Japanese coastal cities Fujisawa, Kamakura saw rise in tourists in 2024
Officials from Fujisawa City say it welcomed an estimated 20.4 million travelers in 2024. That is up about 4 percent from the previous year and the highest since comparable data became available in 1989.
The officials point to good weather during the summer when many people visit the beaches for bathing. They also say foreigners flocked to Enoshima Island, which offers views of the Pacific Ocean and Mount Fuji.
Visitors spent a total of 113.8 billion yen, or nearly 800 million dollars, including accommodation fees and spending on food and drink. That is also a record.
Officials from neighboring Kamakura City, known for its temples and shrines, say that the number of travelers surged about 30 percent year-on-year to 15.9 million. They attribute this to a rise in foreign tourists.
Officials from the two cities say that they will promote tourism while protecting the quality of locals' daily lives.
Both Fujisawa and Kamakura are about an hour's train ride from Tokyo.
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Japan Times
4 hours ago
- Japan Times
A seaside hotel built on competitive Japanese cycling
Despite a persistent rain off the Seto Inland Sea in early June, nine keirin bikers in brightly colored Lycra are lining up on a track in the coastal town of Tamano, their rear wheels held in a starting block so they're ready to take off as soon as the pistol fires. With the course banked to 30 degrees in places to accommodate speeds approaching 70 kilometers per hour, a wet track seems like a risky prospect. 'Nothing short of a major typhoon will make them cancel a race,' says Eiji Kosaka, reception manager of Keirin Hotel 10 . Opened in 2022, the hotel was the first in Japan to be integrated into a sports stadium — in this case, the Tamano Keirin velodrome. Most of its rooms look directly over the track, allowing guests to watch races from the comfort of a private balcony. I've come to get an up-close taste of keirin, a competitive biking discipline that started in Kyushu in 1948 to boost the postwar economy and has risen to the ranks of Olympic competition. In keirin's lapped races, cyclists initially follow a pacer, using the slipstream to get up to breakneck speeds. They remain in a predetermined order until the final laps, when the pacer exits and the racers sprint for the finish line, jostling for position. Japanese-style competitive cycling is just one of a few examples of legalized sports betting in the country. | ONKO CHISHIN I've heard the Japanese version can get fairly rough and tumble, with headbutting, thrown elbows and no brakes to soften collisions. To my relief, the soggy race I'm watching never gets ugly. The riders just zip over the line, trailing fantails of water and coasting amiably back to the locker rooms. Perhaps because of the rain, there are only a handful of spectators, so I've no crowd reaction to gauge the result. Was it the outcome expected or an upset? I'm not sure, but since punters can place bets at a track or off-site facility, by phone and even online, I know somebody somewhere is ripping up a betting slip in frustration. Keirin is big business. Alongside motorcycle, boat and horse racing, it is one of only four sports with legalized gambling in Japan. Races take place nearly every day at 43 velodromes across the country, and in fiscal 2024, the Japan Keirin Association reported over ¥1.3 trillion in betting slip turnover. Rooms at Keirin Hotel 10 offers views of both the velodrome track below and the Seto Inland Sea beyond. | ONKO CHISHIN The historic Tamano velodrome, which was established in 1951, has been there throughout most of keirin's rise to popularity. When the operators decided to renovate in 2020, they wanted to preserve the track's 70-year history while getting more use out of the facility. They settled on the idea of a hotel. 'Typically, keirin venues have athlete accommodation facilities, but these are only used during races — just a few dozen days per year,' says Tomoki Matsuyama, CEO of Keirin Hotel 10 operator Onko Chishin. 'The project team thought: 'Why not transform it into a hotel and open it to the general public?' 'We're introducing the appeal of keirin culture not only to traditional fans but also to people who know nothing about keirin, younger generations and international visitors.' The erstwhile athlete dormitory was converted into Keirin Hotel 10, an eight-floor, 149-room hotel that opened in 2022. The facilities include a restaurant, Japanese-style bath, event spaces and even a small gallery with a keirin exhibit. The athletes still stay here on race days but on floors sequestered from regular guests. Races at the Tamano Velodrome take place a few dozen days per year. | ONKO CHISHIN The DNA of the historic stadium is alive in the hotel's decor, with salvaged seats turned into rocking chairs, lap timers into colorful objets d'art and even parts of the stadium mascot, Guts Tamachan, repurposed as art in the lobby bathroom. Bike frames become chandeliers and flower vases. Hangers are halved tire rims. The bold color scheme comes from the racers' uniforms. It's a kitschy-fun immersion in the world of keirin and a ready-made chance for the cycling-loving staff to connect with guests by explaining the finer points of the sport to the uninitiated. With a location near Uno Port and rental bikes that can be taken on the ferry, the hotel makes for a convenient base for exploring Naoshima and the art islands of the Seto Inland Sea on two wheels. Meanwhile, a range of rooms from suites with semi-open-air baths and spacious balconies (¥48,450 per person per night) to budget-priced singles (¥8,580 per night) accommodates most budgets.
