Japanese Government Seeks More Foreign Tourists
Foreign tourism is in the news this week, with the result of a survey showing that most foreigner tourists like the food here:
In the survey, which allowed multiple answers and was conducted by Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO), 71 percent of respondents cited Japanese cuisine among their motives for coming to Japan.
Since interest in Japanese food overseas is expected to rise following the release in November of the Michelin Guide Tokyo 2008, the first Japanese restaurant guidebook to be published by the famous French tire company, the JNTO foresees an increase in travelers coming to Japan with the intention of sampling Japanese food.
Among other reasons given for visiting Japan, 49 percent of respondents said they were interested in traditional Japanese architecture, followed by traditional Japanese gardens, at 46 percent, hot springs, at 36 percent, and visiting traditional ryokan inns, at 29 percent.
While covering the news about the survey and the Japanese government’s desire for more tourists from abroad, one network asked random foreign tourists in Tokyo to suggest changes they’d like to see made:
I suppose that it wouldn’t be too hard for restaurants in major tourist areas to print some English menus, but I’m afraid that it’s going to be much harder to simply Tokyo’s subway system…
[If you're interested in seeing more Japanese news reports on the effort to make things better for foreign tourists, you might want to check out this video report on foreign students advising Mizayaki Prefecture.]
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All transit I take for my commute have the names of routes and stations on the displays and automated announcements in English as well already … I suppose a feasible option would be to have the train crew speak in English as well over the PA?
When I first started using subways in Tokyo and Osaka I had a difficult time. I come from London where there’s one underground system; in Tokyo there are several train/subway systems all competing at the same spots.
I’m all for competition so perhaps a guide could be printed to make it easier for the tourist who don’t speak Japanese and don’t have time to get used to the system.
LOL, The fingerprinting is really helping to attract more tourists.
Hehe. Seriously…
I think that once you figure out the train system Tokyo is one of the most accessible big cities in the world. Just a little bit of Japanese skill goes a long ways in Tokyo.
I agree with Danny Choo. This is absolutely ridiculous! They want more tourists, but then they go ahead and pass the fingerprint policy?
This shortsightedness is unbelievable.
Hey man, no racist cracks about Japanese politicians being myopic! Hehehe.
I was going to post this same exact thing. They should think out the policies a little better if they would like to see their tourism increase.
well hotels or tourist agencys should give trainsystem maps with english and japanese out for free… that would help
I think most do. The signage at stations on most lines is enough to get by on if you don’t know the characters as well.
From a business perspective, tourism is a major untapped market in Japan. This country has so much to offer apart from its superior cuisine but no one knows it.
So political help and lots of Marketing are very much needed.
Related sidenote:
A new SNS called “Japaan” was recently established targeting “secret” tourist spots known only to insiders (in English).
It is a non-profit service and signing up is free/done in 30 seconds:
http://japaaan.ning.com/
The Osaka subway now has numbers on the lines which makes things easier – isn’t the problem more that some stations are just huge?
I’ll have to dig up the original research for this one – 71% for the food is fair enough, but then architecture – does that actually mean cultural heritage sites like temples?
I found that the worst problem is during construction of the biggest stations, when signs are either in Japanese-only or non-existent.
When I lived in Tokyo, I knew my normal stations, but if I had to venture to the east side of town, it could take me 20 minutes to navigate JRsubwayshinkansen transfers in Tokyo Station because there were always conflicting signs and detours around construction work.
Making sure train maps have a tiny legend for east/west/north/south kanji would probably go a long way to someone without any Japanese knowledge and visiting for the first time.
Oh, and I just noticed that all the gaijin in the video were white, when it’s the South Koreans and Chinese who make up the bulk of the tourists.
Let’s not forget just how insanely expensive it is to visit Japan from the U.S. (particularly the east coast).
I have plans to go to Japan this August and my ticket alone is looking to cost me about $1,500, plus there’s getting a Passport, hotel, food, spending, and god knows what else.
All in all, looks like I’ll need about 2,500 for a 2 week trip. Not easy on the kind of money I make living in medium sized city in Pennsylvania.
Hell, I’d go to Japan every few months if cost wasn’t so prohibitive. Then again, I’d probably just move their if costs weren’t a problem!
You can get cheaper tickets if you avoid going to priceline.coms and other places like that. It doesn’t help that you are going during August which is a peak travelling period. For US to Japan roundtrip flights I almost always go through JTB USA. For Japan to US roundtrip flights, I go through a smaller company which accepts payments directly to their bank account. I forgot that name of it, but the prices were insanely good. 500 bucks for a roundtrip in late January. Though you have to depart from Japan and then return to Japan.
Late Jan is a cheap time. I can find prices even cheaper than that (starting at 39,000 yen round trip to LA, 49,000 to NY).
I thought the subway system was actually pretty straight forward and intuitive.
Do people really find it that confusing? I mean all the stations have names in english as well as being numbered and there are arrows showing what direction the train is going in. If you don’t have one of those prepurchased (or unlimited?) passes then the prices are still pretty straight forward. You look at the map, see where you want to go, type in the amount, pay up and off you go. Even the ticket machine has an english option.
Yea, the first time you’re presented with that huge board of station names it’s a little intimitating but that’s where it stops. And if you do ever have a problem, everyone is so curtious and helpful that you can easily get some assistance.
Anyway, that’s just me. It may be because I’m used to large subway systems, but here in NY the subways are much more confusing in my opinion.