Japan urges Australians to head off the beaten track as record numbers flood tourist hotspots
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About 807,800 Australians visited Japan between January and November this year, nearly 200,000 more than the previous record in 2019. Japan’s tourism board has urged holidaymakers to swap Tokyo and Kyoto for towns in Tohoku and Kanazawa as Australian tourists flood Japan’s cities in record numbers.
![[Onsen town Yamagata, in the Tohoku province, in the north-east region of Japan.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/84ecc5a6ae155c9efe4180a0170c51e9db261305/0_0_7241_4833/master/7241.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
About 807,800 Australians visited Japan between January and November this year, nearly 200,000 more than the previous record in 2019, according to provisional estimates from the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO). Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email.
![[Cherry blossoms in Kanazawa in Japan’s east.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2db09a562843a24f841ac4494a7e522fa604c788/0_0_5040_3360/master/5040.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
The top-three destinations of Australian tourists were Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto, the travel booking company Flight Centre found. Australians were among the longest-staying visitors to Japan, JNTO said. But Japan has struggled with the post-pandemic return of swarming crowds, with Naoki Kitazawa, the executive director of JNTO’s branch in Sydney, urging tourists to move out of the major cities and travel into rural towns.
![[Justin McCurry's day of eating only Japanese convenience store food – video]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/95bcc379514731bb44f997fb5dc2d80d90cd8b08/0_0_1920_1080/1920.jpg?width=465&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
“We strongly encourage Australians to consider lesser-known destinations,” he said. “Travelling responsibly is more important than ever, especially in popular destinations where the impact of tourism can put pressure on local communities.”. The boom is set to continue with Australian bookings for Japan in the first three months of 2025 up by a fifth compared to 2024, according to Flight Centre.