Japan Times
4 hours ago
- Japan Times
In preserving Japanese hospitality, ‘details are everything'
When I arrive at Beniya Mukayu , a traditional ryokan inn on the outskirts of Kaga, Ishikawa Prefecture, Sachiko Nakamichi leads me from the airy lounge to a quiet room where co-owner and husband, Kazunari, dressed in a traditional yukata kimono and black haori jacket, welcomes me with an abbreviated tea ceremony experience. After a stroll through the garden, I experience the property's spa treatment (a therapeutic massage followed by a personalized herbal therapy based on traditional herbal medicine and a constitutional questionnaire determining which herbs were bundled into a heated compress) before a kaiseki (haute Japanese cuisine) dinner of local specialties prepared by chef Hiroaki Kaku. Yet beneath this luxurious and serene surface lies a more complex mission. Sachiko sees ryokan — both Beniya Mukayu in particular and Japan's traditional inns as a whole — as a vessel for sustaining an entire cultural ecosystem. "At ryokan, which are the heart of onsen towns, local residents, farmers, fishermen, sake brewers and artisans collaborate to create a culture where the entire area welcomes travelers," says Sachiko, 66, of Japan's traditional omotenashi (hospitality). "We see it as our responsibility to pass these traditions to the next generation.' As international hospitality chains expand across Japan at record pace, with recently opened properties including the country's first Waldorf Astoria in Osaka and an outpost of the Banyan Tree brand in Kyoto, some of the country's most resilient independent inns and restaurants are proving that a counterintuitive strategy can work: deepening local roots rather than abandoning them. This approach has caught the attention of UNESCO and the Relais & Chateaux hotel group. The Relais & Chateaux group highlighted Beniya Mukayu as a "ryokan" inn uniquely positioned to champion sustainable business practices as part of a new UNESCO program. | BENIYA MUKAYU Announced last November, the UNESCO-Relais & Chateaux partnership centers on three major missions: 'preserving the world's hospitality and culinary traditions, contributing to the protection and development of biodiversity, and taking daily action for a more humane world.' Though still in the early stages of planning, the collaboration aims to translate these ideals into action with pilot projects, aiming 'to promote UNESCO Sites and traditional knowledge by encouraging sustainable biodiversity conservation and use while respecting local cultures and preserving natural and cultural heritage,' with details set to be revealed this November. "The goal that we have ... is to prevent any greenwashing,' says Relais & Chateaux President Laurent Gardinier, referring to similar programs that struggle to make progress years after getting off the ground. "The idea is to implement initiatives little by little, with each property contributing in its own way." In Japan, where family-run businesses face mounting pressure from global consolidation, Relais & Chateaux counts 13 independently owned properties as members. However, Gardinier emphasized that two — Beniya Mukayu and Otowa , a French restaurant in Tochigi Prefecture — are uniquely positioned to champion the new initiative's values at the grassroots level. Founded in 1928 along the road from Kyoto to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Shirakawa-go , Beniya Mukayu represents what Gardinier calls "the very image of Japanese perfection": minimalist architecture, exceptional local cuisine and impeccable hospitality. In 1996, third-generation owners Kazunari and Sachiko Nakamichi began working with architect Kiyoshi Sei Takeyama to transform the property into a luxury retreat that pays homage to its venerable heritage. The inn stands on the site of a temple where, 1,300 years ago, Buddhist monks used hot springs and herbal medicine for healing. Each of the 16 rooms (averaging around ¥100,000 [about $678] per night) are elegantly appointed with wood, bamboo, tatami-mat flooring and traditional clay walls that overlook the lush forest garden, where the Nakamichis have planted dozens of varieties of moss and flowers surrounding a majestic 300-year-old pine tree. Beniya Mukayu is currently run by third-generation owners Kazunari (middle left) and Sachiko Nakamichi (middle right), who intend to pass their business onto their sons. | BENIYA MUKAYU However, preservation requires innovation. In 2023, the ryokan launched Mukayu Days, a two-night forum connecting local artisans, producers, architects, academics and media to address preservation and succession challenges facing onsen culture. Perhaps most radical is Mukayu's staffing model: Over 30% of its core team is made up of international hires recruited from top hospitality schools such as Switzerland's Glion. Today, staff hail from France, Italy, Paraguay, Korea and beyond, and though the ryokan doesn't require fluency in Japanese, the unique makeup of staff means the team must find other ways to communicate the needs and desires of guests. 