Number of international visitors to Japan continues to rise, but spending patterns are shifting as bargains start to dry up.
In terms of the number of people visiting, Japan’s inbound tourism boom isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. Recent statistics from the Japan Tourism Agency and Japan National Tourism Organization revealed that one Japan travel record was already broken last month, and another seems almost certain to be surpassed by the end of the year.
Last month, Japan had more than 3 million inbound international travelers during the month of September for the first time ever. The inflow didn’t just trickle past that mark, either, with roughly 3,267,000 visitors arriving in Japan, a 13.7-percent increase compared to September of 2024. China was the largest contributor (with roughly 775,500 tourists, up 18.9 percent compared to September 2024), followed by Korea (670,500, up 2.1 percent), Taiwan (527,000, up 12 percent), and the U.S. (224,700, up 17.1 percent).
September wasn’t a fluke month. Through the first nine months of 2025, Japan has had approximately 31.65 million foreign visitors, the fastest inbound pace ever and passing the 30 million-mark a month earlier than in 2024. The current record for inbound international travelers to Japan in a year is 36.87 million, and not only is that expected to be passed in 2025, it’s looking like this will also be the first year for the number to pass 40 million.
However, while the number of foreign tourists continues to rise, statistics show there have been some recent changes in how they’re spending their money in Japan. According to the Japan Tourism Agency, between July and September of 2025 the average per-person spending by foreign tourists was 219,428 yen (approximately US$1,480). That figure is roughly the same as it was in 2024, but per-tourist shopping expenditures for the period dropped by 11.4 percent in 2025, to 54,631 yen. Meanwhile, hotel expenditures for the period rose by 7.9 percent in 2025 to an average of 80,972 yen. These shifts are in keeping with recent trends of cooled-off foreign tourist shopping at Japanese department stores and skyrocketing hotel prices in cities and neighborhoods with high demand from foreign tourists, so while we’re unlikely to see Japan suddenly lose its status as the world’s hottest travel destination, we might be seeing the start of a change in foreign visitors’ travel style.
Source: FNN Prime Online, Jiji
Top image: Pakutaso
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