March 28, 2024

Olympia Travel Tips

Maniac Travel Update

Japan Is Now A More Affordable Travel Destination In 2023

Japan Is Now A More Affordable Travel Destination In 2023

Photos and text by George Nobechi

Japan, high on the bucket list for many travelers due to its popular culture, food, history and art, but often unaffordable for many or overcrowded for others, is now in a “sweet spot” to visit.

Japan was among the countries that took longer to reopen to foreign travelers after COVID pandemic closures, finally welcoming visa-free tourism in October 2022. And the first foreign tourists to return to historically expensive Japan have found a much more affordable country to visit.

The Japanese yen has weakened against all major currencies: In March 2020, as the pandemic began to spread, the yen averaged 107.54 verses the U.S. dollar. But since then, due in large part to the difference in interest rates between Japan (near zero) and the rest of the world (rising rates), the yen is now sitting around 134 to the U.S. dollar, meaning you can essentially think of it as a “25{0b5b04b8d3ad800b67772b3dcc20e35ebfd293e6e83c1a657928cfb52b561f97} off” sale on Japan compared with the prices before the pandemic. In a post-pandemic inflationary world, few things are cheaper these days, but travel in Japan is one of them.

Given the weakness in the yen, one would expect tourists to have returned in droves, but that hasn’t happened yet. The first three months since Japan’s reopening (October to December 2022) saw 2.8 million foreign visitors compared with just 55,000 in the same period of 2021, but in 2019, it was 7.5 million.

Though major cities such as Tokyo and Kyoto will continue to see the majority of visitors in 2023, many rural areas that had been popular destinations prior to the pandemic have used the time off to create more immersive initiatives and experiences for visitors, both domestic and foreign. For many of these tourism-dependent areas, adapting to the “new normal” was essential to their survival. The Japanese government also created incentive programs to encourage domestic residents to rediscover their homeland, and there has been a noticeable increase in Japanese tourists visiting areas that they had previously skipped.

Below are some of the most beautiful locations around Japan to see right now.

Gokayama

Gokayama is a cluster of farming villages deep in the mountains of Toyama in central Japan. Along with the more famous Shirakawa-go in neighboring Gifu, it is part of an UNESCO World Heritage site known for its traditional way of life and its A-frame houses with steeply pitched thatch roofs designed to survive heavy winter snows. Some of these houses have been converted into guesthouses.

The villages invested in adding COVID-19 preventive measures in the guesthouses as well as in reducing capacity. They also began to offer English lessons to residents in preparation for the return of English-speaking visitors.

A boy on his bicycle in the village of Ainokura, Gokayama. The area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its traditional thatched-roof farmhouses.
A boy on his bicycle in the village of Ainokura, Gokayama. The area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its traditional thatched-roof farmhouses.
A woman in Gokayama works with boiled kozo (mulberry) to separate the bark from the fibers and remove impurities as a step in the traditional <em>washi</em> paper-making process.
A woman in Gokayama works with boiled kozo (mulberry) to separate the bark from the fibers and remove impurities as a step in the traditional washi paper-making process.

According to Yukie Yamazaki, the spokesperson of the Gokayama Tourist Information Center, before the pandemic, 70{0b5b04b8d3ad800b67772b3dcc20e35ebfd293e6e83c1a657928cfb52b561f97} of visitors who stayed in the guesthouses were foreigners; in recent days, though the total number of visitors has returned to 70{0b5b04b8d3ad800b67772b3dcc20e35ebfd293e6e83c1a657928cfb52b561f97} of pre-pandemic levels, the villages have started to appeal to Japanese travelers as well, leading to a more authentic experience for all visitors.

A Kokiriko dancer performs a traditional dance native to this region in front of a house in Ainokura, Gokayama.
A Kokiriko dancer performs a traditional dance native to this region in front of a house in Ainokura, Gokayama.
Twilight at Ainokura, Gokayama.
Twilight at Ainokura, Gokayama.

In addition to the appeal of disconnecting by staying in a quiet, historic village, activities include washi paper-making and attending traditional Kokiriko dance and music performances.

Karuizawa

Karuizawa is a mountain resort about 65 minutes northwest of Tokyo by bullet train that has long been the apple of affluent Japanese travelers’ eyes. Once a “rest stop” on the old Nakasendo Trail that linked Kyoto and Edo (present-day Tokyo), Karuizawa was relaunched in the late 1800s as a place for Canadian missionaries to get away from Tokyo’s summer heat, and it has held a great appeal to summer home owners, celebrities including John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and regional artists. Known primarily as a place to “get away,” the town has refocused on the remote worker, investing in designer co-working spaces and housing opportunities to cater to a new class of traveler who can work from anywhere while simultaneously creating art experiences, such as outdoor festivals, to appeal to visitors.

Late afternoon clouds shroud the peak of Mount Asama. Karuizawa is on the southern slopes of this volcano.
Late afternoon clouds shroud the peak of Mount Asama. Karuizawa is on the southern slopes of this volcano.
Visitors walk across a bridge at Kumoba Pond, an iconic reflecting pool in Karuizawa known for its vibrant autumn foliage.
Visitors walk across a bridge at Kumoba Pond, an iconic reflecting pool in Karuizawa known for its vibrant autumn foliage.
Shiraito Falls in Karuizawa is known for its veil-like water and vibrant green moss.
Shiraito Falls in Karuizawa is known for its veil-like water and vibrant green moss.
A bullet train arrives in the fog at Karuizawa Station.
A bullet train arrives in the fog at Karuizawa Station.
A white egret flies in to join its mates at Kumoba Pond, Karuizawa.
A white egret flies in to join its mates at Kumoba Pond, Karuizawa.

Naoshima, Shikoku and the Seto Inland Sea

On the subject of art experiences, few places have garnered as much attention as the “art islands” of the Seto Inland Sea, headlined by Naoshima and Teshima. Museums and art installations are interspersed through these walkable, ferry-networked islands between Kagawa Prefecture in Shikoku and Okayama on the mainland. Although the museums and facilities themselves are not new, installations and updates are constant, and a triennial international art festival has further cemented its status as an art mecca.

A boy stands in front of Yayoi Kusama’s “Pumpkin” at Benesse House Museum. The sculpture was restored and placed here in October 2022 after the original was damaged by a typhoon.
A boy stands in front of Yayoi Kusama’s “Pumpkin” at Benesse House Museum. The sculpture was restored and placed here in October 2022 after the original was damaged by a typhoon.
This bicycle shelter art installation was created by SANAA, the Pritzker Prize-winning duo of architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa in Naoshima.
This bicycle shelter art installation was created by SANAA, the Pritzker Prize-winning duo of architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa in Naoshima.
The cafe (foreground) and museum of the Teshima Art Museum, Benesse Foundation, designed by Ryue Nishizawa in Teshima.
The cafe (foreground) and museum of the Teshima Art Museum, Benesse Foundation, designed by Ryue Nishizawa in Teshima.

When visiting after the triennial in late 2022, the islands still remained quiet compared with the days before the pandemic. On a warm and sunny afternoon in Naoshima, a drive past the freshly restored Yayoi Kusama pumpkin sculpture that had been destroyed by a 2021 typhoon, saw one lone visitor posing for a selfie. On a 2019 visit at the same time of year in a torrential downpour, there was a 20-minute wait for people in line to take pictures with the polka-dotted gourd.

Museum visitors walk by Bruce Nauman's "100 Live and Die" at Benesse House Museum in Naoshima.
Museum visitors walk by Bruce Nauman’s “100 Live and Die” at Benesse House Museum in Naoshima.
The "Oval" at Benesse House Museum in Naoshima by Tadao Ando, another Pritzker Prize-winning architect.
The “Oval” at Benesse House Museum in Naoshima by Tadao Ando, another Pritzker Prize-winning architect.

An overnight stay at the Benesse House Museum allows one to explore after hours ― one other lone visitor and I had the run of the museum to ourselves, which features artists including Bruce Nauman, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Jennifer Bartlett and David Hockney. “A night at the museum” in every sense of the word, it is an otherworldly experience.

A “top of the world” swing at the summit of the Unpenji Ropeway in Tokushima, Shikoku.
A “top of the world” swing at the summit of the Unpenji Ropeway in Tokushima, Shikoku.
A golden ginkgo tree and some of the 500 rakan (Buddhist ascetics) statues at Unpenji, Temple No. 66 of the 88-temple Ohenro pilgrimage trail in Shikoku.
A golden ginkgo tree and some of the 500 rakan (Buddhist ascetics) statues at Unpenji, Temple No. 66 of the 88-temple Ohenro pilgrimage trail in Shikoku.
Four of the 500 rakan statues at Unpenji, Shikoku.
Four of the 500 rakan statues at Unpenji, Shikoku.

Shikoku is also home to the legendary pilgrimage route called the Ohenro, which consists of 88 Buddhist temples dispersed throughout the four prefectures that make up Japan’s smallest island. Each temple has its own distinct character, providing for a very different experience from the more unified Zen temple designs of areas like Kyoto. On one fall afternoon, at the mountaintop Unpenji Temple in Tokushima (No. 66 of 88), I found myself in an “amphitheater” of 500 “Arhat” statues (Buddha’s apprentices), watched over by a lone ginkgo in its spectacular golden glory.

With experiences like these, a weaker yen and investments in new experiences and infrastructure to cater to visitors, Japan is sure to be a popular destination for travelers in 2023.

See more photos of Japan by George Nobechi below.

A gate door of Kochi Castle in Kochi, Shikoku.
A gate door of Kochi Castle in Kochi, Shikoku.
A couple poses for their wedding photographs at a temple garden in Shikoku.
A couple poses for their wedding photographs at a temple garden in Shikoku.
Aboard a ferry on the Seto Inland Sea, near Takamatsu, Shikoku.
Aboard a ferry on the Seto Inland Sea, near Takamatsu, Shikoku.
A view across the Seto Inland Sea to the Shimanami Highway in Ehime, Shikoku.
A view across the Seto Inland Sea to the Shimanami Highway in Ehime, Shikoku.
Persimmon trees in Shimanto, Shikoku.
Persimmon trees in Shimanto, Shikoku.
A pharmacy, karaoke hall and hair salon at night in Shimokitazawa, Tokyo.
A pharmacy, karaoke hall and hair salon at night in Shimokitazawa, Tokyo.
A woman strolls by a field of flowers on a late afternoon in Tokyo's Hamarikyu Garden.
A woman strolls by a field of flowers on a late afternoon in Tokyo’s Hamarikyu Garden.
A piano, available for public performances, was painted by Yayoi Kusama at the Metropolitan Government Building in Tokyo.
A piano, available for public performances, was painted by Yayoi Kusama at the Metropolitan Government Building in Tokyo.
Mount Fuji and a factory chimney seen from the Tokaido Shinkansen (bullet train).
Mount Fuji and a factory chimney seen from the Tokaido Shinkansen (bullet train).
High school students in Takayama, Gifu.
High school students in Takayama, Gifu.
A rainy day in the Katamachi District in Kanazawa.
A rainy day in the Katamachi District in Kanazawa.
Rooftops of the historic district of Kurashiki, Okayama.
Rooftops of the historic district of Kurashiki, Okayama.
Putting out the garbage for collection in Takayama, Gifu.
Putting out the garbage for collection in Takayama, Gifu.
Businessmen walk through the Higashi-chayagai historic teahouse district of Kanazawa.
Businessmen walk through the Higashi-chayagai historic teahouse district of Kanazawa.
A woman sells handmade cloth sandals at the Wajima Morning Market on Noto Peninsula.
A woman sells handmade cloth sandals at the Wajima Morning Market on Noto Peninsula.
A vendor closes up her stall and wheels it away for the day at the Wajima Morning Market on Noto Peninsula.
A vendor closes up her stall and wheels it away for the day at the Wajima Morning Market on Noto Peninsula.
A Zen Buddhist monk at Soyuji Temple in Takayama, Gifu.
A Zen Buddhist monk at Soyuji Temple in Takayama, Gifu.
At the seashore on Noto Peninsula.
At the seashore on Noto Peninsula.
Fall colors at Senjogahara Marsh in Oku-Nikko, Tochigi.
Fall colors at Senjogahara Marsh in Oku-Nikko, Tochigi.