Tourism Single-month record: over 3m travellers in March 2024

In March, the number of foreign visitors to Japan surged by 69.5 per cent compared to the previous year, reaching over 3.08 million—a milestone as it exceeded the 3 million mark for the first time in a single month. This increase was driven by tourists attracted to the cherry blossoms and Easter holidaymakers. Additionally, overseas travellers spent a record 1.75 trillion JPY (equivalent to USD11.3 billion) in the January-March quarter, marking the highest-ever expenditure for three months. The weakened yen contributed to this growth, as reported by the Japan Tourism Agency. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida chaired a ministerial council meeting to promote Japan as a tourism-oriented country.

The annual record of 31.88 million arrivals was logged in the pre-pandemic era in 2019, while the previous monthly high of 2,991,189 arrivals was recorded in July 2019. Visitors spent a record 5.3 trillion JPY in 2023. The most significant number of travellers came from South Korea at 663,100, up 13.2 per cent from the pre-pandemic level in 2019, followed by those from Taiwan at 484,400, up 20.4 per cent, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization's estimate. The rise in numbers also coincided with this year's Easter holiday in late March. Data showed that travellers from the United States and the Philippines, countries with large Christian populations, rose 64.3 per cent to 290,100 and 63.2 per cent to 78,800, respectively, compared with the figures in 2019.

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Though not everyone is happy about the influx:

The rise in inbound travel is leading hotels to raise their rates. Umekoji Potel Kyoto began setting higher prices for overseas bookings than domestic customers last month. The average room rate for Golden Week is 5% higher this year than in 2023. A 2,000-yen bowl of ramen at one tourist destination has become a hot topic on social media. Some observers argue that businesses charge foreign tourists more for goods and services. Hideo Kumano, chief economist at the Dai-ichi Life Research Institute, estimates that foreign visitors' share of individual spending on restaurants and entertainment will rise from 7.9% in 2023 to the 16% range in 2029. "Prices are expected to face more upward pressure going forward," Kumano said.

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Paywall alert:

A 2,000-yen bowl of ramen at one tourist destination has become a hot topic on social media

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Good Lord!! The outrage of a 2000 yen bowl of ramen.

In California, we pay about 2600 for a bowl of ramen (US$16.95). This doesn't include the tip. And the ramen is very average. So add in a 15% tip and your bowl of so-so ramen now costs close to 3000 yen. And this is a cheap night out in the States.

Majestic said:

Good Lord!! The outrage of a 2000 yen bowl of ramen.

In California, we pay about 2600 for a bowl of ramen (US$16.95). This doesn't include the tip. And the ramen is very average. So add in a 15% tip and your bowl of so-so ramen now costs close to 3000 yen. And this is a cheap night out in the States.

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Yep, I can't wait for my next trip to Japan. I'll be eating like a daimyo.

I can't imagine how long the flight from Maine to Japan would be , LOL. I'm afraid if I ever went back now , all my good memories of Japan would be shaken. At one time I planed to fly to Chicago and stay 2 or 3 days ; then to San Francisco for a few days. Next , I figured Hawaii for about a week before flying to Japan. The major flaw in that plan was I didn't win the lottery , LOL.

Inbounds inbound galore.

According to official data released on Friday, Japan set a new record for monthly visitors in June. The weak yen has spurred a tourism boom, now a significant driver of the economy. The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) reported 3.14 million foreign visitors in June, surpassing the previous record of 3.08 million in March and up from 3.04 million in May.



Japan welcomed a record 17.78 million foreign visitors in the first half of 2024, the country's tourism agency has said, as the weak yen helped drive tourist numbers above pre-pandemic levels. The January-June figure announced by the Japan National Tourism Organization on Friday is more than one million more people than the previous high of 16.63 million in 2019.



This increase is driven mainly by the recovery of Chinese tourists, who visited Japan five times more than in the previous year's first half. However, this figure is still more than 30% lower than the pre-pandemic level of 4.53 million in 2019. By country and region, South Korea had the highest number of visitors, followed by China, Taiwan, and the U.S. Meanwhile, the Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) estimated that visitors spent 3.9 trillion yen ($24.8 billion) in the first half of the year. Based on surveys released on Friday, the data indicates that Chinese tourists spent 442 billion yen, mainly on shopping, and outspent visitors from other places in the second quarter.

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We were four of them. Though I think my wife probably wasn't counted.

mdchachi said:

We were four of them. Though I think my wife probably wasn't counted.

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Are your kids not citizens? My kids enter on Japanese passports. Another interesting thing is when I have small children the nice immigration staff take me to the citizens line with my family even though I am entering as a tourist, has happened a couple times and I am surprised.

salyavin said:

Are your kids not citizens? My kids enter on Japanese passports. Another interesting thing is when I have small children the nice immigration staff take me to the citizens line with my family even though I am entering as a tourist, has happened a couple times and I am surprised.

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Technically I believe they are but we never got them Japanese passports. Didn't really seem to be any point to do so since we don't travel to Japan as a family much. And they don't need to travel any place American passports aren't welcome. We might want to get them Japanese passports at 19 or just before they officially have to choose.

That gets complicated. If any of your kids were not born in Japan did you register them? They may not be Japanese.

Also when you are a citizen of a country you generally are supposed to use that passport to enter. Some countries like the US are very up tight about that.
Japan you technically are supposed to but seems that let that slide a lot so you are probably OK. Do Japanese citizens have to use a Japanese passport when entering Japan?

The time your kids officially have to choose they may not have to, basically you can choose not make a selection and generally people get away with it indefinably as long as they never naturalized anywhere (only birth citizenships) so if they for example became a citizen of Canada or Germany or something they would automatically lose Japanese citizenship. I have a file on that somewhere I update with how people are doing with it. Japan seems to kinda turn a blind eye but do not for naturalized people.

salyavin said:

That gets complicated. If any of your kids were not born in Japan did you register them?

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They weren't born in Japan but I'm pretty sure they were properly registered. I seem to remember my wife going to the consulate to do that.