Japan’s got a tourist problem – not the bad kind, but the “so many tourists we can’t keep up” kind. The immigration folks at the airports are feeling the heat, so they’ve whipped up a new system to ease the chaos.
According to Japan Today on Tuesday (23/7/2024), the Japanese government is rolling out a new pre-clearance system starting January 2025. This means tourists can handle most of the immigration checks before even hopping on the plane, cutting down the wait time when they land.
Why the rush, you ask? Well, Japan’s become the hottest travel destination, pulling in about 17.8 million visitors in the first half of this year alone. June marked the fourth month in a row with over 3 million tourists, and foreign tourists spent a jaw-dropping 13.4 billion USD from April to June.
They’re testing this nifty system on tourists from Taiwan first.
One of the big reasons behind this surge in tourists? The yen is weaker than ever, making Japan a bargain hunter’s paradise. The yen hit a 38-year low against the dollar earlier this month because of the interest rate gap between Japan and the U.S., making everything cheaper for tourists.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is all smiles, predicting that foreign visitors will shell out 8 trillion yen by 2024.
But there’s a flip side. While the weak yen is a goldmine for tourists, it’s also sparking the strongest inflation Japan’s seen in decades, which means locals are tightening their belts and cutting down on spending.
And not everyone is thrilled with the flood of tourists. Some locals are getting pretty fed up with the constant crowd.
Take Kyoto and Fujikawaguchiko, for example. Kyoto’s local district council has had enough and banned tourists from entering the narrow streets of the Gion district. Meanwhile, over in Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, they’ve put up barriers to stop tourists from snapping pictures in convenience stores with Mount Fuji in the background.
So, if you’re heading to Japan, expect smoother entry but be prepared for some local resistance. And remember, just because you can take a picture doesn’t mean you should!