Diving near coral reefs, enjoying local izakaya pubs, or appreciating the world of geiko in a teahouse ... Even if visitors to Japan are interested in special experiences like these while traveling, they may give up because they don't know the language or how to apply for them. They also may not know that their hobbies and passions -- such as sports, arts and crafts, and nature appreciation -- can be enjoyed in Japan.
The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) has therefore created a brochure that introduces 100 types of experiential tourism activities that can accommodate English-speaking tourists. It is available in both a print and digital version.
The content was collected from municipalities and so-called destination management/marketing organizations. Of the 2,100 projects about which information was gathered, about 300 were selected based on evaluations by experts like travel consultants in Europe and the United States, and JNTO's overseas offices.
Of the 300, a total of 100 representative activities were included in the brochure.
The information is divided into seven themes: tradition, cities, relaxation, cuisine, nature, art and outdoors (mountains, oceans). Tradition includes the training program of yamabushi Japanese mountain ascetics in Yamagata Prefecture, while exploring izakaya pubs with a guide in back alleys of Sendai is one example of cuisine.
Relaxation includes staying at a floating hotel in the Seto Inland Sea where the waves are very gentle.
According to the JNTO, there were 31.19 million visitors to Japan in 2018, up 8.7 percent from the previous year. The number of visitors in January-August this year is estimated to reach about 22.1 million, up 3.9 percent from the same period last year.
The government aims to increase the annual figure to 40 million by 2020.
JNTO is taking a cautious attitude about these figures. "If you neglect new efforts, customers will flow to other countries," said Reiko Fujita, executive director of the organization's overseas promotion department.
Fujita said wonderful experiential tourism resources can be found in various parts of Japan, but there are limits to how much they can raise awareness on their own. "We want JNTO to compile and introduce excellent tourism content to the world."
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