Japan Sees Record High In Foreign Visitors

Above, the Dotonbori district of Osaka. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

While the strengthening yen may be putting the brakes on Japan tourism to a certain extent, particularly in regard to spending by tourists, 2016 still has broken records in the number of foreign tourists in the January through June period.

The Japan News (Yomiuri Shimbun) reported:

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The estimated number of visitors to Japan in January-June grew 28.2 percent from a year before to a record 11,713,800, topping the 10-million threshold for the first time ever on a first-half basis, the Japan National Tourism Organization said Wednesday. 

The first-half visitor number rose for the fifth straight year, according to the JNTO. The increase was led by growth in the numbers of international flights and cruise ships to Japan.

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