Japan A Bargain, Much To Hawaii's Detriment

Above, battleship USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The weak yen (against the U.S. dollar) is making vacations to Japan a great travel bargain, so much so that it is maybe a detriment to Hawaii.

People may be skipping a vacation in Hawaii in favor of one to Japan.

According to Hawaii News Now:

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A weak yen and strong dollar are actually boosting tourism to Japan but could be negatively impacting visitor arrivals to the islands, a new UH report says.

Researchers say Japan’s economy is struggling, but tourism is a bright spot.

The UHERO report suggests more Hawaii residents are also choosing to vacation to Japan instead of going to the U.S. mainland or doing a stay-cation on island.

To illustrate the problem, HNN compared the price of a seven-day trip from California to Tokyo at the end of June and found the total was a whopping $500 less than going to Honolulu.

Above, Godzilla peering over buildings in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To read more, go here.