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Japan welcomed one million more foreign visitors in the first part of 2024, reaching pre-pandemic levels, recording a new record of 17. 78 million, the national tourism organization said on Friday.
The weak yen draws giant crowds to Japan, and many tourists treat themselves to everything from kimonos to knives to food.
The January-June figure surpassed the previous 2019 record of 16. 63 million, and the influx prompted citizens of hotspots such as Kyoto and Mount Fuji to voice their thoughts about overtourism.
By country, from South Korea to Japan topped the ratings with 4. 4 million in a six-month period. China is in second place with around 3 million, five times more than at the same time last year.
Visitors from Taiwan are in third position and the United States in fourth.
In total in 2023, 25 million arrived in Japan, after strict border restrictions imposed during the pandemic were lifted.
The country has set itself an ambitious goal: to attract 60 million tourists by 2030, roughly double the record of 31. 88 million recorded in 2019.
Last month, Ichiro Takahashi, head of the Japan National Tourism Organization, called the target “a number we can reach with mandatory efforts. “
“There are still many little-known places in Japan that remain unexplored by foreign tourists. I think Japan has tourism resources,” he told reporters.
But some locals are fed up with etiquette and the rebelliousness of the tourist crowds.
In May, in a town near Mount Fuji, the government installed a giant fence at a popular viewpoint next to a convenience store in an attempt to dissuade others from taking pictures.
In tradition-rich Kyoto, locals talk about tourists harassing the city’s famous geisha, and visitors are now banned from some personal alleyways.
And the mayor of Himeji, a city in western Japan known for its World Heritage-listed castle, said the government was charging foreign tourists four times more than locals.
New crowd measures have been implemented on the most popular hiking trail of Mount Fuji. An initial payment of 2,000 yen ($13) plus an optional donation is charged for the Yoshida route, capped at 4,000 per day.
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