Editing Tourism in Japan (section)

== History ==
[[File:Throngs of people walking towards Himeji Castle, Himeji, 2016.jpg|thumb|Throngs of tourists on their way to [[Himeji Castle]] in [[Himeji]] ([[World Heritage Site|WHS]])]]

=== From the middle ages to early modern period ===
In medieval Japan, travel became increasingly common with cultural and [[Kuge|aristocratic]] figures from Kyoto, and they initiated the genre of travel literature in Japan. Notable examples of travel literature from this period include the ''[[Tosa Nikki]]'' (935), part of the ''[[Sarashina Nikki]]'' (12th century), and the volume 4 of the ''Tohazugatari'' (1313).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Inada |first=Toshinori |date=June 1994 |title=中世紀行文学の旅の諸相とその意味 |url=https://ndlsearch.ndl.go.jp/en/books/R000000004-I3588931 |journal=中世文学の旅<シンポジウム> |issue=39 |pages=14–24}}</ref> By the late medieval period, supported by a network of inns offering fixed-rate lodging and meals, travel was widespread. [[Onsen|Hot springs]] such as [[Kusatsu, Gunma|Kusatsu]], [[Arima Onsen|Arima]], and [[Geto Onsen|Gero]] gained fame, attracting notable figures such as warriors and monks. Tourist souvenirs including ladles and toothpicks were popular among visitors. [[Sengen shrine|Pilgrimages to Mount Fuji]] also flourished.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Amano |first=Tadayuki |title=摂津・河内・和泉の戦国史 : 管領家の分裂と天下人の誕生 |date=June 2024 |publisher=法律文化社 |isbn=978-4-589-04326-9 |pages=150 |language=ja}}</ref>
[[File:Hiroshige26 nissaka.jpg|left|thumb|Travelling was popularised through travel literature and ukiyo-e]]
During the [[Edo period]], despite restrictions on travelling through checkpoints, guidebooks facilitated the popularisation of travel. Commoners with permits could undertake leisure trips, often disguised as pilgrimages. Inns, teahouses, and local products thrived, and travel information spread via diaries and ''[[ukiyo-e]]'' prints. Pilgrimages such as the [[Ise Shrine|Ise Grand Shrine]]’s ''Okage Mairi'' became major social phenomena, marking the beginnings of a modern tourism industry. However, foreign travel was extremely rare due to Japan's isolation policy. [[Matsuo Bashō]]'s 1689 trip to the then "far north" of Japan, which inspired his famous haibun work ''[[Oku no Hosomichi]]'', occurred not long after [[Hayashi Razan]] categorized the [[Three Views of Japan]] in 1643. During this time, Japan was a [[Sakoku|closed country]] to [[Gaijin|foreigners]], so no foreign tourism existed in Japan.

=== Meiji era and international tourism ===
[[File:1930s Japan Travel Poster - Fuji.jpg|left|thumb|A 1930s travel advertisement by the [[Ministry of Railways (Japan)|Japanese Government Railways]]]]Japan opened its borders in the late Edo period, but due to its location in the Far East and the limited transport options, there were not many foreign visitors. Foreigners eventually gained the freedom to travel within Japan, and efforts to actively attract international tourists began on the Japanese side. In 1912, the [[JTB Corporation|Japan Travel Bureau]] (JTB) was established. 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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Leheny |first=David Richard |url=https://archive.org/details/rulesofplaynatio00lehe/page/59 |title=The Rules of Play: National Identity and the Shaping of Japanese Leisure |publisher=Cornell University Press |year=2003 |isbn=0-8014-4091-2 |page=[https://archive.org/details/rulesofplaynatio00lehe/page/59 59] |url-access=registration}}</ref> During the interwar period, overseas travel to distant places such as Europe and the Americas was primarily limited to businesspeople, immigrants, and students, with leisure travel being mostly reserved for the wealthy.

In terms of domestic tourism, the dismantling of the [[Edo society|feudal system]], the development of transport networks such as railways and steamships, and the spread of information made domestic travel easier. Tourism-oriented travel became increasingly popular, and regions across Japan began developing themselves for sightseeing and leisure purposes. Long-distance domestic travel became accessible. 

=== Postwar period ===
During the postwar Allied occupation period, most foreign tourists in Japan were GHQ personnel or visitors from the United States. In 1954, Konosuke Matsushita, the founder of Panasonic, contributed an article titled ''The Case for a Tourism-Oriented Nation'' to the ''Bungei Shunju''. Matsushita argued that tourism could be considered a form of trade, and he pointed out that while exporting goods involves depleting Japan's resources, scenic attractions such as Mount Fuji and the Seto Inland Sea remain unchanged no matter how often they are viewed. He proposed that revenue earned through inbound tourism could be reinvested in other industries, and help rebuild the country's economy beyond its pre-war stature.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Antoku |first=Masanori |date=1 April 2020 |title=松下幸之助「観光立国の辨」～わが国インバウンド観光論の先駆け～ |url=https://niu.repo.nii.ac.jp/records/1544 |journal=紀要論文}}</ref>
[[File:JAL B747-400(JA8916) (4184195679).jpg|thumb|The Visit Japan campaign, launched by the [[Junichiro Koizumi#Prime minister|Koizumi administration]] in 2003 with the catchphrase '''Yokoso! Japan!''<nowiki/>', was the country's first government-backed initiative to promote inbound tourism.]]
For much of post-war period, Japan has been an exceptionally unattractive tourist destination for its population and GDP size. According to the [[International Monetary Fund|IMF]], [[World Trade Organization|WTO]], and [[OECD]], from 1995 to 2014, it was by far the least visited country.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ST.INT.ARVL?end=2014&locations=US-JP-DE-GB-FR-IT-CA&most_recent_value_desc=true&start=1995|title=International tourism, number of arrivals - United States, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Canada {{!}} Data|website=data.worldbank.org|access-date=2020-03-16}}</ref> As of 2013, Japan was one of the least visited countries in the [[OECD]] on a per capita basis.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-countries-where-youre-surrounded-by-tourists/|title=The Countries Where You're Surrounded By Tourists|last=Silver|first=Nate|date=2014-08-18|website=FiveThirtyEight|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-16}}</ref> Japan avoided campaigns to attract inbound tourists, especially because its large current account surplus had caused international friction with some countries. There were also factors such as Japan being the world's most expensive countries at the time (for example, Tokyo was rated by the [[Economist Intelligence Unit]] as the most expensive city in the world for 14 years in a row ending in 2006), as well as the language barrier.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-01-26 |title=日本人は｢失われた30年｣の本質をわかってない |url=https://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/325346?page=4 |access-date=2024-12-29 |website=東洋経済オンライン |language=ja}}</ref>

==== Active promotion of inbound tourism (21st century) ====
From 2013, under the [[Shinzo Abe#Second term as prime minister (2012–2014)|Abe administration]], policies to attract international tourists were implemented to offset the shrinking domestic demand caused by population decline and ageing. As a result, by 2014, for the first time in 55 years, income from foreign tourists exceeded the amount spent by Japanese tourists abroad, which means Japan finally ran a tourism surplus. Within six years, the number of international visitors has more than tripled, reaching 31.9 million visitors in 2019.<ref name="Jan2024PR">{{cite web | title=2023 Visitor Arrivals & Japanese Overseas Travelers(Compared to 2019) |website=Japan National Tourism Organization |date=17 January 2024| url=https://www.jnto.go.jp/news/20240117_monthly.pdf | access-date=19 January 2024}}</ref> Japan received a record 36.87 million tourist arrivals in 2024, an increase of over 47% from the year prior.