Tag - tourism

 
 

TOURISM

The platforms at Tokyo Station were packed with passengers on Saturday morning.
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2024
Bon holiday visits in full swing amid increased quake fears
Train stations have been crowded with passengers, with some travelers aiming to take extra precautions.
Foreign airlines are pulling services or opting not to restart flights to China after the pandemic, whereas Chinese airlines are expanding overseas operations.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 10, 2024
Foreign airlines lose interest in China as domestic carriers expand abroad
Foreign rivals are struggling with weak China travel demand, rising costs and extended flight times because of the need to avoid Russian airspace.
At Suigian, an underground restaurant and bar focused on the traditional Japanese stage, diners can get within an arm's length of authentic Japan.
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 10, 2024
Suigian is everything Robot Restaurant was not
For the tourist willing to do a little homework and pay a slight premium, Suigian offers the possibility of cultural verisimilitude.
Fans wave French flags at Champions Park in Paris on Aug. 1. Olympic fever has swept through the city during the Games and some Parisians who went on vacation to avoid the hoopla are now expressing some jealousy over those who stayed.
OLYMPICS
Aug 8, 2024
Parisians who left during Olympics are now 'a little jealous' of those who stayed
Olympic fever has taken over the French capital, leaving some of the Paris residents who fled feeling a tinge of jealousy.
Wrestlers battle during the national women's championships in Osaka in 2018. Amateur sumo is a great way to experience the sport for tourists who are unable to get tickets to professional tournaments.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Aug 8, 2024
No sumo tickets? No problem. Here are some other ways to take in the sport.
Japan’s ongoing tourism boom has resulted in a year-round influx of people interested in experiencing the country’s national sport.
Passengers enter Yurakucho station in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2024
JR East to resume production of Suica cards as early as fall
Now that JR East has enough chips in stock, they are preparing to resume selling name-registered Suica cards.
Customers stand in line outside a Louis Vuitton store in Tokyo's Ginza district on July 19.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 2, 2024
Luxury brands count cost as shoppers from overseas enjoy weak yen discount
Goods sold in Japan by global luxury brands, ranging from designer sneakers to whisky, now tend to be cheaper in dollar terms than elsewhere.
A worker at a supermarket in Tokyo's Nerima Ward puts up a sign on July 25 saying rice purchases are restricted to one bag per customer.
JAPAN
Jul 31, 2024
Japan's rice stocks shrink to record low amid high demand and heat woes
An 18 percentage point decline in the share of 2023's crop rated first-grade led to a decrease in rice on the market, while demand saw the first rise in a decade.
More tourists than ever are guided around Japan based on the content they consume online, but can those same creators help direct them to less-populated areas of the country?
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Jul 29, 2024
Influencers helped cause overtourism. Can they help fix it?
“I don't want to use filters or put out content just for the sake of views and followers,” one content creator says. “I want to show people what the real Japan is.”
Local residents of Sado, Niigata Prefecture, celebrate the decision to register the island's now-defunct gold mines as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site on Saturday.
JAPAN
Jul 28, 2024
Sado faces tourism challenges after World Heritage listing
Thanks to its new UNESCO status, Sado forecasts an approximate 20% rise in visitors staying on the island.
Nakazakicho may be just a few minutes outside the major commercial district of Umeda, but it certainly doesn't feel that way.
LIFE / Travel
Jul 27, 2024
The dancer keeping Osaka’s Nakazakicho indie
Nakazakicho’s transformation is more than the success story of a small neighborhood turning the tide against inner-city decay.
Flames and smoke rise from a burning wildfire, as seen from a highway in Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Tuesday.
ENVIRONMENT
Jul 26, 2024
Wildfire roars through a Canadian town popular with tourists
The town is in the heart of Jasper National Park, which is one of Canada’s premier tourist destinations, receiving about 2.5 million visitors each year.
Japan had the strongest passport for six years running from 2018, before being dethroned by Singapore on the 2024 list.
BUSINESS
Jul 24, 2024
Japan loses top spot on strongest passport list to Singapore
Japan had the strongest passport for six years running from 2018.
One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
PODCAST / deep dive
Jul 22, 2024
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’
Homeless influencers, fantasy boyfriends and bubble-era bars — Kabukicho seems to have it all.
Fireworks during Irumagawa Tanabata Festival in Sayama, Saitama Prefecture in July 2023
JAPAN / Society
Jul 22, 2024
Many summer fireworks festivals in Japan canceled due to complaints
Property damage caused by debris, and littering and trespassing by those looking for a better view are among the reasons for the cancellations.
The Sado Gold Mine, so heavily tapped that the mountain bearing it has been cleaved in two, is up for consideration for UNESCO World Heritage Site status.
LIFE / Travel
Jul 20, 2024
Land of punishment, land of gold
The Sado Gold Mine may soon become Japan’s newest UNESCO World Heritage site, but the island’s history is much more complicated than a single tourist destination.
A group of Chinese tourists walks through the Ginza district of Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 19, 2024
Japan sees more tourists than before pandemic, breaking half-year record
The weak yen is attracting large crowds to Japan, with many tourists splashing out.
The government is considering introducing a new preclearance system for foreign visitors, starting with tourists from Taiwan, to help shorten the time taken for entry procedures on arrival.
JAPAN
Jul 19, 2024
Japan to speed up entry process as tourist wave hits new record
The government will introduce a new preclearance system from January, starting with tourists from Taiwan, NHK has reported.
Visitors take photos of a tunnel of roses at Yokohama English Garden on Wednesday in Yokohama.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 18, 2024
Japan’s summer travel spending soars despite economic pressures
Households plan to spend the most in six years this summer as more people aim to travel despite rising inflation and a weakening yen.
China's 15-day visa-free policy is giving tourism a huge boost, with bookings from eligible countries surging 150% and attracting millions of visitors post-pandemic.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 17, 2024
China strives to lure foreign tourists, but it's a hard sell for some
The recent surge in tourism comes after China closed its borders in early 2020 to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, and kept them shut until the start of 2023.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan