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Japan's real attractions exist in rural regions. Although the three major metropolitan regions now attract 70% of foreigners touring Japan, we would like to raise the percentage for other regions to more than 40%.

Wednesday 08th October, 05:55 AM JST

Yoshiaki Hompo, commissioner of the newly launched Japan Tourism Agency (Kyodo)

6 Comments

  • borscht at 09:13 AM JST - 8th October

    I think Mr. Hompo should also point out that the three major metropolitan regions now attract over 70% of Japanese touring Japan. (dare I say over 80%?) If he could figure out why people are attracted to such places (Disneyland, USJ, shopping, entertainment) and avoid the rural regions (nothing but 'beautiful Japan') in their own country, maybe he will have a clue as to why foreigners follow the same pattern.

  • ProfessorJ at 09:25 AM JST - 8th October

    we would like to raise the percentage for other regions to more than 40%.

    Oh well, would a great way to do that be to try to register as many places as possible as World Heritage? No? Will make little difference in foreign visitor numbers to those way-off-the-expensive-path locations? So why all the applications for registration? Rest of the world got too many sites, inlcuding your nearest supposedly inferior neighbours? Good luck with assuaging your battered ego.

  • kavikahi at 11:32 AM JST - 8th October

    It is quite true there are stunningly beautiful places here away from the city centres. Getting tourists there economically and in comfort is no easy task. It would be great to have forty percent of the visitors to Japan see some of the places I have, surely a different image would be taken home with them.

  • briantokyo at 04:26 PM JST - 8th October

    I've been to Kasumi, very small fishers town north of Kyoto. It took 3-4 hours to get there, and 6 hours to get back to Kyoto, mix of a few local trains. The town was pretty lonely and there were 0 foreigners. The temple there was nothing you could ever see in any of the main cities, it was absolutely beautiful.

    Getting there however, was no easy task like someone already mentioned. Also don't expect anyone to speak English in those areas. Finding lodging is also a big problem.

  • Nessie at 04:38 PM JST - 8th October

    Oh well, would a great way to do that be to try to register as many places as possible as World Heritage? No?

    No. The most recent world heritage at Shiretoko in Hokkaido is overtouristed and they're talking about restricting access. So there's no desire to worsen the problem by attracting overseas tourists. There is very little overseas promotion of Shiretoko. I have this from a prefectural administrator.

  • YadotNapaj at 07:42 PM JST - 13th October

    I see some nice places on some of NHK's programs once in a while which are nice places to visit from time to time, but not to live.

    Japan's Inaka really sucks. No one, including the Japanese want to live there. They are giving land away free in some places if someone will commit to farming the land for a determined number of years, and there are not many takers.

    What do they expect, though?

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