Japan saw record 17.78 mil foreign visitors in 1st half of 2024

It sure felt overcrowded with toursts. Still does.

Japan saw a record 17.78 million foreign visitors in the first half of 2024, with a weak yen also boosting spending to a new quarterly high of around 2.1 trillion yen in April-June, a government source said Thursday.

And you can see the gold lining the streets and the prosperity beaming from the faces of all the people you pass on the street.

One good thing will be the tourists from China and South Korea returning to home countries with positive views of Japan and Japanese.

This has to be a positive.

Over tourism is good for Japanese economy right?

https://japantoday.com/category/features/travel/overtourism-in-japan-and-what-it-means-for-visitors

I’ve been getting a few dirty looks from the oyajis as I cycle my. Romp tonight around town.

Maybe I should buy a cheaper convenience?

It sure felt overcrowded with toursts.

In Shibuya or Kyoto, sure. But the hot spring areas and other spots in Tochigi, Gumma and Fukushima, not to mention the Tohoku region, are quiet and empty during the week. Non-Japanese tourists are extremely rare in so many places throughout Japan. Sometimes we don't see a single one during an entire trip.

People who love Japan and are spending money throughout their stay.

Welcome!

One good thing will be the tourists from China and South Korea returning to home countries with positive views of Japan and Japanese.

Since when have Chinese ever been positive about Japan? Even those who have visited Japan. Most South Koreans already admire Japan - just the few easily brainwashed over there don't.

Anyway, congrats Japan - may the boom continue! Win-win for the massive tourism and hospitality industry.

Or even people who are mildly interested in Japan. I mean, I don't have to "love" the countries I have visited and spent money in. I can't even imagine what it means.

People who are mildly interested in Japan, and spend money throughout their stay.

Welcome!

I don’t get it. I don’t see what’s attracting so many foreign tourists to Japan. There’s no Versailles, no pyramids, no Great Wall. A stronger yen will drive those tourists away.

I don’t get it. I don’t see what’s attracting so many foreign tourists to Japan. There’s no Versailles, no pyramids, no Great Wall. A stronger yen will drive those tourists away.

These are Asian people. In many of their nations - such as Korea and China - the vast majority of historical buildings have been (often purposely) destroyed.

Japanese ancient temples, shrines and castles are unique to them.

I don’t get it. I don’t see what’s attracting so many foreign tourists to Japan.

You kidding? (we the) residents may be critic to many aspects of Japan life, but it's one of the most interesting places to visit in the world; the culture, food, temples and mega cities with so many unique things to see.

It's also safe, polite and very easy to navigate. Families with kids welcome that. The cheap yen just makes it easier to come.

I don’t get it.

That's OK...This is about them...and Japan not you

""Japan saw a record 17.78 million foreign visitors in the first half of 2024, with a weak yen also boosting spending to a new quarterly high of around 2.1 trillion yen in April-June, a government source said Thursday.""

So Much for the argument that a weak yen is harming Japan.

Keepem Coming.

""The surge in visitors has created various challenges for Japan, including how to attract tourists to lesser known regions, and mitigating issues brought by overtourism, such as traffic congestion and unfamiliarity with Japanese etiquette.""

Non Sense.

Only those who are not benefiting are doing the most complaining. like any other tourist attraction in Europe, USA, Canada, Asia, and so on.

NHK news last night stated one of the causes of the recent rise in the price of rice was the record numbers of tourists coming to Japan.

You know - they are eating so much rice that it's put pressure on demand - lol.

What kind of journalism plays these tracks???

In my area the increase in visitors has certainly been a boom for local businesses. Hotels, restaurants, bus companies, shops in the malls......everywhere it seems the tills are ticking over.

Not too many complaining I think.

Great news..

This is good for Japan's economy..

Keep coming, and behave well..

too too too many tourists. i am getting sick everytime travelling to Tokyo for meeting. Luckily i am not doing it often, i felt sympathy toward those working/living in Tokyo.

Fighto's oppositional defiance on show again.

2019 saw 9 million CHINESE TOURISTS to Japan.

Is that because the Chinese dont like Japan, and are travelling here to confirm a pre existing view. ?

Think.

I've seen a huge jump in foreign tourists in the usual places like Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto but haven't seen much of a return in the countryside here.

It feels like there were more tourists, pre-Covid, visiting these parts than now. I wonder why that is.

I've seen a huge jump in foreign tourists in the usual places like Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto but haven't seen much of a return in the countryside here.

The reason is simply because the majority of these record tourist numbers are first time Japan visitors. They wish to see all the famous places in Kyoto-Osaka-Tokyo first - and fair enough. Skytree, Disney, Senso-ji, Kinkaku-ji, Fushimi Inari Taisha, Doton-bori etc.

On their subsequent visits from next year, many will go to the less-visited places- the Hokkaidos, Okinawas, Kyushus etc. You will definitely start seeing more "off the beaten track" next year - which will be a massive boost to the regions.

Yeah...lets state the obvious.

First time visitors to ANYWHERE usually go the well worn path.

Maybe, on second or third trips, they'll go somewhere less known.

Dont need a Phd to know these things.

I love living in the middle of nowhere

MeiyouwentiToday  07:43 am JST

I don’t get it. I don’t see what’s attracting so many foreign tourists to Japan. There’s no Versailles, no pyramids, no Great Wall. A stronger yen will drive those tourists away.

