Japan Tourism Hit Hard By Quake

Above, Asakusa in Tokyo before the earthquake. The Tohoku earthquake even affected tourist numbers in Asakusa. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Source: Asahi.com

Asahi.com is reporting that tourism in Japan plummeted in the wake of the March 11 Tohoku Earthquake.

According to the article:

Hotels and inns across Japan lost an estimated 560,000 guests to cancellations following the Great East Japan Earthquake last month, according to the Japan Tourism Agency.

Hiroshi Mizohata, commissioner of the Japan Tourism Agency, told an Upper House land and transport committee Tuesday that the public's sense of self-restraint had hurt tourism, causing the number of tourists not only in the disaster-hit areas, but also across the nation, to tumble.

"The consequences are extremely serious," Mizohata said. Concerns over the dispersion of radioactive materials due to the nuclear plant accidents are spreading among tourists, whereas a variety of events have been suspended all over Japan, leading to a sharp drop in tourism demand. There are also repercussions from numerous countries discouraging their citizens from traveling to Japan.

Fans of Japanese science-fiction and fantasy films should not be discouraged as most kaiju locations and landmarks* are mainly from Tokyo to the south. The hardest hit areas of Japan were in the northeastern section of Honshu, the main island of Japan. Even there, efforts to get tourism back on track is well underway:

Matsushima in Miyagi Prefecture, touted as one of the three most scenic places in Japan, is one of the largest tourist destinations in the country, visited by about 3.6 million people annually. The Zuiganji temple, designated as a national treasure, was reopened to visitors Sunday, whereas bay excursion boats also plan to resume operations on April 29. Damage in the surrounding areas was relatively mild, and efforts for the restoration of tourism is well under way.

Tokyo's Asakusa section has been hit by the drop in tourism:

Tourists were a rare sight in Tokyo's Asakusa district Tuesday afternoon despite the warm sunshine. A 59-year-old employee of a tourist information office said, "I have worked here for more than 20 years, but never before did we have so few visitors." Her office normally serves about 3,000 visitors per day even on weekdays, but the numbers have plunged to 500-600 following the earthquake.

As much as I'd like to go to Japan right now, I won't be able to until this coming winter.

To read the full Asahi.com article, go here.

*For more information on kaiju locations and landmarks see The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan, which is now available at a 20% pre-vacation season discount from now to May 31.