations almost everywhere.

4 ( +7 / -3 )

It makes far more sense that tourism would encompass local nations. Let's not confuse tourists with those on longer stays or working holiday visas that would encompass people from further afield

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Japan is improving though. Do you have any proof of no.3?

1 ( +5 / -4 )

@AndrewCrisp, take this from a western Canadian who has visited Japan every year for more than ten years, for between six and eight weeks each time:

The reasons Western tourists don't see Japan as a (major) tourist destination are simple - 1. Japan is a ten-hour flight from Vancouver, the closet western North American city to Japan, and in less than half that time we can fly to Cuba, Mexico, or almost anywhere on the continent where there's lots to see and do. 2. Japan is more expensive than North or Central American countries. 3. The Japanese are considered insular as a society and perceived (rightly or wrongly) as being unfriendly to English-speaking people.

That last one's the killer. And in my experience, it's only a perception but it's real.

6 ( +13 / -7 )

By country and region in April, visitors from South Korea came first at 554,600, followed by China at 528,800, Taiwan at 413,300, and Hong Kong at 209,400.

I see the bulk of the inbound tourists are still from other Asian nations its a pity that Western Tourists don't see Japan as a Tourist destination but at least it hasn't been ruined like Thailand

-7 ( +6 / -13 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites