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Tourism in Japan

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Mount Fuji, as seen from Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi
Crowds of tourists at Arayashima bamboo forest in Kyoto

Tourism in Japan is a major industry and contributor to the Japanese economy. In 2019, the sector directly contributed 11 trillion yen (US$100 billion), or 2% of the GDP, and attracted 31.88 million international tourists.[1][2][3]

There are 26 World Heritage Sites in Japan, including Himeji Castle, Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto and Nara. Popular attractions for foreigners include Tokyo and Osaka, Mount Fuji, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, ski resorts such as Niseko in Hokkaido, Okinawa, riding the Shinkansen and taking advantage of Japan's hotel and hotspring network.

The 2024 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report ranked Japan 3rd out of 141 countries overall, which was the highest in Asia. Japan gained relatively high scores in almost all of the featured aspects, such as health and hygiene, safety and security, cultural resources and business travel.[4]

History

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Throngs of tourists on their way to Himeji Castle in Himeji (WHS)

From the middle ages to early modern period

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In medieval Japan, travel became increasingly common with cultural and aristocratic figures from Kyoto, and they initiated the genre of travel literature in Japan. Notable examples of travel literature from this period include the Tosa Nikki (935), part of the Sarashina Nikki (12th century), and the volume 4 of the Tohazugatari (1313).[5] By the late medieval period, supported by a network of inns offering fixed-rate lodging and meals, travel was widespread. Hot springs such as Kusatsu, Arima, and Gero gained fame, attracting notable figures such as warriors and monks. Tourist souvenirs including ladles and toothpicks were popular among visitors. Pilgrimages to Mount Fuji also flourished.[6]

Travelling was popularised through travel literature and ukiyo-e

During the Edo period, despite restrictions on travelling through checkpoints, guidebooks facilitated the popularisation of travel. Commoners with permits could undertake leisure trips, often disguised as pilgrimages. Inns, teahouses, and local products thrived, and travel information spread via diaries and ukiyo-e prints. Pilgrimages such as the Ise Grand Shrine’s Okage Mairi became major social phenomena, marking the beginnings of a modern tourism industry. However, foreign travel was extremely rare due to Japan's isolation policy. Matsuo Bashō's 1689 trip to the then "far north" of Japan, which inspired his famous haibun work Oku no Hosomichi, occurred not long after Hayashi Razan categorized the Three Views of Japan in 1643. During this time, Japan was a closed country to foreigners, so no foreign tourism existed in Japan.

Meiji era and international tourism

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A 1930s travel advertisement by the Japanese Government Railways

Japan opened its borders in the late Edo period, but due to its location in the Far East and the limited transport options, there were not many foreign visitors. Foreigners eventually gained the freedom to travel within Japan, and efforts to actively attract international tourists began on the Japanese side. In 1912, the Japan Travel Bureau (JTB) was established. Another major milestone in the development of the tourism industry in Japan was the 1907 passage of the Hotel Development Law, as a result of which the Railways Ministry began to construct publicly owned hotels throughout Japan.[7] During the interwar period, overseas travel to distant places such as Europe and the Americas was primarily limited to businesspeople, immigrants, and students, with leisure travel being mostly reserved for the wealthy.

In terms of domestic tourism, the dismantling of the feudal system, the development of transport networks such as railways and steamships, and the spread of information made domestic travel easier. Tourism-oriented travel became increasingly popular, and regions across Japan began developing themselves for sightseeing and leisure purposes. Long-distance domestic travel became accessible.

Postwar period

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During the postwar Allied occupation period, most foreign tourists in Japan were GHQ personnel or visitors from the United States. In 1954, Konosuke Matsushita, the founder of Panasonic, contributed an article titled The Case for a Tourism-Oriented Nation to the Bungei Shunju. Matsushita argued that tourism could be considered a form of trade, and he pointed out that while exporting goods involves depleting Japan's resources, scenic attractions such as Mount Fuji and the Seto Inland Sea remain unchanged no matter how often they are viewed. He proposed that revenue earned through inbound tourism could be reinvested in other industries, and help rebuild the country's economy beyond its pre-war stature.[8]

The Visit Japan campaign, launched by the Koizumi administration in 2003 with the catchphrase 'Yokoso! Japan!', was the country's first government-backed initiative to promote inbound tourism.

For much of post-war period, Japan has been an exceptionally unattractive tourist destination for its population and GDP size. According to the IMF, WTO, and OECD, from 1995 to 2014, it was by far the least visited country.[9] As of 2013, Japan was one of the least visited countries in the OECD on a per capita basis.[10] Japan avoided campaigns to attract inbound tourists, especially because its large current account surplus had caused international friction with some countries. There were also the factor such as Japan being the world's most expensive countries at the time (for example, Tokyo was rated by the Economist Intelligence Unit as the most expensive city in the world for 14 years in a row ending in 2006), as well as the language barrier.[11]

Active promotion of inbound tourism (21st century)

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From 2013, under the Abe administration, policies to attract international tourists were implemented to offset the shrinking domestic demand caused by population decline and ageing. As a result, by 2014, for the first time in 55 years, income from foreign tourists exceeded the amount spent by Japanese tourists abroad, which means Japan finally ran a tourism surplus. Within six years, the number of international visitors has more than tripled, reaching 31.9 million visitors in 2019.[12]

Current status

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Domestic tourism remains a vital part of Japanese economy and Japanese culture. Across the nation, Japanese children in many middle schools see the highlight of their years as a visit to Tokyo Tower, Yomiuriland, Tokyo Disneyland, Sensō-ji, and/or Tokyo Skytree, and many high school students often visit Okinawa or Hokkaido. The extensive rail network together with domestic flights sometimes in planes with modifications to favor the relatively short distances involved in intra-Japan travel allows efficient and speedy transport. International tourism plays a smaller role in the Japanese economy compared to other developed countries; in 2013, international tourist receipts was 0.3% of Japan's GDP, while the corresponding figure was 1.3% for the United States and 2.3% for France. In 2019, the value was up to 1.0% of GDP, driven by an increase in international tourism, while the country's GDP has remained stable.[13][14]

Tourists from South Korea have made up the largest number of inbound tourists several times in the past. In 2010, their 2.4 million arrivals made up 27% of the tourists visiting Japan.[15] Travelers from China have been the highest spenders in Japan by country, spending an estimated 196.4 billion yen (US$2.4 billion) in 2011, or almost a quarter of total expenditure by foreign visitors, according to data from the Japan Tourism Agency.[16] From 2016 to 2020, Japanese government hoped to receive 40 million foreign tourists every year by 2020.[17] According to the Japan National Tourism Organization in 2017, 3 out of 4 foreign tourists came from other parts of East Asia, namely South Korea, mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.[18] Japanese film, TV, video game, and manga/anime industries play a role in driving tourism to Japan. In surveys held by Statista between 2019 and 2020, 24.2% of tourists from the United States, said they were motivated to visit Japan because of Japanese popular culture.[19]

Overtourism

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Following the easing of COVID-19-era travel restrictions, 2024 is on track to be a record-breaking year for the number of overseas tourists.[20] This tourism boom can be attributed in part to the weakening Japanese yen.[20] The unprecedented number of foreign tourists has led to claims that some parts of Japan are suffering from overtourism.[20][21]

In response to this surge, officials in some parts of Japan have introduced measures to counter its negative effects. For example, Yamanashi Prefecture has set a cap of daily climbers of Mount Fuji at 4,000 people and began charging an entrance fee of ¥2,000.[21] Also in Yamanashi Prefecture, a mesh barrier was set up to block a view of Mount Fuji behind a Lawson convenience store in Fujikawaguchiko due to tourist-caused disturbances in the area.[22]

As of 2024, some Japanese officials have considered instituting a two-tiered pricing system which would have foreign tourists pay more than residents at certain tourist attractions in order to counter the effects of overtourism.[23][24]

Tourism statistics

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Foreign tourists to Japan

These are the top 35 nationalities that visited Japan from 2017 to 2024.[25][26]

Country/Territory Total
9/2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
 South Korea 6,468,715 6,958,494 1,012,751 18,947 694,476 5,584,597 7,538,952 7,140,200
 China 5,247,791 2,425,157 189,125 42,239 1,069,256 9,594,394 8,380,034 7,355,800
 Taiwan 4,585,890 4,202,434 331,097 5,016 487,939 4,890,602 4,757,258 4,564,100
 Hong Kong 1,971,949 2,114,402 269,285 1,252 346,020 2,290,792 2,207,804 2,231,500
 United States 1,960,146 2,045,854 323,513 20,026 219,307 2,187,557 1,939,719 1,756,732
 Thailand 751,993 995,558 198,037 2,758 219,830 1,318,977 1,132,160 987,100
 Australia 637,273 613,062 88,648 3,265 143,508 621,771 552,440 496,100
 Philippines 542,822 622,293 126,842 5,625 109,110 613,114 503,976 424,200
 Vietnam 479,918 573,916 284,113 26,586 152,559 495,051 389,004 308,900
 Canada 417,316 425,874 55,877 3,536 53,365 375,262 330,600 305,591
 Singapore 390,356 591,267 131,969 857 55,273 492,252 437,280 404,100
 Indonesia 350,601 429,382 119,723 5,209 77,724 412,779 396,852 352,200
 United Kingdom 318,224 321,482 57,496 7,294 51,024 424,279 333,979 310,499
 Malaysia 318,136 415,712 74,095 1,831 76,573 501,592 468,360 439,500
 France 283,844 277,436 52,782 7,024 43,102 336,333 304,896 268,605
 Germany 241,551 233,410 45,748 5,197 29,785 236,544 215,336 195,606
 India 170,812 166,394 54,314 8,831 26,931 175,896 154,029 134,371
 Italy 168,732 152,305 23,683 3,527 13,691 162,769 150,060 125,864
 Spain 129,580 115,873 15,926 3,053 11,741 130,243 118,901 99,814
 Mexico 107,083 94,684 9,152 1,124 9,528 71,745 68,448 63,440
 Macau 89,106 74,252 1,359 54 12,234 121,197 108,694 115,304
 New Zealand 79,251 78,978 12,107 1,404 16,070 94,115 73,208 64,873
   Nepal 78,657 83,302 75,200 11,648 17,191 51,577 44,297 39,950
 Netherlands 77,130 74,486 12,064 1,860 8,481 79,479 72,069 63,041
 Russia 63,832 41,965 10,324 3,723 22,260 120,043 94,810 77,251
 Brazil 58,417 50,570 9,436 2,731 6,888 47,575 44,201 42,207
  Switzerland 54,007 53,395 8,917 1,387 6,036 53,908 52,099 47,154
 Myanmar 52,802 45,815 22,763 1,531 10,884 30,977 24,418 22,915
 Poland 47,907 40,634 5,745 1,350 3,996 38,534 34,706 28,727
 Turkey 44,688 31,198 7,129 1,161 2,886 22,724 19,762 19,123