I get that it is a small sampling, but I personally don’t know of anyone who chooses their vacation destination by the exchange rate of the local currency.

Does anyone know anybody personally that came to Japan due to weak yen?

These are Asian people. In many of their nations - such as Korea and China - the vast majority of historical buildings have been (often purposely) destroyed.

This is true. Kyoto itself is also mostly a gray city where many traditional buildings have been demolished, i.e., not destroyed for it by an air raid, but it still has more old buildings scattered about than many major destinations in Asia. Compared to Vienna or Paris, Kyoto has little remaining history and certainly won't be as nice as it was in say 1975 when far more machiya remained and the city still had an extensive tram network, but compared to Asian cities, there is still quite a bit of old stuff to see in 2024.

We have an extremely low yen, a forty-year low qualifies as "extremely low", and still have post-Covid pent-up demand for travel, so the rise is numbers should not be a surprise. Personally, I suspect we may be heading toward a saturation point where growth slows or stops. There is only so much demand out there.

Fighto!Today  11:11 am JST

I've seen a huge jump in foreign tourists in the usual places like Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto but haven't seen much of a return in the countryside here.

The reason is simply because the majority of these record tourist numbers are first time Japan visitors.

I see. That would help explain it.

Hopefully, your prediction that more tourists will come to "secondary" locales will come true because my rural, poor but beautiful area really needs and welcomes them.

Japan the only country with everything.

From mountain to beaches to festivals to modern tech to even sahara desert, just everything.

So i am definitely the next tourist this year and I will make sure that I will respect the Japanese culture and take my trash to wherever I stay.

I was in the back block of Akita in March, hiking and spotting for bears appearing from early hibernation. Around Ani there were very few tourist. I am returning in September. It will be interesting to see if international tourist have increased. It a very mountainous area with great access to fishing and great hiking.

Let's do the math. Average tourist/native ratio per month

Japan.................. 1 tourist/40 natives

France ............. 1 tourist/10 natives

When you look at the statistics also for other countries, Japan is not so very visited. So I don't know why such shouting and screaming.

Let's do the math. Average tourist/native ratio per month

Japan.................. 1 tourist/40 natives

France ............. 1 tourist/10 natives

Let's compare Japan, an island country far from Europe where people can visit several countries within a week and on the other side of the ocean from North America...with France...the world's number 1 tourist destination to make a claim that 17 million tourists in 6 months to an archipelago roughly the size of California...is no big deal

OK...I guess, but why? (I don't like anything positive being reported about Japan?)

@Mckluskie

I myself visiting Japan this august.

My point was that Japan is not overrun with tourists to make the locals feel uncomfortable. There are quite a few articles that mention this topic.

Number of overnight stays by international guests in Japan in 2023, by prefecture.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/759434/japan-international-hotel-guests-number-by-prefecture/#:~:text=In%202023%2C%20the%20number%20of,about%2018.48%20million%20overnight%20stays.

My point was that Japan is not overrun with tourists to make the locals feel uncomfortable. There are quite a few articles that mention this topic.

OK...my point is

Japan saw record 17.78 mil foreign visitors in 1st half of 2024

You know who other countries are living out of tourism in Asia? Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Cambodgia, etc.

Due to the Yen collapse and economy crash, Japan is slowly turning into a 3rd world Tourist destination country.

In terms of culture, China has a long history, but with each new dynasty there was destruction and massacres to deny the existence of the previous dynasty, and nothing remains.

Korea's historical and cultural level is short to begin with, and there are far fewer cultural and historical buildings compared to China and Japan.

Artifacts from China's Tang dynasty can be seen in Japan, and the layout of Kyoto itself imitates the layout of ancient Chinese dynasties. This is proof that Japanese people have always valued things.

You could say that Japan is a mixture of ancient Chinese culture, medieval Japanese style, and modern European culture.

If you can't find interest or concern in that, how boring must you be?

Here's the no. of stays info by prefecture, in Japanese but without a paywall.

https://honichinavi.com/guest2023/

kohakuebisuToday  09:04 pm JST

Here's the no. of stays info by prefecture, in Japanese but without a paywall.

Interesting, thank you.

And Ibaraki in 38th? That has to be a mistake. Too many. So disappointed.

47th is all Ibaraki can hope for. Please tourists, pretty please, with sugar and treacle, please don’t come here.

And Ibaraki in 38th? That has to be a mistake. Too many. So disappointed.

It is a mistake, your mistake. It’s in 36th.

Please tourists, pretty please, with sugar and treacle, please don’t come here.

Why wouldn't you want people to sample the delights of Ibaraki? I'm sure you have some fine dams there.

@Mirchy

You are thinking along the right lines. Also, folks need to understand these numbers are foreign visitors. The majority are not Tourists (based on numbers from pre-pandemic times). Also folks need to realize the average stay is only about 7-10 days.

So assume 3 Million visitors in a month (from June).

Assume 50-66% are tourists = 1.5-2.1 Million tourists per month.

If they stay a 10 days each (1/3 of the month)…. This is about 0.5-0.7 Million tourists at any given time in Japan.

Far less than 1% of Japan, closer to 1% of Tokyo. This is not even close to “over-tourism”.