Tourism in Japan

Tourism in Japan is a major industry and contributor to the Japanese economy. Foreigners visit Japan to see natural wonders, cities, historic landmarks, and entertainment venues. Japanese people seek similar attractions, as well as recreation and vacation areas. In 2019, Japan attracted 31.88 million international tourists.^[1][2] Japan welcomed 2.78 million visitor arrivals in February 2024, surpassing 2019 levels.^[3]

Japan has 21 World Heritage Sites, 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 2017 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report ranked Japan 4th 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] In the 2021 edition of the report, now called Travel and Tourism Development Index, Japan reached 1st place.^[5]

The origins of early traditions of visits to picturesque sites are unclear, but an early sight-seeing excursion was Matsuo Bashō's 1689 trip to the then "far north" of Japan, which occurred not long after Hayashi Razan categorized the Three Views of Japan in 1643. During the Edo era of Japan, from around 1600 to the Meiji Restoration in 1867, travel was regulated within the country through the use of shukuba or post stations, towns where travelers had to present appropriate documentation. Despite these restrictions, porter stations and horse stables, as well as places for lodging and food were available on well-traveled routes. During this time, Japan was a closed country to foreigners, so no foreign tourism existed in Japan.

Following the Meiji Restoration and the building of a national railroad network, tourism became more of an affordable prospect for domestic citizens and visitors from foreign countries could enter Japan legally. As early as 1887, government officials recognized the need for an organized system of attracting foreign tourists; the Kihinkai (貴賓会), which aimed to coordinate the players in tourism, was established that year with Prime Minister Itō Hirobumi's blessing. Its early leaders included Shibusawa Eiichi and Ekida Takashi. 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.^[6]

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.^[7] As of 2013, Japan was one of the least visited countries in the OECD on a per capita basis.^[8] Within six years however, the number of international visitors has more than tripled, reaching a peak of 31.9 million visitors in 2019.^[9]

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.^[10][11]

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.^[12]

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.^[13]

From 2016 to 2020, Japanese government hoped to receive 40 million foreign tourists every year by 2020.^[14] 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.^[15]

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.^[16]

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.^[17] This tourism boom can be attributed in part to the weakening Japanese yen.^[17] The unprecedented number of foreign tourists has led to claims that some parts of Japan are suffering from overtourism.^[17][18]

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.^[18] 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.^[19]

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.^[20][21]

Following the triple meltdown of Fukushima nuclear reactors in Fukushima Prefecture caused by the earthquake and tsunami, the number of foreign visitors to Japan declined for the first time since 2009. In September 2011, some 539,000 foreign tourisms visited Japan, 25 percent down compared with the same month in 2010. This decline was largely attributed to the natural disasters including Fukushima nuclear accident; also the stronger yen made a visit to Japan more expensive.

In October 2011, the Japan Tourism Agency announced a plan to give 10,000 round-trip air tickets to Japan to encourage visitors to come and to boost tourism. However, on December 26, 2011, the Agency reported on their site that the "Fly to Japan! Project", which would have given out 10,000 round-trip tickets to Japan, had not been approved by the government for fiscal year 2012.^[22]

By 2012, free tickets would be offered if the winners would write online about their experiences in Japan. They also would need to answer some questions about how they felt while visiting Japan after the triple disaster and how interest in tourism in Japan could be renewed. About US$15 million would be spent on this program.^[23][24] International tourism inflows in Japan had recovered to pre-2011 levels.^[25]

In early 2020, Japan received only 4.1 million foreign tourists, as many countries tightened travel restrictions due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. This was the first time visitor statistics had fallen since the Great Recession in 2008.^[26] In January and September 2021, tourism in Japan had also further dipped to 245,862 foreign visitors, which was a 88% decrease as compared to 2020.^{[citation needed]} In October 2021, as the country lifted the fourth state of emergency up and ahead^{[clarification needed]} of the endemic phase, the Japanese government announced that many domestic visitors would be only resumed^{[clarification needed]} and waived from the pandemic, in a move to reopen domestic travel with the introduction of vaccinated travel lanes.^{[citation needed]}

In late November 2021, amid the spread of a highly transmissible COVID-19 Omicron variant, many countries including Japan tightened travel restrictions, with some governments banning travel completely to curb transmission.^{[citation needed]}

In September 2022, the Japanese government announced that visa requirements from some countries would be waived from October 2022, in a move to reopen international travel after the pandemic border restrictions.^[27][28] Prior to the pandemic, Japan did not require tourist visas for 68 countries and regions.

