"Tokyo and Osaka Are Overdone"... Places Koreans Travel to Nowadays Have Changed

Koreans Visiting Japanese Small Cities Quadruple
Saga and Toyama Gain Popularity Among Travelers
"Demand for Small City Travel Expected to Keep Rising"

As the demand for travel to Japan continues to increase, it has been revealed that more tourists are visiting lesser-known small towns.

The number of tourists visiting small Japanese cities such as Saga, Oita, and Toyama has increased more than fourfold compared to the previous year. Getty Images

On the 18th, Hana Tour announced that the number of tourists visiting small Japanese cities such as Saga, Oita, and Toyama has increased more than fourfold compared to the previous year. An analysis of the top 30 regions based on Hana Tour's 2024 Japan flight reservation trends showed that popular destinations like Osaka, Fukuoka, Chitose (Hokkaido), Narita (Tokyo), and Okinawa ranked from first to fifth. Following these, the small cities of Saga and Toyama were within the top 10, while Hiroshima, Oita, and Komatsu were included in the top 30.

In particular, Saga saw a surge in interest from travelers after the launch of direct flight routes, with a reservation rate increase of 309% compared to the previous year. Saga retains historical sites such as old castle ruins and waterways and is renowned as a center for pottery production. Toyama has also emerged as a new popular tourist destination through seasonal attractions like the snow wall tours that open every April and autumn foliage trips. The Alpine Route snow wall located in Toyama is often referred to as the "Japanese Alps."

Arita Pottery Village, Saga Prefecture, Japan. Hanatour

Hana Tour expects the popularity of travel to small Japanese cities to continue growing this year and plans to develop related content in line with this trend. A Hana Tour representative stated, "Travel demand to small towns where visitors can experience Japan's unique tranquility and calmness, away from crowded large cities, will continue to increase," adding, "We will accelerate product diversification by discovering new small-town destinations and linking small towns with popular large cities."

According to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) last month, the number of foreign visitors to Japan last year was recorded at 36.87 million, a 47.1% increase from the previous year. This figure surpasses the previous record of 31.88 million in 2019 by about 5 million. By country (region), South Koreans were the largest group with 8.82 million visitors, a 26.7% increase from the previous year. While Chinese tourists had been the largest group visiting Japan for some time, since travel restrictions due to COVID-19 in 2021, South Koreans have accounted for the largest share starting in 2022. The upward trend in tourist numbers has continued recently, with over 3.49 million foreign visitors recorded in December last year. This increase is attributed to the Japanese government's active policies to increase flights and the weak yen, which together have encouraged more tourists to visit.