Japan's tourist arrivals soared 28.5% in April to hit record 3.9 million
"Spring cherry blossom season boosted demand for visits to Japan in many markets, as in the previous month, and overseas travel demand increased in some Asian countries, in Europe, the United States and Australia to coincide with the Easter holidays," the Japan National Tourism Organization said.
It said the total surpassed the previous record of 3.78 million in January 2025 and is the highest number in a single month on record.
For the first four months of the year, foreign visitor arrivals totaled 14.4 million, a 24.5% increase.
A weak yen has for months been leading to a boom in visitors, with national tourism data released in January showing a record of about 36.8 million arrivals last year.
The government has set an ambitious target of almost doubling tourist numbers to 60 million annually by 2030.
Authorities say they want to spread sightseers more evenly around the country, and avoid a bottleneck of visitors eager to snap spring cherry blossoms or vivid autumn colors.
But as in other global tourist magnets such as Venice in Italy, there has been growing pushback from residents in popular destinations such as Kyoto.
The tradition-steeped city, just a couple of hours from Tokyo on the bullet train, is famed for its kimono-clad geisha performers and increasingly crowded Buddhist temples.
On Mount Fuji, the nation's highest mountain and a once-peaceful pilgrimage site, authorities have started charging climbers in an effort to reduce overcrowding.
Last year, a barrier was briefly erected outside a convenience store to stop people from standing on the road in front of it to take photographs with the snow-capped volcano in the background.
Business travelers in cities including Tokyo have complained that they have been priced out of hotels because of high demand from tourists.
Travelers gobbling sushi and onigiri have also been cited as a factor contributing to a rice shortage in the country, which has pushed prices of the staple to record levels, creating a political headache for the government.
The Meteorological Agency on March 30 declared the country's most common and popular "somei yoshino" variety of cherry tree in full bloom in Tokyo. Although this year's blooming dates are around the average, the agency says climate change and the urban heat-island effect are causing sakura to flower approximately 1.2 days earlier every 10 years.
Katsuhiro Miyamoto, professor emeritus at Kansai University, estimated the economic impact of cherry blossom season in Japan, from travel to sakura viewing parties, at ¥1.1 trillion ($7.3 billion) this year, up from ¥616 billion in 2023.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Times
2 hours ago
- Japan Times
Overseas WWII memorial services for Japanese families set to end
A program that allows families of Japanese nationals who died in overseas battlefields during World War II to visit memorial sites and hold commemorative ceremonies abroad will end this fiscal year due to the aging of participants. With this year marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the war, Nippon Izokukai, a bereaved families organization for the war dead and the program's organizer, decided that it would be difficult to maintain the initiative with the average age of participants exceeding 80. The program was launched in fiscal 1991 with the help of state subsidies. Many people have participated in memorial services to remember the war dead, while the program has also facilitated interactions with residents in the Pacific islands, China, the Philippines and other locations that were once fierce battlegrounds. As of April 1, about 16,000 people had taken part in about 450 trips through the program. The number of participants has been declining recently, however, with many bereaved families growing older. After the number of participants peaked at 911 in fiscal 2005, the figure dwindled to 248 in fiscal 2023 following a suspension of the program due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Against this background, the organization decided to terminate the program at the end of March next year. The move also means an end to memorial ceremonies at sea. In June this year, participants prayed for the souls of the fallen in a string of such ceremonies held in the Taiwan Strait, off the coast of the Philippines and other locations. The program will also take participants to the Philippines as early as November. Many families of the war dead have expressed disappointment about the program's termination. "It's a shame that that the program will come to an end," said Hisako Tsuchitana, 84, who went on two trips to Saipan to pray for her father, who died there. "I felt closer to my father by visiting the place where he died in battle," she added. "I would have liked the program to continue until at least our grandchildren's generation." Toshiei Mizuochi, 82, a former Upper House lawmaker who heads the organization, issued a statement saying that the group plans to invite foreign nationals involved in the memorial services to come to Japan to tour war memorial facilities. "We hope to continue our interpersonal exchanges in a different form," an official of the organization said.
NHK
2 days ago
- NHK
Japan Airlines chief vows to ensure safety on 40th anniversary of deadly crash
The president of Japan Airlines has expressed her resolve to ensure flight safety as the carrier marked 40 years since the world's deadliest single-plane accident. Tottori Mitsuko spoke to reporters after attending a memorial service on Tuesday at the foot of the mountain in Gunma Prefecture, north of Tokyo, where the JAL jumbo jet crashed on August 12, 1985. She said more senior citizens and children seemed to have climbed the mountain than last year, and it means that more people of all ages are sharing the sorrow. She said she deeply feels the responsibility to protect the lives of passengers, adding that Japan Airlines employees will bear in mind for decades to come that safety is their top priority. The carrier was reprimanded by the transport ministry in May last year over five incidents. In one of the episodes a passenger plane went across an adjacent runway without permission, and in another an aircraft crossed a stop line leading to a runway. The ministry issued a business improvement advisory last December after two pilots were found to have conspired to cover up their excessive pre-flight drinking. Tottori said these troubles must have caused anger and mistrust among the bereaved families. She said that preventive measures would be pointless unless they produce results and win customers' trust. She acknowledged that the company did not properly monitor how the measures were implemented, and the executives' understanding of risk management was insufficient.
Japan Times
3 days ago
- Japan Times
Osaka Expo ticket sales exceed break-even point
Ticket sales for the ongoing World Expo in Osaka have exceeded 18 million, the break-even point for operating costs, organizers said Monday. About 18.09 million tickets had been sold as of Friday, according to the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, which aims to sell 23 million tickets. Weekly sales have been 400,000 to 500,000 tickets since the April 13 opening of the Expo. Before the opening, ticket sales were sluggish and there were concerns that the Expo would end in the red. But the Italian, U.S. and other foreign pavilions have proven popular, while the event is receiving favorable social media reviews. The operating costs of the Expo is estimated at ¥116 billion ($785 million), with ¥96.9 billion expected to be covered by admission fee revenue. But unexpected expenses may arise. The park and ride system, which the Expo introduced to allow visitors to transfer from private cars to shuttle buses to access the venue, may lose several billion yen because of initial low usage, a senior association official said. In addition, a Japanese government official warned that if the venue is closed due to weather conditions, losses will reach ¥600 million per day. "Selling 18 million tickets is only one passing point. At this point, I can't say that we will be profitable," another senior association official said.
