Japan Bound
Multimodal booking platform ‘Omio’ enters the Japanese market for international travelers to Japan
Berlin-based multimodal booking platform 'Omio' has entered the Japanese market to provide international travelers to Japan with booking opportunities of transportations.
International arrivals in Japan were up 6% to 3.47 million in February 2026, despite a 45% reduction in Chinese visitors
The number of international arrivals in Japan in February 2026 was up 6.4% year on year to 3,466,700, despite a 45% reduction in Chinese visitors.
UNESCO World Heritage Shirakawago in Japan will introduce a pre-reservation system for the bus parking in December 2026
Shirakawa Village in Gifu Prefecture will introduce a pre-reservation system targeting tour buses for the major gateway bus parking to World Heritage ‘Shirakawago.'
A furnished apartment for longterm-stays opens in Ebisu Garden Place, Tokyo, targeting foreign digital nomads
Anyplace Japan will open a furnished service apartment in luxury residence ‘Ebisu Garden Terrace Nibankan’ to meet foreign remote workers’ needs.
Expedia brand General Manager talks about their strategy in Japan and the future travel trends including the growing secondary cities
Travel Voice interviewed Tracey Weber, senior vice president and general manager of the Expedia brand, to know how Expedia sees the current Japanese market and the future travel trends.
Japan is introducing an Electronic Travel Authorisation, named JESTA, scheme by March 2029
Japan will introduce JESTA or Japan Electronic System for Travel Authorization by the end of March in 2029 to balance security and convenience in Japan's inbound tourism policy.
Japanese ‘DO (way)’ discipline is redefined as a modern wellness experience for international travelers by, KNT-CT, a major travel agent of Japan
KNT-CT Holdings has started selling Japanese ‘DO (way)’ discipline as modern wellness experiences for international travelers.
Accommodations in Japan increased International guests by 8% but decreased Japanese guests by 4% in 2025
The total of guests in accommodations in 2025 was down 0.8% to 653 million, and the average occupancy rate was up 2.2 points to 61.8%.
Trip.com sells Shinkansen tickets for a user to pass through a gate with an issued QR code
Trip.com will begin selling Shinkansen tickets in partnership with four JR companies, offering purchase opportunities to international visitors to Japan in their respective languages.
International cruise travelers to Japan increased by 1.2 times to 1.8 million in 2025 with 20% more port calls by foreign cruise ships
the number of international cruise travelers to Japan increased by 1.2 times year on year to 1,767,000, and port calls were up 1.3 times to 3,117, 6% more than the peak level in 2018.
Cherry blossom is expected to begin blooming in Tokyo on March 22 and in Hokkaido on April 24
Cherry blossom is expected to bloom as usual in western Japan and in eastern Japan and as usual or very earlier than usual in northern Japan. Booming is forecasted to begin in Tokyo on March 22.
International arrivals in Japan declined for the first time in four years in January 2026
The number of international arrivals in Japan in January 2026 was down 4.9% year on year to 3,597,500, declining for the first time in four years since January 2022.
Korean Air will considerably extend flight networks to local cities in Japan in this summer
Korean Air will considerably extend flight networks to local cities in Japan in this summer schedule, on the Seoul Incheon-Komatsu, -Aomori, -Okayama and --Niigata route routes.
Japanese major digital wallet service ‘PayPay’ forms a partnership with Visa for cross-border payment both in Japan and globally
Japanese major digital wallet service ‘PayPay’ signed a strategic partnership with Visa to build a global PayPay ecosystem. The first global market will be U.S.
Mitsubishi Estate enters the apartment hotel business, planning to open 10 properties by 2030 including the first one in Tsukiji, Tokyo
Mitsubishi Estate and Mitsubishi Estate Hotels & Resort launched a new brand ‘WAYPOINT’ to meet long-stay needs. The first ‘WAYPOINT TSUKIJI TOKYO’ will open on April 1 2026.
Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium expands sales channels for international guests in partnership with Linktivity
Linktivity, an e-ticket platform of Japan, has extended its sales network for Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium to allows global OTAs to sell the tickets to their users.
NAVITIME JAPAN, a navigation app provider, launches a generative AI-based tourism guide service for local governments or DMOs
NAVITIME JAPAN has begun offering a generative AI-based tourism guide solution exclusively for local governments, DMOs or tourism operators. AI automatically answers queries from travelers instead of staff.
JR EAST a railway company of Japan, offers a new pass for international visitors to use all lines in JR EAST area
JR EAST, a railway company of Japan, will begin offering a new railway pass ‘JR EAST PASS’ for international visitors to use all lines in JR EAST area and part of private railways.
Japan's inbound travel market in 2025 saw a 14% increase in international visitors to regional areas, while the share of Chinese travelers declined to 21%
Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) recognizes that an increase in international travelers to local areas and diversification of source markets have certainly been progressing, looking back 2025
Cherry blossom is expected to begin blooming in Tokyo and Fukuoka on March 21
According to Weather News' second cherry blossom blooming forecast, booming is expected to begin in Tokyo and in Fukuoka on March 21.
