‘Land of Plunging Yen’ is bargain-basement tourist destination for AmericansTourists are packed at a train and bus station Tuesday, April 30, 2024, at Fujikawaguchiko town, Yamanashi Prefecture, central Japan. The town of Fujikawaguchiko, known for a number of popular photo spots for Japan’s trademark of Mt.
COVID quashed international travel for the next two years, but numbers recovered in 2022, with 25 million visitors. Tourism officials say inbound numbers just for 2024’s first quarter were 11 million, indicating 2024 will be a likely record year for foreign tourist arrivals. Under Mr. Abe’s leadership, Japan in 2019 hosted the Rugby World Cup — to global acclaim — and, two years later, the Summer Olympics. The latter failed as a mass tourism event, but was hailed as an organizing success, given the extreme difficulties of managing a global sporting event in the middle of a global pandemic.
“It’s: ‘If you’ve done Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo — do this,’” explained Keiko Hagihara Bang, a Japanese-American documentary producer, of the current strategy. “The places that need tourism are the countryside — the hidden Japan.” Dual-charge systems are being installed or planned for popular sites ranging from castles to restaurants, at which foreigners pay more than locals. A March survey found 60% of Japanese agreed with theMr. Gill, unable to enter Kyodo’s Golden Pavilion due to long lines, was irked to see “unruly” foreign tourists forcing themselves upon geisha in the famed city to get selfies.