'What's interesting is that this international atmosphere actually makes the workplace more appealing to young Japanese staff,' Sachiko says. This shift addresses a growing challenge: the decline of generational succession in Japan's ryokan industry. While Sachiko and Kazunari's sons, Daisuke and Kosuke, are poised to become the fourth-generation owners of Beniya Mukayu, fewer young people across the country are entering hospitality — discouraged by rigid hierarchies and limited training . Some 100 kilometers north of Tokyo in Tochigi Prefecture, Otowa offers a different interpretation of what it means to be rooted in place — one shaped by a forward-looking vision of regional hospitality as a family endeavor. Led by founder Kazunori Otowa (far left), the team at Otowa have managed to uphold stringent culinary standards while emphasizing a level of work-life balance rarely seen in fine dining. | OTOWA RESTAURANT Founded in 1981 and relocated to a larger venue in 2007, Otowa was once a modest French restaurant in central Utsunomiya. Today, it has evolved into one of Japan's most celebrated destination-dining restaurants. Father and founder Kazunori Otowa, 77, originally envisioned a space where multiple generations could work side by side — though few others shared his belief at the time. 'When we built this place, people thought we were crazy,' he recalls. 'But I wanted something sustainable — something our children could come back to, if they wanted to.' They did — all three. Today, eldest son Hajime, 44, leads the kitchen, second son So, 42, a trained chef who ran restaurant Ciel et Sol in Tokyo for four years, returned to manage service and operations, and daughter Kana, 40, oversees weddings and special events. The timing of the family's reunion that coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic created a rare opportunity for the Otowas to recalibrate the business together. Each sibling naturally fell into a distinct role — what So describes as an 'unconscious division of responsibilities.' 'For my brother, being able to focus completely on cooking was important,' he says. 'And it helped that someone who understands him as a chef was standing right beside him.' Dishes at Otowa marry classical French technique with ingredients from the surrounding Tochigi Prefecture landscape. | OTOWA RESTAURANT The restaurant's culinary philosophy — marrying classical French technique with ingredients from the surrounding landscape — reflects the family's ability to look outward while staying firmly rooted in place. 'Otowa represents a beautiful dialogue between France, where (chef Kazunori) trained, and his Japanese roots,' says Gardinier. As Otowa's reputation has grown, so, too, has its impact on the local area. Increased visibility has helped bring more visitors to the region, but the family has deliberately kept prices moderate to remain accessible to local diners, and families who once brought their young children to Otowa return decades later to celebrate graduations and anniversaries. 'These aren't just repeat customers,' So says. 'We feel that they have grown together with us.' The sense of belonging extends to the staff. The Otowas also see their restaurant as a training ground for local talent interested in hospitality. Employees are drawn by the warm, familial atmosphere — something the Otowas consciously cultivate. Two of the wait staff, for example, are brothers. Today, founder Kazunori Otowa's son leads the kitchen, his second son manages service and operations, and his daughter oversees weddings and special events. | OTOWA RESTAURANT 'People ask how we siblings work so well together,' So says. 'But it's not just us — even our staff work that way.' 'We want our team to feel psychologically safe here,' Kana explains. After every staff meeting, each employee takes two minutes to speak on any topic — a book they've read, a skill they've learned or something more personal. 'A lot of young people in Japan don't feel that kind of emotional safety at school or work,' she says. 'Some don't even feel it at home.' This commitment to redefining workplace culture extends beyond the family's restaurant. In 2022, Kana became the first Japanese member elected to the executive committee of Relais & Chateaux, where she advocates for sustainable practices in the industry, often leading by example. "I make a point of going home before 8 p.m. to spend time with my family," says the mother of three. "We want to show young people who might be debating whether or not to go into the family business that it's possible to achieve a work-life balance.' Both Otowa and Beniya Mukayu demonstrate that in an era of accelerating globalization, the path to sustainability may lie not in standardization but in the courage to deepen local identity while remaining open to the world. As Gardinier observes: 'The rest of the world has something important to learn from Japanese hospitality. Details are not just details in Japan — they're everything.'
NHK
a day ago
- NHK
Worshipers pray for ancestors with 100,000 candles at Koyasan, western Japan
Worshipers lit about 100,000 candles to pray for their ancestors at a sacred mountain in Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan. Mount Koya, or Koyasan, is registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Koyasan's candle festival takes place every year on August 13. It began at 6 p.m. on Wednesday. People offered silent prayers beside the candles that lined the about two-kilometer passage through the Okunoin area, one of the major sites on the mountain. Visitors walked slowly along the path and took photos, enjoying the scenery by candlelight. Numerous small lanterns bearing wishes written by worshipers were also placed on the path in a shape of a Chinese character meaning "bloom." The character was chosen to stand for the wish that a flower for everyone's happiness will bloom. A married couple from Wakayama City said they placed candles thinking of their grandparents. Another visitor said he made a wish for his family to stay healthy.
