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Yubaru
Damn, 50 MILLION yen for this? Aren't the answers quite obvious? I mean outside of a movie, or kabuki, or the occasional concert, folks, foreign or domestic pretty much go to the same types of establishments.
Waste of damn money!
WA4TKG
I can make this a whole lot easier on you to figure out.
Here’s your answer, the cost of ANYTHING is TOO high in Japan.
Period.
When you consider the cost of buying a can of soda from anywhere is practically a $1, US, or MORE than a $1AUS, I think it’s pretty obvious.
Nevermind actually EATING a dinner in a restaurant.
No wonder the lines in junk food restaurants is always LONG, no matter the type....with both foreign & domestic customers.
JeffLee
Get the industries that benefit directly to pay for the survey. My Tokyo municipal tax bill last year was the highest ever, and I don't want a repeat this year.
Cricky
50mil that's just one politicians base salery or 25 part time workers shared salery we will have to wait and see where the money goes. I'm pretty sure that surprisingly tourists eat at restaurants, visit temples, go shopping looking for quirky items. Or nappies some for the snow. Guess I just made 50mil yen.
since1981
Wonder how much of that 50 mil. goes into someone's pocket! Complete waste of tax payer's money. My wife and I traveled from LA to Grand Canyon (made it a 4 day 3 night drive) and the total cost of hotels, about 3-4,000 yen per night, (per room, not person) isn't even close to the cost of one night stay in and around Tokyo. They don't need to spend 50 mil. to research this! Don't government officials know how to use Google?
gelendestrasse
Why would the government use google when they can give Y50M to one of their cronies to do a survey. The best way to save money in Tokyo is to get out of town....
kurisupisu
Encourage tourists to spend more?
Make more signs in Chinese....
mitoguitarman
Recruit the experts in Roppongi & Kabukicho to help
Yubaru
Tokyo to encourage foreign tourists to splurge on nightlife
Suggestions for encouraging tourists to "splurge" more on nightlife!
Make a law that beer can only be sold at ¥300 or less for a mug. (REAL beer not that dai-san or happoshu swill)
(Feel free to add your own!)Patricia Yarrow
A better idea that to encourage tourists and the millions of people who actually live here would be to 100% BAN SMOKING INDOORS. Nothing less attractive than having to bet one's life and peace of mind by entering a cancer-laden smoke-filled establishment. I reuse to and those izakaya and restaurants and coffee joints do not get my ¥¥¥. Join the rest of the civilized world, Japan.
Luddite
Visitors feel they are going to get ripped off, and often are, so it puts them off venturing out. Also, due to language issues many won't venture into an izakaya and end up at more expensive places or ripoff bars.
Ex_Res
Tourists are not exactly going to splash out in a city where night-life establishments display signs saying "Japanese Only".
Chris Jiang
how can gov make ppl speak more English? And make kabuki open to foreigner that makes a whole lot of sense
Schopenhauer
I could not believe my eyes at the picture. It is the notorious sin city Kabukicho in Shinjuku. I hear syphilis is sharply increasing in recent Japan.
Tokyo-Engr
@Patricia - I agree the smoking ban would be huge!
@Ex-Res - I have not seen a Japanese only sign in years; actually more than a decade. I guess these signs are only in certain districts
My thoughts is Japan needs to get out of the Showa era...some places are still stuck in the time when all space was used for the purpose of some task (i.e. the balconies on most mansions or apartments...designed to dry clothes rather than sit and enjoy). Let restaurants set up outdoor seating where patrons can enjoy a beer as is done in Europe, make use of some of the waterways in the bayside area to allow folks to sit by the water and have a meal or glass of wine, etc.
So much of Japan is still stuck in the Showa manufacturing bubble time and I feel the world is passing Japan by in many ways because of this mentality.
FizzBit
Had this happen to me once, and the restaurant wasn't even that fancy. Never again.
