Japan has hit back at a sudden influx in tourist in recent years with the introduction of a new accommodation tax.
The increased tax will apply to tourists visiting the city of Kyoto and will come into effect in March, 2026.
Kyoto is one of the most popular cities for Aussies and other international tourists, but visitors will now be subjected to the highest hotel tax in the country.
The hotel tax was approved last week and will replace the existing accommodation tax which has been in place since 2018 and was capped at about $10 a night.
Charges for international visitors will rise and tourists will pay an increasing amount of tax in relation to how expensive their accommodation is.
Guests staying in high-end luxury hotels priced above $1,000 a night will pay ¥10,000 per night, which is about $100.
Tourists staying in rooms with a rate of between $500 and $1,000 per night will be charged an additional $40 a night tax, while a $10 a night tax will apply to guests paying between $200 and $500 per night.
International travellers staying in accommodation priced below $60 per night will pay a $2 tax.
More than one million Aussies travelled to Japan between July 2024 and June 2025, according to the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO), which marked a 128 per cent year-on-year rise.
The measures are intended to reduce the impact of increased tourism in Kyoto, especially in the famous geisha district called Gion.
Local official Isokazu Ota revealed there are certain areas where tourists are forbidden from walking through, with signs warning them to “stay out of private streets”.
Kyoto is not the only Japanese city where travellers are subjected to a hotel tax, with Tokyo introducing a similar charge in 2012, followed by Osaka in 2017.
AloJapan.com