New Tourism Agency faces several barriers to boosting visitor numbers

Sunday 11th May, 07:06 AM JST

By Tsukasa Kamata

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Latest 15 of 32 Total Comments Show All

GrouchyGaijin at 01:44 PM JST - 18th April

This new agency has the job of pushing slurry uphill with a rake. Starting with the fingerprinting and photographing at the airport, then the almost complete absence of anyone who can get past "I'mfinethankyouandyou?" or who actually knows the answer to a question when asked. Window-wiper actions to indicate either no English/Chinese/Korean etc. etc., or an unwillingness to communicate is hardly welcoming. Unless, like many of the readers here I suspect, one has reason to actually be here, business/residency/family, I could not think of a single thing to draw me here. Concreted everything (riverbeds, mountainsides) crowds, asbestos, overpriced everything, monolingual unfriendly natives. Give me Thailand anyday.
majimeaussie at 02:11 PM JST - 18th April

Currently my mother and 3 aunties are here in Japan on holidays from Australia. Admittedly Japan is not the cheapest place around but it is also far from expensive. Last night we had dinner in Ginza at a restaurant decorated beautifully in Japanese style. The bill for food (salad, yakitori and nabe) and drinks, including beer and a couple of carafes of wine, was about 2000 yen per person. It is possible to get nice ambience and good food at a reasonable price. I must admit though that there would have been real language difficulties if I had not gone along.

In general, they are finding Japan very interesting and clean and the people amazingly helpful.
westurn at 06:35 PM JST - 18th April

longtallm, interesting post but you fail to see the real dillema. Which is the fact that anyone from the US taking the time to travel to Asia would probably find one helluva deal in Thailand over Japan any day of the freakin' week. Why eat soba, udon, or any other kind of "soup" like meal at US $7.00-$8.00 when the same thing would buy you a lovely 3 course Thai curry meal... with the beer included ! Not to mention the sun, the beaches, the water ! Japan can't offer that. The summers are miserable, the beaches crowded and dirty, and the water ? Filthy ! OK, maybe you wanna see some temples. Again, Thailand has some ancient areas of worship that are just amazing. As for shopping ? Why come to Ginza when I can hit up Macys on 5th ? And why would anyone in their right mind want to ride Japan's notoriously crowded trains when you could rent a caror bike anywhere else on the planet ?

Sorry to burst your bubble folks... but Japan is for working stiffs not vacationers !
telecasterplayer at 06:17 AM JST - 19th April

6 time visitor to Japan. #7 likely in the fall (hopefully to see Asashoryu clean up in the November Basho).
To Jerseyboy, et al.. I lived in San Francisco, and ceased to be impressed about 2 months after moving in. I sympathize. I know where you're coming from. BUT There are a MILLION great things to do and see in Tokyo. It's the most exciting city on earth right now. It's a 'northern' vacation, not a beach vacation. I visit temples (sorry, no temple fatigue) and jinjas, castles, battle sites, forests, gardens, a zillion museums, etc. and then party in the most incredible entertainment areas, Roppongi, Ginza, Dotonbori, Nanba, etc. Forget New York, a parody of itself. I'm surrounded by millions of friendly people who want to practice their English and are happy to see me (Hey, is that a banana in your.. nevermind). Marvel at great customer service, which we don't have in America anymore. Is it horribly expensive? No more than L.A., New York or Downtown Chicago. Watch for the airfare sales and go in the BEST season, spring and fall. You don't want noodles? Neither do I for every damn meal, so go to a department store basement. Put together the most incredible picnic basket. Better than any American deli I've been to in the last 15 or so years. But it DOES cost money, and it never ceases to amaze me how many people try to do it on the cheap. You get what you pay for, and some penny pinching isn't penny-wise. It CAN be done, but if you're really intent on being cheap, just go to f-ing Orlando or your local state fair.
Himajin at 09:48 AM JST - 19th April

Given the number of countries that require fingerprinting etc it's interesting that that is listed as a deterrent to tourism.
longtalllm at 07:41 PM JST - 19th April

@westurn: You're interested in Thailand, I'm interested in Japan. If I wanted to go someplace just for a "deal," I'd go to Vegas.
umbrella at 07:46 PM JST - 19th April

How many countries consider entering foreigners criminals and fingerprint them?? Only USA and it's puppet. As many have said, don't go to japan, go to Thailand or HongKong,
Pukey2 at 08:12 PM JST - 19th April

Visiting Japan to see Roppongi? Eyes rolling again.

As for food, the only thing Japan is good for is...wait for it...Japanese food! Everything else has been altered for local tastes, and most just isn't authentic. In general, I've found international food to be best in US and UK, but then again they have so many ethnic minorities that it's no surprise.
greenteaonsens at 11:29 AM JST - 20th April

Japan is an absolute dump as a tourist destination. It's only a place to make money in and then leave asap for nicer places.
jerseyboy at 02:07 PM JST - 21st April

telecaster...Thanks for the belly laugh. Tokyo "the most exciting city on earth right now" -- please. It's exciting all right, I quess, for folks like you who think a night in Roppongi or Ginza are a big deal. And who don't tire of seeing a bunch of temples that all look alike. But, respectfully, I don't think that places you in the mainstream of tourists. Sorry, but greentea has this one nailed. And, you don't need to sympathize for me, I get the hell out of here at least four times a year, for a real vacation location and go to Nikko, Nagano, or Hakone if and when I feel a need to play tourist here.
Den Den at 06:58 PM JST - 21st April

I think Japan has the potential to be one of the best new tourist destinations in the world. But...fingerprinting guests and murdering whales do tend to put people off a bit. It is a wonderful destination and I recommend it to all my friends.
thedeath at 01:22 PM JST - 22nd April

bunch of temples that all look alike.ha! very truth!
dano2002 at 01:22 PM JST - 23rd April

Honestly, what is the problem with fingerprinting? It does not bother me.

I am assuming that fingerprinting will be standard practice for Europe soon considering the high imigrant population.
Simon_Foston at 11:24 AM JST - 25th April

The biggest barrier faced by the new Tourism Agency is that over the past sixty years bureaucrats, politicians and construction company bosses have been busy concreting over most of the country and generally making it look as ugly as possible.
Rekishika at 05:04 PM JST - 25th April

Well, Himajin, GrouchyGaijin, Dano2002, regarding the fingerprintin, the potential for deterring tourism is assuming that people go to other countries where that rule applies. To me, personally, that is the other way around, Japan is the exception where I go to despite the fingerprinting. I do not set foot in any other country at this point that requires this. The issues regarding fingerprinting are twofold, false alarms (which can be expected to happen about 1 in 10000, on 5000000 visitors a year that means 500 per year per person looked for), and risk of theft and impersonation. With the Japanese immigration department, an interesting point is that they claim on their site (after some searching to find the article in the first place, it´s in the ´old topics´ section) to uphold the Act for the Protection of Personal Information Retained by Administrative Institutions. I wouldn´t hold too much faith in their claim though. Just read the act itself, articles 15-36 spell out the duties to which they are bound, then read their website and test them on how many of those duties they do not perform. You will find that their claim has no substance. As for the EU, there have been proposals by the European Commission to implement such a system in 2015, but a majority in European Parliament is strongly against this, and this will not pass without a fight. And Dano, if you feel it does not bother you, you´re welcome to post a link to a website where you have published your prints. Before you do that, I will remind you though that people can duplicate them using nothing more advanced than a laserprinter and wood glue (see http://www.ccc.de/biometrie/fingerabdruck_kopieren?language=en).