These are the top 35 nationalities that visited Japan from 2017 to 2024.^[29][30]

Country/Territory	Total
	7/2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
South Korea	5,199,790	6,958,494	1,012,751	18,947	694,476	5,584,597	7,538,952	7,140,200
China	3,849,376	2,425,157	189,125	42,239	1,069,256	9,594,394	8,380,034	7,355,800
Taiwan	3,550,895	4,202,434	331,097	5,016	487,939	4,890,602	4,757,258	4,564,100
United States	1,594,153	2,045,854	323,513	20,026	219,307	2,187,557	1,939,719	1,756,732
Hong Kong	1,555,176	2,114,402	269,285	1,252	346,020	2,290,792	2,207,804	2,231,500
Thailand	671,804	995,558	198,037	2,758	219,830	1,318,977	1,132,160	987,100
Australia	510,607	613,062	88,648	3,265	143,508	621,771	552,440	496,100
Philippines	457,233	622,293	126,842	5,625	109,110	613,114	503,976	424,200
Vietnam	381,631	573,916	284,113	26,586	152,559	495,051	389,004	308,900
Singapore	328,142	591,267	131,969	857	55,273	492,252	437,280	404,100
Canada	320,422	425,874	55,877	3,536	53,365	375,262	330,600	305,591
Indonesia	293,393	429,382	119,723	5,209	77,724	412,779	396,852	352,200
Malaysia	261,057	415,712	74,095	1,831	76,573	501,592	468,360	439,500
United Kingdom	251,401	321,482	57,496	7,294	51,024	424,279	333,979	310,499
France	221,678	277,436	52,782	7,024	43,102	336,333	304,896	268,605
Germany	180,330	233,410	45,748	5,197	29,785	236,544	215,336	195,606
India	136,834	166,394	54,314	8,831	26,931	175,896	154,029	134,371
Italy	114,486	152,305	23,683	3,527	13,691	162,769	150,060	125,864
Spain	84,622	115,873	15,926	3,053	11,741	130,243	118,901	99,814
Mexico	80,029	94,684	9,152	1,124	9,528	71,745	68,448	63,440
Nepal	65,375	83,302	75,200	11,648	17,191	51,577	44,297	39,950
Macau	63,233	74,252	1,359	54	12,234	121,197	108,694	115,304
New Zealand	61,593	78,978	12,107	1,404	16,070	94,115	73,208	64,873
Netherlands	58,581	74,486	12,064	1,860	8,481	79,479	72,069	63,041
Brazil	46,854	50,570	9,436	2,731	6,888	47,575	44,201	42,207
Russia	46,771	41,965	10,324	3,723	22,260	120,043	94,810	77,251
Switzerland	42,482	53,395	8,917	1,387	6,036	53,908	52,099	47,154
Myanmar	41,048	45,815	22,763	1,531	10,884	30,977	24,418	22,915
Poland	34,815	40,634	5,745	1,350	3,996	38,534	34,706	28,727
Turkey	34,232	31,198	7,129	1,161	2,886	22,724	19,762	19,123
Sweden	30,114	39,245	7,900	1,112	7,622	53,836	53,822	50,805
Mongolia	29,205	39,916	19,267	1,685	7,118	31,513	27,647	23,365
Israel	28,674	45,143	7,673	619	2,315	44,214	39,193	32,758
Sri Lanka	27,540	36,742	21,536	3,127	8,918	28,380	27,789	27,904
Belgium	25,897	34,352	6,611	1,122	4,074	39,245	34,387	32,054
Denmark	24,013	30,780	5,403	794	4,780	32,893	29,163	25,235
Portugal	21,987	27,812	3,176	728	3,179	32,349	26,506	23,442
Austria	20,717	26,360	5,025	888	3,605	27,530	24,187	21,035
Ireland	19,057	22,985	4,458	820	3,270	39,387	20,319	18,591
Norway	19,036	21,541	3,736	557	3,620	24,838	22,569	20,786
Cambodia	16,491	27,067	13,618	784	7,420	28,492	21,696	17,857
Finland	16,378	21,404	4,608	736	4,859	29,437	27,116	25,310
Bangladesh	14,143	19,559	11,981	1,789	4,444	15,174	13,971	12,878
Pakistan	13,869	21,132	11,423	4,284	6,145	17,208	15,802	13,729
Romania	13,371	15,316	2,376	552	1,409	14,837	12,250	10,390
Argentina	11,224	13,177	2,198	798	4,220	23,805	23,692	18,610
Chile	10,937	13,808	1,902	276	3,381	13,370	14,089	11,027
Czech Republic	10,808	13,958	2,487	753	1,679	14,356	12,255	11,114
Saudi Arabia	10,167	12,380	2,403	1,039	11,152	7,403	7,554	7,587
Hungary	8,636	11,316	2,511	1,034	1,302	12,696	10,440	9,148
Colombia	8,318	9,598	1,495	476	1,098	11,745	9,966	8,795
Greece	8,074	9,969	1,869	744	1,091	9,494	7,968	6,703
United Arab Emirates	7,728	10,270	2,705	203	770	8,891	7,782	7,106
South Africa	6,560	9,357	2,561	838	1,623	19,543	9,793	9,057
Kazakhstan	6,136	8,571	1,511	601	890	5,431	4,391	4,125
Iran	5,633	7,145	2,152	746	720	5,252	5,161	6,457
Bulgaria	5,475	6,360	1,024	338	627	6,324	5,106	4,529
Ukraine	4,981	6,749	3,795	1,070	1,466	10,176	8,458	7,094
Uzbekistan	4,853	8,075	5157	1,567	1,290	5,243	5,530	4,380
Lithuania	4,851	6,226	1,286	272	672	5,260	4,498	4,177
Laos	4,356	6,359	1,804	150	1,169	6,154	5,987	5,398
Egypt	3,604	4,816	2,223	1,187	1,294	6,345	4,942	4,283
Brunei	3,579	6,292	1,159	23	742	4,866	3,626	3,699
Peru	3,536	5,195	1,196	254	1,191	6,022	5,048	4,549
Croatia	3,390	4,067	634	414	470	4,099	3,407	3,084
Slovenia	3,347	3,779	676	308	493	3,347	3,187	3,027
Total (all countries)	21,075,024	25,066,350	3,832,110	245,862	4,115,828	31,882,049	31,191,856	28,690,900