 Mongolia 39,099 39,916 19,267 1,685 7,118 31,513 27,647 23,365
 Israel 39,092 45,143 7,673 619 2,315 44,214 39,193 32,758
 Sri Lanka 36,868 36,742 21,536 3,127 8,918 28,380 27,789 27,904
 Sweden 36,694 39,245 7,900 1,112 7,622 53,836 53,822 50,805
 Belgium 34,249 34,352 6,611 1,122 4,074 39,245 34,387 32,054
 Portugal 29,837 27,812 3,176 728 3,179 32,349 26,506 23,442
 Denmark 29,537 30,780 5,403 794 4,780 32,893 29,163 25,235
 Austria 27,922 26,360 5,025 888 3,605 27,530 24,187 21,035
 Ireland 24,176 22,985 4,458 820 3,270 39,387 20,319 18,591
 Norway 22,828 21,541 3,736 557 3,620 24,838 22,569 20,786
 Cambodia 20,053 27,067 13,618 784 7,420 28,492 21,696 17,857
 Finland 20,047 21,404 4,608 736 4,859 29,437 27,116 25,310
 Bangladesh 18,301 19,559 11,981 1,789 4,444 15,174 13,971 12,878
 Pakistan 17,917 21,132 11,423 4,284 6,145 17,208 15,802 13,729
 Romania 17,237 15,316 2,376 552 1,409 14,837 12,250 10,390
 Czech Republic 14,325 13,958 2,487 753 1,679 14,356 12,255 11,114
 Argentina 14,036 13,177 2,198 798 4,220 23,805 23,692 18,610
 Chile 13,658 13,808 1,902 276 3,381 13,370 14,089 11,027
 Saudi Arabia 12,051 12,380 2,403 1,039 11,152 7,403 7,554 7,587
 Hungary 11,079 11,316 2,511 1,034 1,302 12,696 10,440 9,148
 Colombia 10,888 9,598 1,495 476 1,098 11,745 9,966 8,795
 Greece 10,492 9,969 1,869 744 1,091 9,494 7,968 6,703
 United Arab Emirates 8,820 10,270 2,705 203 770 8,891 7,782 7,106
 South Africa 8,554 9,357 2,561 838 1,623 19,543 9,793 9,057
 Kazakhstan 7,743 8,571 1,511 601 890 5,431 4,391 4,125
 Iran 7,380 7,145 2,152 746 720 5,252 5,161 6,457
 Bulgaria 7,004 6,360 1,024 338 627 6,324 5,106 4,529
 Uzbekistan 6,770 8,075 5157 1,567 1,290 5,243 5,530 4,380
 Ukraine 6,460 6,749 3,795 1,070 1,466 10,176 8,458 7,094
 Lithuania 6,375 6,226 1,286 272 672 5,260 4,498 4,177
 Laos 5,268 6,359 1,804 150 1,169 6,154 5,987 5,398
 Egypt 4,819 4,816 2,223 1,187 1,294 6,345 4,942 4,283
 Peru 4,588 5,195 1,196 254 1,191 6,022 5,048 4,549
 Brunei 4,405 6,292 1,159 23 742 4,866 3,626 3,699
 Croatia 4,261 4,067 634 414 470 4,099 3,407 3,084
 Slovenia 4,215 3,779 676 308 493 3,347 3,187 3,027
Total (all countries) 26,880,892 25,066,350 3,832,110 245,862 4,115,828 31,882,049 31,191,856 28,690,900

