Japan remains one of the most popular travel destinations in the world. However, for some travelers, a single visit isn’t enough. Many want to come back to see everything they couldn’t see in their first go-round.
A recent survey found in particular that a majority travelers from Taiwan and the US wanna get back within the next year. What’s interesting, however, is that travelers from each country have different ideas about what they want to see and do. Read on to see where each country says it wants to go on a return trip – and get some ideas for your next Japan vacation.
Report: Taiwan, US travelers can’t get enough of Japan
The Internet survey by JTB Tourism Research & Consulting Co. asked 319 Taiwanese and 371 United States visitors to Japan if they were thinking about coming back to Japan within a year.
Why these two? The two markets represent the second and fourth largest group of visitors to Japan, respectively. (South Korea and China are first and third.) In addition, tourism from the United States is accelerating quickly. As of April 2023, travel from America was already at 115% of its 2019 levels.
The survey showed that many travelers from both countries had a burning desire to return. 77.4% of Taiwanese visitors said they wanted to return this year. 53.6% of Americans said the same thing.
Asked how they decide where they want to travel in Japan, a majority of Americans said they used social networking services combined with Internet search and YouTube videos. Taiwanese travelers were more likely to rely on netsurfing and videos for tips on where to go.
Travelers also differed on what types of experiences they wanted to have based on their age brackets. 29 and unders want to experience outdoor adventures and drink sake, while 30-somethings look for places with character and charm. 40ish travelers value experiences, while those 50 and up want to see beautiful sites and eat great food. (That last one is good news for Tokyo, which is one of the world’s premier foodie cities.)
What US travelers want to do in Japan
What’s interesting is that both groups differ sharply in where they want to go and what they want to do when they come back.
For US travelers, Tokyo was their most-desired place to see on their return. That’s followed by Hokkaido, Osaka, Kyoto, and Fukuoka. Number six was Chiba – not surprising, given the presence of Disneyland – followed by Kanagawa (Yokohama, Hakone, Kamakura).
Gifu Prefecture ranked number eight, mostly due to the extremely popular Shirakawago village. Trailing in the last two positions were Okinawa and Hiroshima.
What are the primary experiences that Americans are seeking out? At the top of the list are theme parks (e.g., Universal Studios Japan, Disney Sea). That’s followed by two entries for food: high-end restaurants as well as casual dining that’s popular with locals. US visitors are also keen to see natural sites, like mountains, plus shrines and temples.
What Taiwanese travelers want to do in Japan
By contrast, the top destinations for Taiwanese travelers were Hokkaido and Osaka. Tokyo came in third, followed by Kyoto and Okinawa.
Taiwanese travelers also expressed a desire to see prefectures that didn’t make the American’s top ten. These include Kumamoto prefecture (the Kurokawa onsen area) at number seven, as well as Aichi Prefecture (Nagoya Castle, Legoland) in the number eight spot. Kanagawa and Chiba round out the remainder of the list.
Taiwanese visitors also seek out slightly different experiences. The number one destination for them? An onsen. That’s followed by popular tourist destinations (Tokyo Tower, Skytree, etc.).
Number three is eating sweets and candy. (This isn’t surprising, as Japanese sweets, which tend to be less sugary and more savory, are likely more conducive to the Taiwanese palette than the American.) Following up fourth and fifth were shrines and temples, and local food. Interestingly, the Taiwanese surveyed didn’t rank high-end Japanese cuisine or theme parks among their top reasons for visiting.
Buying Japanese souvenirs – even back home
Another interesting takeaway from the survey is the persuasive buying power that Japanese goods have on travelers – even when they go back to their home countries. A full 88.8% of visitors said they would continue to buy popular “made in Japan” products as gifts from home.
However, visitors from each country differed in what they would buy – and also how they’d buy it. Taiwanese visitors were far more likely to use an e-commerce Web site affiliated with the Japanese stores and brands they love. By contrast, Americans want to shop at Japanese stores in their country or use country-specific e-commerce sites to find Japanese products.
The top omiyage for Taiwanese tourists: Snacks and sweets at a whopping 77.1%, followed by food, clothes, and makeup. Meanwhile, Americans mainly want to buy traditional Japanese crafts, food, and character goods.
What this survey means for overtourism
Japan’s government wants to welcome 60 million visitors a year by 2030. (It’s currently sitting around 35 million.) However, it’s also struggling with issues related to overtourism. Visitors are crowding the places they see on social media and YouTube. That means both long lines and complaints from locals.
One good piece of news in this survey for overtourism is the persuasive power of social media. A majority of people from both countries say that what they see on sites like X and Instagram influences where they go.
That’s a good opportunity for Japan’s government – and those of us in the travel industry – to help guide Japan’s travelers to different yet still uniquely Japanese destinations. Locations like Kanazawa, Morioka, and Shimane Prefecture offer wonderful sites, foods, and experiences away from the madding crowds of Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto.
Want help planning your next visit to Japan? Ask Unseen Japan Tours to create a custom itinerary suited to your interests. We’re also happy to act as your guides and interpreters in Japan.
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Sources
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