Tag - tourism

 
 

TOURISM

The Japan Tourism Agency plans to offer subsidies to develop travel products combining culinary and traditional cultural experiences in rural areas.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2024
Japan tourism agency to promote gastronomy tourism
As foreign tourists numbers spike post-pandemic, culinary travel has grown increasingly popular, especially among wealthy travelers.
Mount Fuji's Yoshida trail in Yamanashi Prefecture crowded with hikers on Sept. 2. Shizuoka Prefecture has decided to restrict entrance to trails on the mountain during evenings from this summer, following a similar move by Yamanashi.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 14, 2024
Shizuoka joins Yamanashi Prefecture to restrict night climbing on Mt. Fuji
The measure aims to prevent unsafe attempts to scale Japan's tallest mountain for sunrise in one go without sleeping overnight.
Visitors at the Sapporo Snow Festival on Feb. 4
JAPAN
Feb 12, 2024
Sapporo Snow Festival crowds recover to pre-COVID levels in 2024
The recovery of visitor numbers has been helped by inbound travelers to Japan, according to the festival's executive committee.
Manga illustrations displayed in a room of the renovated Former Residence of Theodora Ozaki in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward on Thursday
JAPAN
Feb 9, 2024
Tokyo building from Meiji Era to reopen as manga attraction
After renovations, the building will open as a facility with a gallery exhibiting original manga copies and illustrations.
Taylor Swift kicked off her four-night stint at Tokyo Dome on Wednesday while Lionel Messi played at the Japan National Stadium, just a few kilometers away.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 9, 2024
The Taylor Swift and Messi moment shows Tokyo is back
On Wednesday, Swift and Messi wowed their respective fans, just 5 km away from each other. Their overlap in Tokyo is proof of the city's great resurgence.
A traveler walks past a flight information display at the Beijing Capital International Airport on Feb. 2 ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday that begins on Saturday in China.
JAPAN
Feb 8, 2024
Chinese visitors to Japan over Lunar New Year to fall short of 2019 level
Visa-free travel offered by some countries and last year's release of treated wastewater from Fukushima may be swaying Chinese travelers' decisions.
An artist's rendering of a projection mapping display on the eastern facade of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Main Building No. 1
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2024
Tokyo government to host 'world's largest' projection mapping display
Shows will commence nightly from 7 p.m. and be displayed at half-hour intervals, lasting around 10 to 15 minutes each.
Newly elected Kyoto Mayor Koji Matsui receives a sea bream as a congratulatory gift in Kyoto on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 5, 2024
New Kyoto mayor aims to tackle over-tourism with higher fares
Koji Matsui faces many hurdles, and he takes over at a time when the demerits of over-tourism have become a particular topic of concern for residents.
Climbers watch the sunrise at the summit of Mount Fuji in August last year. The Yamanashi prefectural government had said it would restrict the number of climbers on the Yoshida Trail if overcrowding posed a danger, though it has yet to do so.
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2024
Mount Fuji climbers to face ¥2,000 fee from summer as tourism rises
The fee will be collected at a gate to be installed at the 5th station of the Yoshida Trail on the Yamanashi Prefecture side of the mountain.
The Kissa Mitikusa cafe in front of JR Kagaonsen Station in Kaga, Ishikawa Prefecture, is facing a plunge in visitors.
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2024
Dining sector in quake-hit Ishikawa facing difficulties
The industry had just begun to overcome a slump brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A photo shows a section of the Michinoku Coastal Trail in Miyako, Iwate Prefecture.
LIFE / Travel
Jan 31, 2024
1,000-kilometer nature trek helping Tohoku once again hit its stride
An area struck by disaster and rich in nature pins its hope on good reviews overseas to get the tourism sector thriving.
Tourists board a ferry to Iriomote Island, Okinawa Prefecture, from Ishigaki, another island in the prefecture. The local government of the town of Taketomi, which includes Iriomote Island, is planning to introduce a visitor's tax to fund environmental protection measures in the face of rising tourist numbers.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jan 30, 2024
Local governments in Japan battle overtourism challenges
Officials are seeking ways to solve problems that emerge from higher tourist numbers, such as a shortage of taxis and the accumulation of garbage.
A total of 65 stores in Toyosu Senkyaku Banrai offer various food and drinks, with many that incorporate fresh ingredients from the Toyosu market.
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2024
New Edo-inspired venue near Toyosu market offers more than fish
Toyosu Senkyaku Banrai hosts restaurants and an onsen area that uses water sourced from popular hot spring towns in Kanagawa Prefecture.
In the 2022 fiscal year, which ended in March 2023, Hokkaido's Niseko resort area saw a cumulative total of more than 1.4 million visitors, including day-trippers and those who spent at least one night.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Jan 29, 2024
Ski season surge tests limits of Niseko’s infrastructure
The return of tourists to the Hokkaido resort area is putting pressure on food retailers and transportation.
The Rurikoji temple pagoda is currently wrapped in tarps for renovation, which is scheduled to be completed by 2025.
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2024
Yamaguchi rushes to prepare for tourists after New York Times pick
Only 9,000 foreign tourists visited Yamaguchi in 2022. Is the city ready to receive an influx of visitors?
Sensoji Temple, a popular tourist location, in Tokyo on Jan. 18
JAPAN / Society
Jan 26, 2024
Japan aims to direct Asian tourists to places less traveled
The tourism body is attempting to direct visitors to places outside Tokyo in order to prevent over-tourism, specifically by appealing to “light repeaters.”
Foreign tourists at a duty-free counter in a department store in Tokyo
BUSINESS
Jan 26, 2024
Duty-free sales at Japan department stores hit record high in 2023
The rise reflected the weak yen, as well as an increase in the number of foreign visitors to Japan.
New electronic stands for immigration and customs are planned to be introduced at Tokyo's Haneda Airport, with a two-month trial starting on Jan. 31.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2024
Haneda Airport to launch electronic immigration entry stands
Japanese citizens will also have to follow similar steps but will not be required to have their fingerprints taken at the airport.
Many buildings in the city of Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, collapsed as a result of the earthquake on Jan. 1.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2024
Kishida's new aid package aims to help recovery of quake-hit areas
It will offer subsidies to small and medium-sized firms in Ishikawa Prefecture, as well as those in neighboring Niigata, Toyama, and Fukui prefectures.
Omicho Market, "the kitchen of the Kanazawa people," has seen very small numbers of visitors, with some restaurants still closed.
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2024
Cancellations hit tourist-favorite Kanazawa after Noto quake
Tourism industry professionals are calling on tourists to "visit Kanazawa to back up the Noto region."

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals