Tag - tourism

 
Menu
Search
 
July 07, 2026
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

TOURISM

Visitors at Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar. The country’s military-backed government is betting tourism will become one of the first visible signs of an economic recovery after this year’s election.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 7, 2026
Myanmar bets on ancient temples and Buddhist pilgrimage sites to boost tourism
The tourism push is an early test of whether Myanmar can persuade visitors and investors that parts of the country are once again open for business.
Tourists in Japan have always been interested in quintessentially Japanese approaches to modern culture, and, increasingly, visits to nail salons have become the new hot thing.
LIFE / Style & Design
Jul 4, 2026
Japanese nail salons are tourists’ new obsession
A combination of more affordable pricing, faster service and attention to detail is drawing more and more tourists to Tokyo’s nail salons.
A visitor takes a selfie in front of a view of North Korea while holding a Starbucks cup on an observation deck at Aegibong Peace Ecopark in Gimpo, South Korea, on Wednesday. The number of visitors to thepark has more than doubled since the Starbucks opened, according to figures provided by park management.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 2, 2026
Kilometers apart but a world away: the Starbucks with a view of North Korea
Perched on a hilltop beneath the Aegibong Peace Ecopark observatory, the shop has drawn tens of thousands from South Korea and beyond since opening in November 2024.
Chinese tourists at Wat Arun Ratchawararam Rathawaramahawihan in Bangkok
BUSINESS
Jul 2, 2026
Thailand gets serious about chasing high-spending tourists
Officials are aiming for visitors to spend about $2,400 per trip on average, compared with roughly $1,500 currently.
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2026
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Previously set at ¥1,000, the tax has risen to ¥3,000 for all travelers departing Japan, regardless of nationality.
The Hakuba Cross-Country Course in the village of Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture, in February. For a third year in a row, roadside land prices in the village have increased at the highest rate across Japan.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 1, 2026
Roadside land prices rise in popular Japanese tourist sites
Across the board, the prices of land facing major roads in Japan as of Jan. 1 went up by 2.9%, marking a fifth consecutive year of increases.
CCTV footage shows a girl and a man at a condominium in Pattaya on Thursday morning. Thai police have arrested Australian Simon Peter Carman following the discovery of the body of a 17-year-old Thai girl inside a suitcase dumped near a railway track in Pattaya.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jun 30, 2026
How a Thai teen’s night at a Pattaya beach ended in death
A middle-aged Australian man has been arrested following the discovery of the body of the 17-year-old girl, which was found stuffed inside a suitcase dumped near a railway track.
Sendai International Airport President Motoi Maeda speaks during an interview on June 22 in Miyagi Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 29, 2026
Sendai Airport chief confident a decade after privatization
Sendai International Airport was the first to have been privatized among airports managed by the Japanese government.
Tourists take photographs of Japanese macaques, commonly referred to as "snow monkeys," taking an open-air hot spring bath at the Jigokudani Monkey Park in the town of Yamanouchi, Nagano Prefecture, in February last year.
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2026
Japan ‘snow monkey’ park to cap visitors after overcrowding and bad behavior
As the number of tourists snowballed, so did instances of bad behavior, such as trying to feed or touch the monkeys.
New Zealand welcomed 307,940 Chinese visitors in the 12 months through April, up 24% from the year-earlier period, according to latest Statistics New Zealand data.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 25, 2026
Chinese tourists flock to New Zealand under visa-waiver trial
China was New Zealand’s second-largest source of tourists before the COVID-19 pandemic, but it has yet to return to those levels.
Luup adopted a system that makes its electric scooters come to a halt automatically when users enter an area near the Kamo River in Kyoto where riding them is prohibited.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 24, 2026
Luup scooters introduces automatic stop function to avoid nuisance use in Kyoto
Luup scooters, a favored transportation source for tourists in Japan, will automatically halt when nearing prohibited areas in Kyoto.
Yoichi Miura (third from left) now divides his time between his import business and guiding international visitors across Japan.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jun 23, 2026
Stepping up, not aside: Japan’s retirement-age tour guides
