Editing Tourism in Japan (section)

=== 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.