Japan welcomed a record 42.68 million visitors in 2025, and the tally is on pace to break that mark again. But much of that traffic still funnels through the same three cities.
Kyoto residents complain of overcrowded buses. Hotel rooms in Tokyo command prices unthinkable a few years ago. And in Osaka, the queues outside popular restaurants have become a running joke among tourists themselves.
The Japan Tourism Agency and the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) think they’ve found a way to ease that pressure while growing the industry: persuade the world’s wealthiest travelers to skip the well-worn path and spend their money in the countryside instead.
“High-value travel,” as JNTO defines it, means a visitor who spends more than ¥1 million (roughly $6,700) in Japan in a single trip, airfare excluded.
But according to Yoko Tanaka, director of JNTO’s Global Projects Department, that’s only half the picture.
The category is meant to capture travelers with genuine intellectual curiosity as well as cash, and JNTO estimates roughly 11.57 million such travelers exist worldwide, spending a combined ¥21 trillion ($131 billion) a year.
Since 2023, a dedicated JNTO office has been working to attract a larger share of that spending to Japan’s regions rather than to its three biggest cities.
Better Lodgings
A lack of five-star hotels doesn’t have to keep a region out of the running, Tanaka said.
Rather than requiring new luxury construction, the government’s support program funds upgrades to existing accommodation—better facilities and English-language service training—so that an established local ryokan can compete for the same guests as an international chain.
Officials have reportedly found that many travelers respond well once they experience a well-run traditional inn, and some regions have folded that kind of stay into their tour packages after seeing visitors react.
The government has named 14 “model destinations” nationwide for this kind of concentrated support. Kagoshima, in southern Kyushu, is one—known for its hot springs, black volcanic sand, and the active Sakurajima volcano looming over the bay.
Setouchi, spanning the islands and coastline of the Seto Inland Sea, is another, built around a growing reputation for contemporary art (its Naoshima “art island” already draws visitors from abroad) alongside a slower, boat-hopping way of exploring rural Japan. Both are being positioned as alternatives to Tokyo, each with its own distinct appeal.
One of the key challenges is a shortage of skilled personnel capable of meeting the needs of high-value travelers, particularly in areas such as guiding, hospitality, and regional travel services.
Curated but Authentic
Global luxury travel has moved away from brand names and conventional opulence toward privacy and a destination’s own history, according to JNTO. It describes the shift as “eclectic,” meaning travelers increasingly build trips around their own tastes rather than a checklist of famous sights.
But does heavily curating an “authentic Japan” experience undercut the sense of spontaneous discovery?
Tanaka’s view was that the two aren’t really in conflict. Central Tokyo or Kyoto are easy enough to wander without a plan, she said.
However, first-time visitors to rural Japan are often held back by language barriers and uncertainty about how to get around.
That is exactly why the more “authentic,” off-the-beaten-path itineraries tend to be arranged in advance, through a destination management company or travel agent, rather than improvised.
Visitor habits also vary sharply by market, and the numbers back this up. Americans who visited in 2024 stayed an average of 12.1 nights, but only about 40% were repeat visitors—many are likely still building a single, first-time itinerary around Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka.
Visitors from France, by contrast, stayed an average of 15.7 nights that year, among the longest of any market, leaving more time to range further afield.
“They’re likely drawn to the stories behind traditional crafts, and to conversations with the artisans who make them,” Tanaka said of these longer-staying European travelers.
Repeat visitation looks completely different across the Asia-Pacific region. Hong Kong travelers had a 90% repeat-visit rate in 2024, and Taiwan wasn’t far behind at roughly 87%—markets that tend to favor destinations with direct flights and newly opened luxury hotels or restaurants to chase.
Experiencing Japanese Concepts
Alongside “authenticity,” JNTO points to rising interest among these travelers in wellness, as well as in ideas that don’t translate neatly into English: concepts like ma (a sense of pause or the value of empty space) and ikigai (a sense of purpose).
The pitch is a trip built around reflection as much as sightseeing—walking a quiet forest trail, staying in an inn with no television, sitting with a tea master rather than photographing one.
It’s a soft-sell version of the same idea driving the whole strategy: that the regions have something Tokyo’s neon and crowds cannot offer, and that the world’s wealthiest travelers, in particular, are the ones most likely to pay to find it.
The Bigger Picture
Three years into the Luxury Travel Promotion Office’s existence, Tanaka said its focus has shifted from research to business matching, connecting luxury travel operators with destinations and businesses across Japan.
New markets are opening up, too. Visitor numbers from the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries rose 25.2% year-on-year in 2025, partly thanks to outreach from JNTO’s overseas offices, including the one in Los Angeles where Tanaka worked until this past May.
Tanaka also pointed to a shift in what these travelers want from a trip in the first place—many now actively seek trips that leave a positive mark on the places they visit, supporting local traditions and small businesses rather than simply passing through.
Spreading visitors more evenly across the country, she added, is itself a hedge against the negative impact of overtourism and a changing climate alike.
JNTO’s challenge is to convince more regions, from fishing villages to mountain towns, that they already have what affluent, curious travelers are looking for, then help show those travelers where to find it.
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Author: Daniel Manning
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