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Japanese. (October 2013) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the Japanese article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 1,252 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Japanese Wikipedia article at [[:ja:日本の観光地]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|ja|日本の観光地}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

• Niseko Ski Resort
• Shiretoko Peninsula (WHS)
• Teshikaga – Lake Mashū, Lake Kussharo
• Tōya Caldera and Mount Usu Geopark
• Daisetsuzan Volcanic Group
• Hakodate
• Otaru

• Shirakami-Sanchi (WHS)
• Mount Osore
• Lake Towada
• Hirosaki – Hirosaki Castle, Nakacho Samurai District
• Hiraizumi – Chūson-ji, Mōtsū-ji, Kanjizaiō-in, Takkoku-no-Iwaya
• Semboku – Kakunodate Samurai District, Lake Tazawa, Nyūtō Onsen
• Yamagata – Yama-dera Temple, Zaō Onsen
• Matsushima

• Nikkō – Shrines and Temples of Nikkō (WHS), Kegon Falls, Lake Chūzenji, Cedar Avenue of Nikko
• Tomioka Silk Mill (WHS)
• Kinugawa Onsen – Edo Wonderland Nikko Edomura, Tobu World Square
• Utsunomiya – Oya stone museum, Utsunomiya Futarayama Shrine
• Ashikaga, Tochigi – Ashikaga Gakkō, Ashikaga Flower Park [ja]
• Tokyo – Imperial Palace, Asakusa, Akihabara, Ginza, Harajuku/Omotesandō, Nakano Broadway, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Tsukiji Fish Market, Ueno Park, Fujiko F. Fujio Museum, Studio Ghibli Museum
• Tokyo Disney Resort
• Kamakura – Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū, Kōtoku-in, Kenchō-ji, Engaku-ji, Meigetsu-in, Hase-dera
• Kusatsu Onsen
• Hakone Onsen

• Mount Fuji
• Japanese Alps – Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route(Mount Tate), Hida Mountains, Kiso Mountains, Akaishi Mountains
• Kurobe Gorge Railway
• Shiga Kōgen
• Matsumoto – Matsumoto Castle, Mount Hotaka, Kamikōchi
• Shirakawa-gō and Gokayama (WHS)
• Takayama – Sanmachi Traditional Street, Ōshinmachi Traditional Street, Higashiyama Temple Area
• Kanazawa – Kenroku-en Garden, Kanazawa Castle, Higashi Geisha District, Nagamachi Samurai District
• Sakai – Tōjinbō, Maruoka Castle
• Nagoya – Nagoya Castle, Atsuta Shrine, Sakae, Nagoya Station (Meieki), Ōsu Kannon temple