DaDude
I remember several years ago I was walking near Shinjuku Station and a few ladies were passing out tissues with advertisements of their "night" establishments. They gave tissues to each person that walked by but when I reached my hand out for a tissue, they said "gomen nasai." They did not give them to foreigners I hear because they figured they couldn't speak Japanese and/or understand the payment system. Did this ever happen to anyone?
philly1
As a person travelling solo and interested in doing more in the evening than sitting in a shoe box hotel room or walking some more on aching legs and sore feet from sight seeing in the daytime, I spend most of my entertainment budget on food or spa treatments. I have also attended concerts and the opera. In the winter I visit light up locations and gardens as well. Museums and galleries are generally day time ventures.
I speak English (and cannot speak or read Japanese) information about events is hard to find. I rely on Time Out Tokyo, Gaijin Pot and Savvy Tokyo. These I read online as well as pick up a print copy of TOT when I get here. However, when I get to the Japanese websites for the various events I'm stumped. Few offer English or other languages.
Therefore, I can't buy a ticket on line and must physically visit the box office and there deal with my minimal Japanese and the other person's minimal English. I have no idea what the process is like for Koreans, Chinese, Germans or anyone else not fluent in the language.
The money for the survey would be better spent on funding the organizations which are already getting the information out to non-Japanese. Fund them to increase the size of their publications, to hire skilled translators and publish editions in more than one language--even if only online versions and Event Apps.
Tokyo-Engr
@philly1 - Best comment on here......maybe the Japanese government should save the research money and read your comment and then use the money that would be used for "research" to implement what your comment suggests
sf2k
Just be yourself, don't be cheap, and don't give in to tourist traps
pacint
I enjoy going to life-houses, fairly cheap(one free drink) and some good music can be had.
Shimokitazawa has some great ones, friends who play in amateur bands often use them.
Ex_Res
DaDude
Yes. Years ago such things were common, and considered the norm.
In those days however, they were nortissues handed out, but usually books of matches with the establishment name on them.
So sad to hear such incidents still go on. It is taking Japan a very long time to become a normal 21st century country.
pacint
Happens to Japanese as well.
Try as a male to collect tissue/flyers that advertise female beauty shops.
Recall once walking outside Ikebukuro Kabukicho with my wife who experienced a call of nature.
Now public toilets are well known to be short of 'white gold', so she tried to grab some tissues only to be told those advertise male entertainment.
She told him don't matter and she wants some in her Nagoya dialect, walked off with 4 packs.
Goodlucktoyou
So you are a foreign tourist, have a few beers before going out, then need a toilet. If you are super lucky you can find one, only to find no western style toilet! No toilet paper. Same number of toilets but 19million more tourists. Best to stay in your room and use the free wifi.
Jimizo
I sometimes go eating and drinking in Kabukicho. Some great and reasonably priced places to eat and drink along with the kind of places you are talking about.
A good night out. My wife loves it.
Ex_Res
Pacint
Good one. Your wife is the winner on that one.
Dadude
How about this one. Many years ago I persuaded a young man man handing out flyers for a "club" to give me the flyers plus 3000 yen to hand them out for him. He agreed. The reactions were unbelievable - shock, astonishment, anger, laughter etc.
Still, I managed to get rid of all 100 flyers.
The thing I enjoyed most was the faces of the "local" Japanese doormen. (With the signs on the door "Japanese )".
Just thought I would share that one. Hope that I am not off topic.
Moderator
Back on topic please.
NCIS Reruns
Sex tourism will happen here anyway when legal casinos go into operation, since the high rollers like to party after they leave the tables.
But seeing as how the sex business is mostly part of the underground economy, the government doesn't have much incentive to promote it.
Ex_Res
DaDude
Of course one of these "local" doormen with the "Japanese Only" sign on the door did approach me and predictably said "this is Japan".
I replied. "My goodness, is that so. And I thought that I was in Timbuktu".
NZ2011
Ban Smoking
Encourage establishments to print at least the most popular items in multiple languages.
