Japan Received 8,700 Foreign Visitors In August

Above, a view of Tokyo Tower from the Sumida River. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Japan saw a doubling of inbound foreign visitors in August, but the total numbers are very far from the numbers seen during the same period last year. All courtesy of COVID-19.

The Japan Times reported:

Japan received an estimated 8,700 foreign travelers in August, down 99.7 percent from a year earlier, amid the coronavirus pandemic, though showing a month-on-month pickup in volume, government data showed Friday.

The number of visitors more than doubled from the previous month’s estimated 3,800 and increased even further from May’s 1,663, the lowest figure since the government began compiling such statistics in 1964, according to the data released by the Japan Tourism Agency.

Still, the latest figure marked the 11th consecutive monthly decline since last October, when the number of South Korean visitors fell sharply on the back of souring political relations between Tokyo and Seoul over wartime issues.

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Kinkaku-ji Getting Roof Renovation

Above, Kinkaku-ji in 2015. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The pandemic is a good opportunity for some roof work in Kyoto's famed Kinkaku-ji "Golden Pavilion" as scaffolding surrounds the World Heritage Site.

According to The Japan Times:

KYOTO – The famed golden pavilion at the Kinkakuji temple in Kyoto began [September 8] a three-month renovation of its shingled roof amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has drastically reduced the number of visitors.

The pavilion with its gold leaf gilded facade is part of a World Heritage site in the ancient capital. Visitors will be unable to fully view the temple for three weeks as scaffolding will completely shroud the pavilion. The renovation work will be completed sometime in December.

Instead, a large photo panel of the Buddhist temple was set up on Tuesday for travelers and worshippers to see, as materials for the renovation work were brought in. Kinkakuji last underwent a similar renovation in 2002.

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