April Saw Record Increase In Tourists To Japan

Above, Godzilla peers over Shinjuku. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The surge of foreign tourists to Japan continues, despite some bumps in the road caused by the recent earthquakes in Kyushu.

The Japan News (Yomiuri Shimbun) reported:

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The estimated number of visitors to Japan in April jumped 18.0 percent from a year earlier to 2,081,800, breaking the record high of 2,009,500 set in the previous month, the Japan National Tourism Organization said Wednesday. 

The rise reflected the growing popularity of trips to Japan during the cherry blossom-viewing season, the JNTO said. Also behind the brisk result were increases in international flights to and from Japan and the number of cruise ships visiting Japan, it added. 

But the growth decelerated from the 31.7 percent surge in March, due partly to a string of powerful earthquakes in Kumamoto Prefecture and nearby areas in the Kyushu region since mid-April.

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