According to a new record set by the national tourist organization on Friday, Japan had a million more international visitors in the first half of 2024 than it did before the pandemic, totaling 17.78 million.
Japan is seeing a surge in visitors due to the weakening yen, who are spending a lot of money on expensive lunches, kimonos, and knives.
Locals in popular destinations like Kyoto and Mount Fuji expressed concerns about overtourism as a result of the surge, which exceeded the previous peak from 2019 of 16.63 million visitors.
With 4.4 million traveler visits throughout the six-month period, South Korea topped the list by country. Approximately three million people from China ranked second, five times higher than during the same time previous year.
The United States came in fourth, followed by visitors from Taiwan in third place.
When severe border restrictions from the epidemic era were removed, 25 million tourists visited Japan in total in 2023.
Attracting 60 million tourists annually by 2030 is the nation’s lofty ambition, nearly twice as many as the 31.88 million record established in 2019.
Ichiro Takahashi, the director of the Japan National Tourism Organization, described the goal as “a figure that we can very much achieve by making the right efforts” last month.
“There are still many little-known places in Japan that are left unexplored by tourists from overseas — I believe Japan has infinite tourism resources,” he told the media.
On the other hand, some locals are tired of the tourists’ rudeness and disorderly behavior.
Officials tried to discourage people from snapping pictures at a popular viewing location next to a convenience shop in a town close to Mount Fuji in May by erecting a sizable barrier.
Harrassing the city’s renowned geisha, tourists have been barred from certain private passageways in Kyoto, a place steeped in tradition.
It has also been reported by the mayor of Himeji, a western Japanese city known for its world heritage site, Himeji Castle, that the authorities are thinking of charging foreign visitors four times as much as residents.
On the most popular hiking trail on Mount Fuji, new crowd control measures have been implemented. The Yoshida Trail charges an admission fee of 2,000 yen ($13) plus an optional gift; daily admission is limited to 4,000 people.