(Perhaps some of that waste of 50 Mill could go to send registered eateries a translation guide)
Publicly shame and fine anywhere that rejects people simply based on their appearance (it happens)
More Public Toilets
Later Trains
Aussieboy
Remove the African street totes that are out to rip you off in Roppongi and Kabukicho for starters.
simon g
People smoking in eateries and bars is a real turn off.
Last train is too early. Have a Yamanote train every 5o minutes or so to make moving around easier.
Send the aggressive touts back home after one warning.
More information in tourists local languages would help.
Many Japanese aren't pleased with the Chinese tourists and that vibe is a chill.
katsu78
I don't know that I agree. I often feel like Japanese restaurants and bars tend to be built around tiny insular cliques of friends, whereas American restaurants bars are more open affairs, more openly advertised and more frequently enabling mingling between customers.
I don't know that we need to cater to foreign tourists' interests though. They've got to represent a tiny pool of cash compared to what locals could theoretically spend if employers would just pay out some raises and give their staff enough time off to spend it.
Ex_Res
Simon g
Most Japanese aren't pleased with the Chinese tourists.
Interesting. Japan wants more tourists, but we are not pleased with you. In other words we don't like you but please come and spend your money here.
How did Japan ever get awarded the Olympic game?
Luddite
Yes, the smoking in bars and restaurants would put off many tourists, it puts my husband and I off when we go out. Also the Japanese only rubbish still exists in places, I've seen the signs in the back streets of Sannomiya but, fortunately, many places in Kobe and Osaka have visitor friendly signs in various languages. I've been refused entry to places; my husband goes in, all is fine, I follow then suddenly it's the very rude and aggressive crossed arms and 'we're closing'.
yoshisan88
A few years ago the Chinese tourists went bonkers while shopping in Japan. It was so crazy that the word '爆買い ' (explosive buying) was created to describle their behaviour. Due to many factors things are going back to normal. The drop is 11.5% in 2016 and just 1.3% in 2017. Considering overall tourist numbers increased 19.3%. There is no need to panic.
kohakuebisu
50 million yen of research, but the ultimate aim is just to write some advice on the Tokyo Met Government's website. Nice job if you can get it.
The vast majority of tourists to Japan, and the biggest spenders, are Asians on sightseeing/shopping trips, but something tells me that the majority of the budget will not be spent talking to them or their agents, or writing advice in their languages on the website.
Wallace Fred
Im curious what the economy would do without chinese tourist money. This all smells of desperation seeing as abes arrows failed to find flight.
smithinjapan
“Chinese tourists, the largest source of foreign visitors to Japan who account for a fourth of the total, have cut back on spending”
No doubt, with so many people here griping about them. Guess the government ‘s starting so realize it’s better to cater to people’s interests then pooping wear you eat. Your average racist never will, but oh well.
Peter Bowie
One word...
Casinos
smithinjapan
It’s a LOT more tourist-friendly than when I came, not accounting for my fluency in Japanese. Biggest problem is the lack of backbone when it comes to cracks mg down on smoking, and ability to take constructive criticism and use it to improve. I’m quite sure this will just run into another “What do you love about us?” With pamphlets released quoting praise, while criticism for what’s lacking will see the usual, “You’re not Japanese and cant understand,” defensiveness and inability to change.
ASK them what they like and want; don’t tell them what they should.
ZENJI
Yes and No. Loud noisy European Tourists invading your favourite restaurant or bar is not fun.
The money tourists leave behind is good.
Selfish yes! My chosen place is kind of, off limits, to Internationals.
My space to hang out with my locals.
Selfish yes!
itsonlyrocknroll
Hi Jimizo, however, do tourists have your knowledge and cultural understanding of cuisine?
Also your ability to put one foot in front of another, and not stumble into a den of unwanted naughtiness, emerging with underwear on back to front?
To understand the nuisances of Japan hostess skills, that have the ability to open a purse or wallet almost telepathically. Tourists have to be protected against a charm offensive that is impossible to resist.
Beauty and a temptation to capitulate to or from a bouquet of simple but abstract boutonnière.
There is a mystic impulse that only Tokyo can offer, to succumb to a recklessness.....No , an indulgence from an aroma that cannot be appeased.
To reach out and not be able to touch, that wanton intemperate pleasure . It is not for the tourist on a budget. Yes!
stepoutsidethebox
"aiming to better cater to their interests while encouraging them to spend," transportation that doesn't stop at 11pm. What happened to being able to go out and party till 2 or 3 am. I don't want to have to take a 10,000 yen taxi across town to get back to my hotel. One of the first things that surpised me so much when I came to Japan back in the day is how early the city goes to sleep. Even Tokyo. Unless you have a hotel in the district you are drinking or going out in, you need to head back at like 10 or 10:30 unless you want to get stuck on the shuden. And anyone who has been on the shuden in Tokyo will tell you, never again!
qazwsx
I believe the drop in Chinese spending has much more to do with the Chinese government's recent crackdown on how much their citizens can spend and take abroad. Currency flight is a huge problem for their government. Totally out of the control of Tokyo.
Nevertheless, for the general tourist:
non smoking indoors
late night transportation
credit card acceptance at more places
Shows other than robot restaurant at night
no touts
more promotion of delivery services to hotel and airports
cheaper hotel rooms
simon g
It smells a little sweaty and went through Singapore. Maybe they should just pass out shopping tickets for "made in Japan" purchases to non Japanese at Narita.
Gobshite
Followed by, "Unprecedented number of arrests after foreigners splurge on Tokyo nightlife"
Not many of us like kabuki you know...
Strangerland
Have you been to Aus? In Syney, you won't pay less than $3 for a can of soda in the combini, and mixed drink or a beer run about $10. Japan is cheap in comparison to Sydney. And Sydney does just fine with tourism.
Strangerland
Oops. In a bar they run this much, not a combini.
gaijintraveller
Ban smoking in any establishment selling food.
Make some of the spurious charges such as table, seat, charm added to bills in bars illegal. Enforce the clear display of charges such as tax and service on menus and windows displays. Japan is the country in Asia I feel most likely to be overcharged for drinks in a bar. Kabukicho bars are more likely to do this than bars in countries that have a reputation for seedy establishment.
Encourage places to have English and other common languages on the menus. Pictures and window displays are useful, but more is needed. Family restaurants seem to be leading the way in this respect.
Don't shout at customers. Foreigners consider it rude. We are not deaf. Izakaya are notable offenders in this respect.
Please don't have more unnecessary recored announcements in more languages. There are already too many.
gogogo
Get drunk, spend money
LandofExcuses
Don't swarm a customer as soon as he or she enters your shopping establishment. Give your customers a chance to browse without being harassed. If someone has a question or would like additional service, they will ask. Otherwise, back the eff off.
buchailldana
A lot of foreigners like to go clubbing. How about reforming g the inane restaurant that govern dancing after midnight!!!
DocCarlos
As an example to use what tourists like. They like Diversity and a mix of cultures. International areas with variety. Lets take a look at Singapore and their entertainment and dining areas.
The foods are everything and 1/2 are Singapore specialties. Everything is open air and indoor commons.
Attractive areas open space and covered area and many clubs with people mingling from one to another.
No fees and added costs. many types of bar foods all night. Music is from rock to blues to jazz to folk. Ethnics of Spanish, Cuban and Hispanic dance clubs to salsa all night. Discos and Hip-Hop all around. Everywhere the music is live and no cover charges.
The best it all located in central areas where driving is not required and a lot of Subway, bus and taxi services.
The place has all representatives of every nationality, Religion, race creed and color and sexuality.
You need to have a place that unites all travelers, ex pats and locals to mix and realize we are all Humans and we can live as one. No racism and bigotry only a place of harmony and well being. That is what all want for an entertainment venue
itsonlyrocknroll
Hi Strangerland, that $10 aus dollar beer is £5.20/50 ish in London, where beer is served in a pint glass and no fake tides out sham, the pots are marked.
englisc aspyrgend
Q - The Tokyo government plans to spend up to 50 million yen to conduct the survey in fiscal 2018 on what foreign tourists like to do at night in the capital,
A - Alcohol and sex.
itsonlyrocknroll
In Kochi it is ¥850 for a proper beer in a glass one can wave. but still I moan about the fact the bar keeper seems to face the beach because the tides always out . Fill to the top I don't want to come away sporting a conversation with a frothy tash.....And more happy hours , at hours when people are happy.
Marcofantyn Alfonso
LOL ,no thank you.
Jimizo
I’m a Brit. I pity anyone who has anything lower than me.
There are some dodgy places in Kabukicho, but I’d recommend it to anyone with half a brain. My wife and I have had a good time with some of the off-duty hostesses in the bars and restaurants. Your drink and food ends up tasting of perfume if you sit too close, but they are generally good sorts.
A good night out.
Bamboozler
It's all about communication with the customer. Phew, where to start on these 60+ comments...
Language: Most tourists will not have a great command of written Japanese. There are plenty websites for foreigners, eg JNTO, but many tourists will inevitably gravitate to recognisable global brands if they cannot see "English/Chinese/Multi-language menu" signs. Given the notoriously generous Japanese tax allowances, any establishment that wanted to translate its menus, adverts etc into other languages could easily offset the entire translation, presentation, website coding costs for tax purposes. The metro government should simply nudge the business owners in this direction. Prices. You can lunch handsomely in central Tokyo for ¥1,000 and dine comfortably for well under ¥4,000. But if you want to splash out ¥20k and up, Tokyo has those opportunities too. Caveat emptor. Toilets: They're clearly signposted everywhere in Tokyo, department stores, stations, supermarkets... And always clean and free. Try finding a free one in France, or an unvandalised one in England. Count your blessings. "Japanese only" signs. Not seen one in Tokyo for ages. Go somewhere else. Tokyo is seething with entertainment opportunities. Late trains: if you can afford multi-hour Tokyo entertainment sessions that end at 2am, then you can afford a taxi back home. Tourists tend not to be staying 90 minutes' train ride away. Smoking: personally, as an ex-smoker, I support smoke free. But without enforcement, bar owners will not want to scare their existing clientele away. Globally, much research shows that takings were up after a smoking ban was enforced, but without a supportive legal framework, it won't happen. My money's on still saying this five years from now for Japan.TigersTokyoDome
smithinjapan and I don't always see eye to eye. But when things are said that I agree with then I hold my hand up and agree. When I arrived in the year 2000 taxis in Tokyo would drive right past me. And the smoking-in-restaurants nonsense has got me fighting with people on many occasions. I can't wait until 2020 when western Olympic tourists are sat in an izakaya or yakitoriya in Tokyo and the idiot next to them starts smoking all over them..
Kag
Most retail shops close at 8 or 9pm it kind of reduces the chance for shoppers to actually stay out too late.
The suddenly price jump between lunch and dinner prices is also a huge deterrent for people to dine at a fancier place.
The limitation of having to take expensive taxis at night adds to the costs of staying out late.
Other minor things like hour limits, no walk-ins, shops which don't show advertise much certainly adds to some amount of difficulty.
Toasted Heretic
Litter bins; it gets a bit confusing for some on first arrival. The recycling bins are a great idea but I fear there may be an excess of trash in 2020.
Speaking of which, the one thing that puts people off is the loud boorish bluster of the frat types (who seem to be anywhere between the ages of 20-40) who you can hear a mile away. They give the rest of us gaijin a bad name.
Luddite
Litter bins aren't a good idea as terrorists like to put bombs in them, not a good idea in busy areas and certainly shouldn't be around for the Olympics.
Catalin Dragan
As an European from Romania I always dreamed to visit Tokyo. But comming from a low income country, a vizit with my whife and child would cost me around 10months worth of salaries. That is alot...
