International travelers are visiting Japan in higher numbers than ever before, and this summer, numbers just keep going up. The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) has been estimating the figures for travelers entering Japan since far before the covid pandemic, but ever since Japan reopened its borders and threw the gates open to the rest of the world, the organization has been particularly focused comparing the monthly estimates with those from 2019. When Japan first welcomed all tourists back into Japan the numbers were only a fraction of what they once were, but within weeks visitor estimates started to shoot up, and observers have probably noticed a strong upswing in recent months and years. For June 2024, the number of foreign travelers in Japan has reached 109% of the number from June 2019.

The record-breaking number for June 2024 was estimated to be over 3.1 million, which was not just the highest number in the books for June, but for any single month in history. This also marks four consecutive months of more than three million visitors, and caps off the first half of the year with a total of about 17.8 million visitors in Japan – almost a 7% increase over pre-pandemic numbers. Some of the most notable changes are visible through the lens of country of origin: foreign visitors from Taiwan are up almost 25%, whereas arrivals from China are down 25% instead. Most impressively, international travelers from the United States are up almost 69% in comparison to pre-pandemic summers, according to JNTO’s estimates.

The sky-high visitor numbers in Japan, of course, only reinvigorate the debate concerning Japan’s overtourism issue. As many businesses realized during the pandemic, Japan is in no place to restrict the flow of international tourists visiting the country, but with more and more foreign visitors flocking to Japan’s most popular tourist attractions, locals are beginning to find the crowds untenable. In response, both large government bodies and small tourism associations are looking for solutions to the problem of overtourism, and at this moment one feasible response is to simply encourage sightseers to abandon Japan’s most popular destinations. (Perhaps our favorite choice here at the Japankuru team!)
Huge numbers of tourists travel Japan’s “Golden Route” every year, tracing a path between Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. But Japan is more than those three cities, and some of the most amazing travel destinations can be found elsewhere. To help defeat overtourism – and likely enjoy a much more pleasant and relaxed trip to Japan – check out just a few of our off-the-beaten-path recommendations for Japan:
・A Guide to Kusatsu Onsen ・A Mountainside Hot Springs Getaway in Gunma
・Itoigawa, Niigata: An Overnight Trip to Japan’s Jade-Studded Global Geopark
・Visit San’in! From Izumo to Mt. Daisen, a Guide to the Central San’in Region
・Izu Hotel Recommendations + Izu Travel Tips, From Capybaras to Glamping and Ocean Views
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