The origins of early traditions of visits to picturesque sites are unclear, but an early sight-seeing excursion was Matsuo Bashō's 1689 trip to the then "far north" of Japan, which occurred not long after Hayashi Razan categorized the Three Views of Japan in 1643. During the Edo era of Japan, from around 1600 to the Meiji Restoration in 1867, travel was regulated within the country through the use of shukuba or post stations, towns where travelers had to present appropriate documentation. Despite these restrictions, porter stations and horse stables, as well as places for lodging and food were available on well-traveled routes. During this time, Japan was a closed country to foreigners, so no foreign tourism existed in Japan.

Following the Meiji Restoration and the building of a national railroad network, tourism became more of an affordable prospect for domestic citizens and visitors from foreign countries could enter Japan legally. As early as 1887, government officials recognized the need for an organized system of attracting foreign tourists; the Kihinkai (貴賓会), which aimed to coordinate the players in tourism, was established that year with Prime Minister Itō Hirobumi's blessing. Its early leaders included Shibusawa Eiichi and Ekida Takashi. Another major milestone in the development of the tourism industry in Japan was the 1907 passage of the Hotel Development Law, as a result of which the Railways Ministry began to construct publicly owned hotels throughout Japan.^[5]

For much of post-war period, Japan has been an exceptionally unattractive tourist destination for its population and GDP size. According to the IMF, WTO, and OECD, from 1995 to 2014, it was by far the least visited country.^[6] As of 2013, Japan was one of the least visited countries in the OECD on a per capita basis.^[7] Within six years however, the number of international visitors has more than tripled, reaching a peak of 31.9 million visitors in 2019.^[8]

Domestic tourism remains a vital part of Japanese economy and Japanese culture. Across the nation, Japanese children in many middle schools see the highlight of their years as a visit to Tokyo Tower, Yomiuriland, Tokyo Disneyland, Sensō-ji, and/or Tokyo Skytree, and many high school students often visit Okinawa or Hokkaido. The extensive rail network together with domestic flights sometimes in planes with modifications to favor the relatively short distances involved in intra-Japan travel allows efficient and speedy transport. International tourism plays a smaller role in the Japanese economy compared to other developed countries; in 2013, international tourist receipts was 0.3% of Japan's GDP, while the corresponding figure was 1.3% for the United States and 2.3% for France. In 2019, the value was up to 1.0% of GDP, driven by an increase in international tourism, while the country's GDP has remained stable.^[9][10]

Tourists from South Korea have made up the largest number of inbound tourists several times in the past. In 2010, their 2.4 million arrivals made up 27% of the tourists visiting Japan.^[11]

Travelers from China have been the highest spenders in Japan by country, spending an estimated 196.4 billion yen (US$2.4 billion) in 2011, or almost a quarter of total expenditure by foreign visitors, according to data from the Japan Tourism Agency.^[12]

From 2016 to 2020, Japanese government hoped to receive 40 million foreign tourists every year by 2020.^[13] According to the Japan National Tourism Organization in 2017, 3 out of 4 foreign tourists came from other parts of East Asia, namely South Korea, mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.^[14]

Japanese film, TV, video game, and manga/anime industries, who lead a role in driving tourism to Japan. In surveys held by Statista between 2019 and 2020, 24.2% of tourists from the United States, said they were motivated to visit Japan because of Japanese popular culture.^[15]

Following the triple meltdown of Fukushima nuclear reactors in Fukushima Prefecture caused by the earthquake and tsunami, the number of foreign visitors to Japan declined for the first time since 2009. In September 2011, some 539,000 foreign tourisms visited Japan, 25 percent down compared with the same month in 2010. This decline was largely attributed to the natural disasters including Fukushima nuclear accident; also the stronger yen made a visit to Japan more expensive.

In October 2011, the Japan Tourism Agency announced a plan to give 10,000 round-trip air tickets to Japan to encourage visitors to come and to boost tourism. However, on December 26, 2011, the Agency reported on their site that the "Fly to Japan! Project", which would have given out 10,000 round-trip tickets to Japan, had not been approved by the government for fiscal year 2012.^[16]

By 2012, free tickets would be offered if the winners would write online about their experiences in Japan. They also would need to answer some questions about how they felt while visiting Japan after the triple disaster and how interest in tourism in Japan could be renewed. About US$15 million would be spent on this program.^[17][18] International tourism inflows in Japan had recovered to pre-2011 levels.^[19]

In early 2020, Japan received only 4.1 million foreign tourists, as many countries tightened travel restrictions due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. This was the first time visitor statistics had fallen since the Great Recession in 2008.^[20] In January and September 2021, tourism in Japan had also further dipped to 245,862 foreign visitors, which was a 88% decrease as compared to 2020.^{[citation needed]} In October 2021, as the country lifted the fourth state of emergency up and ahead^{[clarification needed]} of the endemic phase, the Japanese government announced that many domestic visitors would be only resumed^{[clarification needed]} and waived from the pandemic, in a move to reopen domestic travel with the introduction of vaccinated travel lanes.^{[citation needed]}

In late November 2021, amid the spread of a highly transmissible COVID-19 Omicron variant, many countries including Japan tightened travel restrictions, with some governments banning travel completely to curb transmission.^{[citation needed]}

In September 2022, the Japanese government announced that visa requirements from some countries would be waived from October 2022, in a move to reopen international travel after the pandemic border restrictions.^[21][22] Prior to the pandemic, Japan did not require tourist visas for 68 countries and regions.

These are the top 35 nationalities that visited Japan from 2017 to 2023.^[23]

Hokkaido edit

• Niseko Ski Resort
• Shiretoko Peninsula (WHS)
• Teshikaga – Lake Mashū, Lake Kussharo
• Tōya Caldera and Mount Usu Geopark
• Daisetsuzan Volcanic Group
• Hakodate
• Otaru

Tōhoku region edit

• Shirakami-Sanchi (WHS)
• Mount Osore
• Lake Towada
• Hirosaki – Hirosaki Castle, Nakacho Samurai District
• Hiraizumi – Chūson-ji, Mōtsū-ji, Kanjizaiō-in, Takkoku-no-Iwaya
• Semboku – Kakunodate Samurai District, Lake Tazawa, Nyūtō Onsen
• Yamagata – Yama-dera Temple, Zaō Onsen
• Matsushima

Kantō region edit

• Nikkō – Shrines and Temples of Nikkō (WHS), Kegon Falls, Lake Chūzenji, Cedar Avenue of Nikko
• Tomioka Silk Mill (WHS)
• Kinugawa Onsen – Edo Wonderland Nikko Edomura, Tobu World Square
• Utsunomiya – Oya stone museum, Utsunomiya Futarayama Shrine
• Ashikaga, Tochigi – Ashikaga Gakkō, Ashikaga Flower Park [ja]
• Tokyo – Imperial Palace, Asakusa, Akihabara, Ginza, Harajuku/Omotesandō, Nakano Broadway, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Tsukiji Fish Market, Ueno Park , Fujiko F. Fujio Museum , Studio Ghibli Museum
• Tokyo Disney Resort
• Kamakura – Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū, Kōtoku-in, Kenchō-ji, Engaku-ji, Meigetsu-in, Hase-dera
• Kusatsu Onsen
• Hakone Onsen

Chūbu region edit

• Mount Fuji
• Japanese Alps – Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route(Mount Tate), Hida Mountains, Kiso Mountains, Akaishi Mountains
• Kurobe Gorge Railway
• Shiga Kōgen
• Matsumoto – Matsumoto Castle, Mount Hotaka, Kamikōchi
• Shirakawa-gō and Gokayama (WHS)
• Takayama – Sanmachi Traditional Street, Ōshinmachi Traditional Street, Higashiyama Temple Area
• Kanazawa – Kenroku-en Garden, Kanazawa Castle, Higashi Geisha District, Nagamachi Samurai District
• Sakai – Tōjinbō, Maruoka Castle
• Nagoya – Nagoya Castle, Atsuta Shrine, Sakae, Nagoya Station (Meieki), Ōsu Kannon temple

