The Japan National Tourism Organization announced this week that Japan saw a record number of foreign tourists visiting Japan in 2024. For the year just ended, approximately 36.8 million foreigners came to Japan, and it sometimes feels as if they are all in Kyoto at the same time (see above image)!
Seriously, according to many travel related surveys, Japan ranks as one of, if not the most desired travel destinations in the world. This is for good reason. The country is clean, safe, and orderly. Its geography is nearly 70% mountainous and thus the scenery outside the cities is stunning, which includes thousands of miles of coast line for this island nation. But the cities themselves are amazing with such diversity of activities, food, museums and architecture. The contrast between 1,000 year old temples and castles to modern mega structures creates a sense of awe.
Even the cities are clean with very little litter on the sidewalks. Most people tend to be very friendly and welcoming. The public transportation system is second to none, and is most famous for the shinkansen, or “bullet trains” which typically run on time to the minute and travel upwards of 200 mph.
So it is no surprise that nearly 37 million visitors arrived last year. This is up from 32 million in 2023 which exceeded the pre-Covid days. But get this, the government’s stated goal is to have 60 million visitors come to Japan in the year 2030!
In order for Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto to not become even more overrun, it is necessary for visitors to look outside these major cities for less known places. That is where Uncharted Japan comes in. Our mission is to showcase the off the beaten path places in Japan via video and blog posts so that those traveling to Japan will find the hidden gems of Japan and thus have a more pleasant experience. Its little known, but many of these outlying areas such as Izushi, Sasayama and Aizuwakamatsu are nearly begging for tourists, yet most tourists never leave the “big three” cities.
However, even within these three major cities, one can find unique, less crowded places to explore such as the Nanzenji Temple in Kyoto, the Tokyo Water Taxi in Tokyo and Yaeusu Terrace in Tokyo. So we hope you’ll visit our Youtube Channel to learn more about these hidden gems of Japan so that you can have a more enjoyable trip.