• Kyoto – Kinkaku-ji, Ginkaku-ji, Kiyomizu-dera, Ryōan-ji, Sanjūsangen-dō, etc., they are parts of Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (WHS)
• Uji – Byōdō-in and Ujigami Shrine (WHS), Relation of The Tale of Genji
• Ōtsu – Lake Biwa, Hiyoshi Taisha, Sakamoto Temple District, Mount Hiei, Enryaku-ji (WHS)
• Ōmihachiman – Traditional Riverside District
• Nara – Tōdai-ji, Tōshōdai-ji, Kōfuku-ji, Yakushi-ji, Heijō Palace, Kasuga-taisha and Nara Park, etc. They are parts of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara (WHS).
• Ikaruga – Hōryū-ji and Hōki-ji are Buddhist Monuments in the Hōryū-ji Area (WHS).
• Yoshino (Mount Yoshino) – Kimpusen-ji, Yoshimizu Shrine, Yoshino Mikumari Shrine, etc. They are parts of the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range (WHS).
• Shingū – Kumano Hayatama Taisha and Kumano River (WHS)
• Nachikatsuura – Nachi Falls, Kumano Kodō, etc., they are parts of Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range (WHS)
• Mount Kōya – Kongōbu-ji (WHS)
• Osaka – Osaka Castle, Umeda, Namba, Dōtonbori, Shinsaibashi, Shinsekai, Shitennō-ji, Sumiyoshi-taisha, Universal Studios Japan, Kaiyukan, Rinku Town, Den-Den Town, Expo Commemoration Park, Kamagasaki^[31]
• Himeji – Engyō-ji, Koko-en Garden, and Himeji Castle (WHS)
• Kobe – Port of Kobe, Rokkō Mountains, Kitano-chō, Arima Onsen, Kobe Luminarie
• San'in Kaigan Geopark – Toyooka, Izushi, Kinosaki Onsen, Yumura Onsen

• Hiroshima Prefecture – Itsukushima Shrine (WHS), Onomichi, Tomonoura
• Okayama Prefecture – Kurashiki, Kōrakuen Garden, Okayama Castle
• Tottori Prefecture – Tottori Sand Dunes, Mount Daisen, Mount Hyōno, San'in Kaigan Geopark
• Shimane Prefecture – Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine (WHS), Izumo-taisha, Matsue Castle, Oki Islands, Tsuwano
• Yamaguchi Prefecture – Hagi

• Shikoku Pilgrimage (Zentsū-ji, Motoyama-ji, etc.)
• Ehime Prefecture – Dōgo Onsen, Matsuyama Castle
• Kagawa Prefecture – Kotohira-gū Shrine, Ritsurin Garden, Shōdo Island, Naoshima Island
• Tokushima Prefecture – Naruto whirlpools, Awa Dance Festival in Tokushima
• Kōchi Prefecture – Kōchi Castle, Cape Muroto (Muroto Geopark), Cape Ashizuri

• Fukuoka Prefecture – Mojiko Retro Town, Kokura Castle, Dazaifu Tenman-gū, Remains of Dazaifu (government)
• Ōita Prefecture – Many types of hot springs in Beppu, Ōita or Yufuin, Ōita, Usa jingū, stone bridges, small stonehenge on the top of Komekamiyama (mountain), Hello Kitty Harmonyland
• Nagasaki Prefecture – Ōura Church, Higashi-Yamate, Minami-Yamate including the Glover Garden, Huis Ten Bosch (theme park), Hidden Christian Sites (WHS)
• Kagoshima Prefecture – Yakushima (WHS), Sakurajima, Amami Ōshima
• Miyazaki Prefecture – Kirishima-Yaku National Park, Takachiho, Old Exculibur on the top of Takachiho-kyo mountain, Nichinan, Miyazaki,　Chambered barrows of Saitobaru kofungun, Heiwadai Park
• Kumamoto Prefecture – Kumamoto Castle,　Mount Aso
• Saga Prefecture – Pre-400 BC Yayoi archaeological site in Yoshinogari site
• Okinawa Prefecture – Shuri Castle, Nakagusuku Castle, Nakijin Castle, etc. They are parts of the Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu. (WHS), Ishigaki Island, Miyako Island, Iriomote Island, Traditional Ryukyuan Houses in Taketomi Island

• Groups of Traditional Buildings
• Japanese museums
• List of National Geoparks in Japan
• List of Special Places of Scenic Beauty, Special Historic Sites and Special Natural Monuments
• World Heritage Sites in Japan
• List of museums in Japan
• National Treasures of Japan
• Omiyage
• Ryokan (Japanese inn)
• Visa policy of Japan

• Travel with Smile. Best Places to Travel in Japan

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• 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
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• 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.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Japan.

• Japan National Tourist Organization
• JapanTourist Travel Articles Database Archived May 7, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
• 2018 Foreign Visitors & Japanese Departures