Kansai region edit

• Kyoto – Kinkaku-ji, Ginkaku-ji, Kiyomizu-dera, Ryōan-ji, Sanjūsangen-dō, etc., they are parts of Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (WHS)
• Uji – Byōdō-in and Ujigami Shrine (WHS), Relation of The Tale of Genji
• Ōtsu – Lake Biwa, Hiyoshi Taisha, Sakamoto Temple District, Mount Hiei, Enryaku-ji (WHS)
• Ōmihachiman – Traditional Riverside District
• Nara – Tōdai-ji, Tōshōdai-ji, Kōfuku-ji, Yakushi-ji, Heijō Palace, Kasuga-taisha and Nara Park, etc. They are parts of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara (WHS).
• Ikaruga – Hōryū-ji and Hōki-ji are Buddhist Monuments in the Hōryū-ji Area (WHS).
• Yoshino (Mount Yoshino) – Kimpusen-ji, Yoshimizu Shrine, Yoshino Mikumari Shrine, etc. They are parts of the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range (WHS).
• Shingū – Kumano Hayatama Taisha and Kumano River (WHS)
• Nachikatsuura – Nachi Falls, Kumano Kodō, etc., they are parts of Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range (WHS)
• Mount Kōya – Kongōbu-ji (WHS)
• Osaka – Osaka Castle, Umeda, Namba, Dōtonbori, Shinsaibashi, Shinsekai, Shitennō-ji, Sumiyoshi-taisha, Universal Studios Japan, Kaiyukan, Rinku Town, Den-Den Town, Expo Commemoration Park, Kamagasaki^[24]
• Himeji – Engyō-ji, Koko-en Garden, and Himeji Castle (WHS)
• Kobe – Port of Kobe, Rokkō Mountains, Kitano-chō, Arima Onsen, Kobe Luminarie
• San'in Kaigan Geopark – Toyooka, Izushi, Kinosaki Onsen, Yumura Onsen

Chūgoku region edit

• Hiroshima Prefecture – Itsukushima Shrine (WHS), Onomichi, Tomonoura
• Okayama Prefecture – Kurashiki, Kōrakuen Garden, Okayama Castle
• Tottori Prefecture – Tottori Sand Dunes, Mount Daisen, Mount Hyōno, San'in Kaigan Geopark
• Shimane Prefecture – Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine (WHS), Izumo-taisha, Matsue Castle, Oki Islands, Tsuwano
• Yamaguchi Prefecture – Hagi

Shikoku edit

• Shikoku Pilgrimage (Zentsū-ji, Motoyama-ji, etc.)
• Ehime Prefecture – Dōgo Onsen, Matsuyama Castle
• Kagawa Prefecture – Kotohira-gū Shrine, Ritsurin Garden, Shōdo Island, Naoshima Island
• Tokushima Prefecture – Naruto whirlpools, Awa Dance Festival in Tokushima
• Kōchi Prefecture – Kōchi Castle, Cape Muroto (Muroto Geopark), Cape Ashizuri

Kyushu and Okinawa edit

• Fukuoka Prefecture – Mojiko Retro Town, Kokura Castle, Dazaifu Tenman-gū, Remains of Dazaifu (government)
• Ōita Prefecture – Many types of hot springs in Beppu, Ōita or Yufuin, Ōita, Usa jingū, stone bridges, small stonehenge on the top of Komekamiyama (mountain), Hello Kitty Harmonyland
• Nagasaki Prefecture – Ōura Church, Higashi-Yamate, Minami-Yamate including the Glover Garden, Huis Ten Bosch (theme park), Hidden Christian Sites (WHS)
• Kagoshima Prefecture – Yakushima (WHS), Sakurajima, Amami Ōshima
• Miyazaki Prefecture – Kirishima-Yaku National Park, Takachiho, Old Exculibur on the top of Takachiho-kyo mountain, Nichinan, Miyazaki,　Chambered barrows of Saitobaru kofungun, Heiwadai Park
• Kumamoto Prefecture – Kumamoto Castle,　Mount Aso
• Saga Prefecture – Pre-400 BC Yayoi archaeological site in Yoshinogari site
• Okinawa Prefecture – Shuri Castle, Nakagusuku Castle, Nakijin Castle, etc. They are parts of the Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu. (WHS), Ishigaki Island, Miyako Island, Iriomote Island, Traditional Ryukyuan Houses in Taketomi Island

• Groups of Traditional Buildings
• Japanese museums
• List of National Geoparks in Japan
• List of Special Places of Scenic Beauty, Special Historic Sites and Special Natural Monuments
• World Heritage Sites in Japan
• List of museums in Japan
• National Treasures of Japan
• Omiyage
• Ryokan (Japanese inn)
• Visa policy of Japan

• Travel with Smile. Best Places to Travel in Japan

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• Uzama, Austin. "Yokoso! Japan: Classifying foreign tourists to Japan for market segmentation." Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management 21.2 (2012): 132–154.
• Yanagi, Miyuki. "Reconsideration of Japan's tourism innovation characteristics." Geographical Research Bulletin 2 (2023): 29–38. online
• Yasuda, Hiroko. "World heritage and cultural tourism in Japan." International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research 4.4 (2010): 366–375.

• Japan National Tourist Organization
• Japan: Travel and Tourism at Curlie
• JapanTourist Travel Articles Database Archived May 7, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
• 2018 Foreign Visitors & Japanese Departures