Strangerland
Yeah lunches in Tokyo are cheap compared to other major cities in the world. Tokyo is expensive but while the rest of the world has gotten much more expensive over the past 20 years, Japan prices have remained mostly flat, making Japan more affordable.
starpunk
If I were to visit Tokyo I'd go see the historical and cultural sights, and I'd love to check out the nightlife. I'd like to go shopping and get some good deals. I'd especially stock up on some good legit compact discs, some of them have bonus tracks and I love looking at the liner notes and bilingual lyric sheets. Also there are some Japan-only album releases too.
Strangerland
They already changed the name to 思い出横丁 (おもいでよこちょう omoide yokochou - "Memory Lane"), so the name 'piss alley' will soon be mostly lost to history.
Nippori Nick
"Japanese only" signs. Not seen one in Tokyo for ages
But I show you one in Narita about 2 blocks from the train station. Not very welcoming at all.
BigCeltic1977
What is meant by the word “nightlife”? Prostitution? Pub snacks? Soaplands? Imagination Clubs? Fashion Health? Karaoke? Dance clubs?
Simon Foston
What are the actual options for paying for things in Tokyo? Are there 24-hour cash machines everywhere and do most places accept cards as well as cash? Where I am if you haven't filled up your wallet with a wad of notes you might as well forget about splurging on a night out.
Myhumbletake
Tourists come to have fun and make good memories. Tokyo nightlife is dull. Legalize prostitution and allow nightclubs to serve all night.
englisc aspyrgend
I have found free toilets in France and the pay ones were not that expensive; I have not come across a vandalised public toilet for a couple of decades. Not saying it does not happen but it is way less common than you make out.
Ah_so
The fact that the average spend per tourist is dropping a little while the overall numbers coming in expands a lot is hardly surreptitiously. The expansion means more of the type of tourist who have less money to splash out.
Japan is becoming a very standard destination in Asia these days and the less wealthy are coming in great numbers.
thepersoniamnow
Japan could make trains free for tourists :)
Nan Ferra
DocCarlosJan. 21 07:51 pm JST
As an example to use what tourists like. They like Diversity and a mix of cultures. International areas with variety. Lets take a look at Singapore and their entertainment and dining areas."
Just dont chew gum or your in for a whupping!
macv
@ pacint try What The Dickens in Ebisu has a different band nightly closed Mondays.
talaraedokko
Simon g
Most Japanese aren't pleased with the Chinese tourists.
Interesting. Japan wants more tourists, but we are not pleased with you. In other words we don't like you but please come and spend your money here.
How did Japan ever get awarded the Olympic game?
I thought they bought them.
shogun36
Here are some free tips for the government if they really wanna open up tourism in Japan, and you don't have to pay for my opinions.
Ban smoking in public areas. And actually enforce the bans. If people wanna smoke, they can do it in their house.
Have stores NOT close at 8 PM. Make it a little more realistic like 10 or 11 PM.
Have last trains at 1 or 2 am instead of before midnight.
Lower prices across the board. Taxis and hotels are insane. Food, forget it.
(The attitudes and signs still do exist in certain areas) Don't refuse customers that are actually willing to pay for your items or services, money is money.
Allow videos and pictures be taken, anywhere at anytime. These photo bans are absurd. What's the point? Do you guys ever hear about "word of mouth" or "free promotions?"
Cater to domestic as well as foreign travelers. It's WAY more expensive to travel to Tokyo than it is to South Korea from where I am. I rather take my money to the better deal. Allow shinkansen rail passes to domestic residents and they will buy.
Promote OTHER places outside of Tokyo. Everyone and their mama knows all about Tokyo, we get it. Get people to visit Okinawa, Kyushu and Hokkaido as well. Spread the wealth throughout the country.I'm sure there are a lot more ideas, but I gotta get back to work here.......
Thunderbird2
Doesn't bother me that much... not really into night life on holiday - I might spend time with my girlfriend (when she isn't making her son's dinner), or my Japanese friends, but I'm not into concerts, boozing, soaplands, bars or whatever. :)