UPDATE: Japan Has Changed forever – 10 Things you need to know before you go
Big changes are happening in Japan! Whether you’re planning a trip or just love keeping up with Japan travel news, you won’t want to miss this. From new attractions to cultural shifts, transport updates, and even controversial pricing strategies. This video covers 10 major changes coming to Japan in 2025!
Here’s what’s inside:
00:00 Intro
00:17 Tokyo DisneySea’s Fantasy Springs is (kind of) fully open
00:52 JUNGLIA, Okinawa’s new theme park, introduces dual pricing
01:33 Japan expands flight routes – ANA, Peach, and Air Japan
02:12 Japan considers easing foreign worker rules for hotels & ryokan work
03:11 Say goodbye to Japan’s luckiest train!
04:06 Suica IC Card updates – Subscription models, new features, and the Mobile Welcome Suica!
05:47 Stay overnight in a Japanese castle – But it’ll cost you $8,500 per night! 🏯
06:58 Security guards hired to manage tourists in Japan – Are “selfie tourists” becoming a problem?
08:12 2025 Cherry Blossom Forecast – Plan your hanami trip with the latest predictions!
09:97 Osaka bans public smoking before Expo 2025 What this means for travelers.
💬 Which update surprised you the most? Let’s discuss in the comments!
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26 Comments
😮😮😮wow! Surprising! Fantasy springs being open to walk around is awesome!!!
I'm okay with Locals getting a special rate, but I'm not okay with it going as far as one price for a citizens another for international tourists to me that goes too far.
We have places in NZ around Rotorua (a tourism hotspot) where locals who prove they live there with Mail get a discount and I think that's great but the idea that they would charge differently based on how Kiwi someone looked that would be wrong.
As with everything there will be a balance yen conversion rate where tourists will stay away because it got too expensive. Knowing Japan it will take them 2 years to adjust with the consequences for themselves. I can imagine something with the pooring drinks restriction, but that is just pure guessing. It has to do with customer service/contact and certain etiquette.
How many times u been to japan
Uhm… which is the "ending of an era" change??
thank you for another good video
Suica needs to be on Android mobiles! 😐! and i wonder how that smoking ban in Osaka will work in late night izakayas?,personally i think that smoking ban is directed at the millions of visitors Osaka will get.
a discount for locals vs an up-charge for visitors (foreigners) is a distinction without a difference (this has been the norm for Hawaii, and places like DisneyWorld in Florida for many years – i.e. show your Hawaii drivers' license and get a discount at hotels/attractions/etc.) in general I think it is a net good where the local economy is dependent largely on tourism – the standard of living /cost of an attraction is relatively different for a 'wealthy' visitor vs a local and to foster acceptance of a 'tourist attraction' in an area by allowing the folks who live nearby to enjoy at a discount seems like a net good. However- this is just price gouging when applied to places would be frequented largely by locals and tourists alike without offing an incentive to locals (restaurants in Tokyo for example)
Well, I would be ecstatic to be able to stay in a Jo. However, although I'm not quite in the hobo travel class, I'm definitely not part of the affluent travel class, so I guess I'm out of luck for this experience.
If a higher price is set for an attraction it is much like seeing Dr. Yellow, any decrease in price is like encountering a unicorn.
Unsafe selfing is a problem all over the world. Some individuals think (?) that a picture for Tic Tok, or Instagram is worth their lives.
Theme parks? Just you wait until the Chinese tourists come and ruin it for everyone.
Returning in April/ May for trip #21 to Expo. Found a reasonable flight, but week 2 is Golden week! Im still going because I didn't have to convince my wife, her idea ! But I do notice hotels are up over March last year, big surprise.
All those flowering dates are way too earl for our trip 🙁 Would require a trip all the way up to Saporro accoridng to the current predictions
Nice one Nathan! Much appreciated as always. I'm gonna go check out that latest Sakura forecast. I'm in Japan 22nd March – 7th April so 🤞🤞🌸🌸🌸
Policing selfie would require most of the tourist area to shutdown. Or they could just ban cell phone for tourist. Either way waste of time since Japan is basically turning itself into a theme park. Okinawa might as well be small Hawaii considering how expensive it is getting
Another amazing and informative video! Thank you a lot for the knowledge, Nathan!
Yes we will all miss DR YELLOW!!!! 💛
Yawn
There's no way the yen can strenghten it's only logical. Japan is losing 1,000,000 people every year so the workforce is dwindling .. By 2030 there will be 60m mostly retirees. Thus there will be less people contributing into the economy. The best immigrants that can actually contribute something to the society are captured by countries with high standards of living. It would take an actual miracle for the yen to return to 1 usd – 130 – 140.
Nice updates 👍
suica app only works with Apple phones and only Japanese ones…..no other phones have the coils
Hey Nathan, I really enjoy your videos. Do you know what date the new Welcome suica app launches? We arrive on 10th March and are hoping that it will be available before we leave Australia. Thanks Debbi 😊
Thank you very much for the video! 😃
There should be dual pricing, at least for residents of Okinawa, for the prime attractions. These attractions draw large crowds, which is an inconvenience to the locals. Yes, there are advantages to tourism, but more noise, more mess, and more tourists (which, while I acknowledge has its upsides) also has significant downsides. So why shouldn't the locals, or residents, have at least a small advantage in this situation?
I am sure if there is two-tiered pricing, they will have AI or an algorithm to determine daily pricing long before changes in strength of the yen. I don't mind two-tiered pricing because it seems visitors today tend to put more stress on the infrastructure/protection of tourist sites, world heritage sites, etc. than citizens in Japan.
Discounts for locals is pretty normal in Australia at museums, historic sites, gardens etc. so it's not that crazy imo. Encouraging local tourism is a smart strategy, since those are the people that are there all year round, not just during peak seasons.
Im so glad I'm a resident of Japan now and no longer a tourist 😅😅😅