Major tourist destinations

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Goko Five Lakes in Shiretoko (WHS)
Shirakami-Sanchi (WHS)
Shinjuku in Tokyo, and Mount Fuji
Shirakawa-gō (WHS)
Japanese Alps from Kamikōchi
Tōdai-ji Daibutsu in Nara (WHS)
Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine (WHS)
Shikoku Pilgrimage (Zentsū-ji)
Kumamoto Castle, Kumamoto
Ishigaki Island, Okinawa

Hokkaido

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Tōhoku region

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Kantō region

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Chūbu region

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Kansai region

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Chūgoku region

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Shikoku

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Kyushu and Okinawa

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "International tourism, number of arrivals - Japan | Data".
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ "Tourism White Paper 2019". www.mlit.go.jp. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
  4. ^ "Travel & Tourism Development Index 2024" (PDF). World Economic Forum. May 21, 2024.
  5. ^ Inada, Toshinori (June 1994). "中世紀行文学の旅の諸相とその意味". 中世文学の旅<シンポジウム> (39): 14–24.
  6. ^ Amano, Tadayuki (June 2024). 摂津・河内・和泉の戦国史 : 管領家の分裂と天下人の誕生 (in Japanese). 法律文化社. p. 150. ISBN 978-4-589-04326-9.
  7. ^ Leheny, David Richard (2003). The Rules of Play: National Identity and the Shaping of Japanese Leisure. Cornell University Press. p. 59. ISBN 0-8014-4091-2.
  8. ^ Antoku, Masanori (April 1, 2020). "松下幸之助「観光立国の辨」～わが国インバウンド観光論の先駆け～". 紀要論文.
  9. ^ "International tourism, number of arrivals - United States, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Canada | Data". data.worldbank.org. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  10. ^ Silver, Nate (August 18, 2014). "The Countries Where You're Surrounded By Tourists". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  11. ^ "日本人は｢失われた30年｣の本質をわかってない". 東洋経済オンライン (in Japanese). January 26, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
  12. ^ "2023 Visitor Arrivals & Japanese Overseas Travelers(Compared to 2019)" (PDF). Japan National Tourism Organization. January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  13. ^ "International tourism, receipts (current US$) | Data". data.worldbank.org. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  14. ^ "GDP (current US$) | Data". data.worldbank.org. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  15. ^ Dickie, Mure (January 26, 2011). "Tourists flock to Japan despite China spat". Financial Times. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  16. ^ "Tokyu Group in steadfast pursuit of Chinese tourists". TTGmice. Retrieved April 18, 2013.
  17. ^ Bhattacharjya, Samhati (May 17, 2016). "Japan to offer 10-year multi-entry visas for Chinese as part of tourism push". International Business Times. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
  18. ^ "Japan Tourism Agency aims to draw more Western tourists amid boom in Asian visitors". Japan National Tourism Organization. February 6, 2018. Archived from the original on January 7, 2019.
  19. ^ "Anime industry in Japan - statistics and facts". Statista. February 26, 2021.
  20. ^ a b c "Japan visitors exceed 3 million for second straight month, tourism agency says". The Japan Times. May 15, 2024. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  21. ^ a b Inoue, Yukana (June 30, 2024). "Mount Fuji begins charging entrance fees as overtourism prevention measure". The Japan Times. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  22. ^ Gardin, Caroline (May 21, 2024). "Weary of overtourism, Japan town blocks one popular view of Mount Fuji". The Japan Times. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  23. ^ "Japan's Flood of Tourists Prompts Call to Charge Foreigners More". Bloomberg.com. June 19, 2024. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  24. ^ "In Japan, higher prices for foreign visitors come with caveats". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  25. ^ "2017年推計値" (PDF). Japan National Tourism Organization. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 8, 2016.
  26. ^ [2]
  27. ^ "Overseas tourists are changing the face of Japan". Nikkei Asian Review.

Further reading

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  • Graburn, Nelson HH. "The past in the present in Japan: nostalgia and neo-traditionalism in contemporary Japanese domestic tourism." in Change in tourism: people, places, processes (1995): 47–70.
  • Henderson, Joan Catherine. "Destination development: Trends in Japan's inbound tourism." International Journal of Tourism Research 19.1 (2017): 89–98. online
  • Ishimori, Shûzô. "Popularization and commercialization of tourism in early modern Japan." Senri Ethnological Studies 26 (1989): 179–194. online
  • Jimura, Takamitsu. Cultural heritage and tourism in Japan (Routledge, 2021) online.
  • McOmie, William, ed. Foreign Images and Experiences of Japan: 1: First Century AD-1841. (Brill, 2021). online
  • March, Roger. "How Japan solicited the West: the first hundred years of modern Japanese tourism." in CAUTHE 2007: Tourism-Past Achievements, Future Challenges (2007): 843–52. online
  • Robertson, Jennifer. "Hegemonic nostalgia, tourism, and nation-making in Japan." Senri ethnological studies 38 (1995): 89–103. online
  • Soshiroda, Akira. "Inbound tourism policies in Japan from 1859 to 2003." Annals of Tourism Research 32.4 (2005): 1100–1120.
  • Takeuchi, Keiichi. "Some remarks on the geography of tourism in Japan." GeoJournal (1984): 85–90. online
  • Tokuhisa, Tamao. "Tourism within, from and to Japan." International Social Science Journal 32.1 (1980): 128–150.
  • Uzama, Austin. "Yokoso! Japan: Classifying foreign tourists to Japan for market segmentation." Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management 21.2 (2012): 132–154.
  • Yanagi, Miyuki. "Reconsideration of Japan's tourism innovation characteristics." Geographical Research Bulletin 2 (2023): 29–38. online
  • Yasuda, Hiroko. "World heritage and cultural tourism in Japan." International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research 4.4 (2010): 366–375.
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Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Japan.
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