The older guides — some driven by financial need, others by civic goodwill — reflect a changing concept of what later life can look like in graying Japan.
Although paper customs forms are still available in many cases, it is no longer standard practice to hand them out on all flights.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 22, 2026
Japan to fully digitalize airport customs system by 2030
The phasing-out of paper customs declaration forms is among measures eyed by the Finance Ministry to handle the inbound movement of people and goods more efficiently.
Tourists from abroad wearing kimonos pose for a souvenir photo with cherry blossoms in the city of Kyoto in March.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2026
Japan to raise visa fees for foreign nationals in first revision in 48 years
The fee will be increased from the current ¥3,000 to ¥15,000 for a single-entry visa and from ¥6,000 to ¥30,000 for a multiple-entry visa starting July 1.
Fukui Prefecture is home to 80% of Japan’s dinosaur fossil discoveries, yet it is routinely one of the least-visited regions in the country.
LIFE / Travel
Jun 20, 2026
Beyond crabs and dinos: Japan’s least-touristed region rethinks its appeal
Fukui Prefecture routinely ranks among Japan’s least-visited prefectures, but a crop of young professionals in the tourism industry are pushing a new set of charms.
Reopened on April 29 after an extensive refurbishment, the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Marunouchi may not offer the skyline views of its sister property around the corner, but it excels in other areas.
LIFE / Travel
Jun 20, 2026
Tokyo’s best Four Seasons may not be its biggest
Reopened on April 29 after an extensive refurbishment, the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Marunouchi gives its sister accommodation around the corner a serious run for its money.
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in March. Various cities around the world have cracked down on private lodgings, such as in Barcelona where the city is attempting to eradicate all short-stay apartments by 2028.
JAPAN
Jun 19, 2026
Japan to allow local governments to ban private lodging
The move comes amid complaints of lodgers partying at night, ignoring trash rules, and leaving cigarette butts on the streets.
A rendering of a Supreme Class premium private compartment to be offered on Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen train cars from October
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 18, 2026
Private compartments coming in October to Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen trains
The compartments in the Supreme Class will feature reclining seats and lockable doors, and tickets for them can only be purchased online.
The number of mountaineering accidents in Japan reached a total of 3,122 in 2025, up by 176 year on year and the second-highest level on record, according to National Police Agency data.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 18, 2026
Japan saw record 3,623 people encounter mountaineering accidents in 2025
Overall, accidents mainly occurred due to people getting lost, or falling or slipping on slopes, though bear attacks accounted for 27 cases — tripling from the previous year.
Revelers take a photo with a tourist after carrying a portable shrine during a Shinto festival in Tokyo's Asakusa district on May 17.
JAPAN
Jun 17, 2026
Visitors to Japan fell 3.6% in May
Japan saw visitors from South Korea, Taiwan and the United States hitting their respective highest levels for May.
Japan might be giving the currency market the silent treatment
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama has issued verbal warnings recently using the same language and the same tone, saying authorities “will take appropriate action at any time, as necessary.”
Murakami says his novels are ‘different’ from AI literature
Haruki Murakami's first book in three years hit shelves in Japan on Friday.
Suspected Asian fraud ring exec served fresh warrant in Japan
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and Osaka Prefectural Police have issued arrest warrants for three people, including a suspected fraud network leader, over alleged immigration and residency violations.
Japan needs caregivers. Young Indians are answering the call.
Young people in India's northeast are increasingly studying Japanese in hopes of building new lives and careers in Japan.
Tokyo hospital baby hatch accepts 20 newborns in first year
Hitoshi Kato (left), head of San-ikukai Hospital in Tokyo's Sumida Ward, speaks during a news conference at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building on Thursday.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.
Filmmaker explores history of discrimination against foreign nationals in Japan
Takashi Nishihara, the director of "Now and Then," in Tokyo on Wednesday. The director has spent 10 years traversing politically charged terrain while exploring youth-driven grassroots political movements that scrutinize the status quo.
Japanese nail salons are tourists’ new obsession
Tourists in Japan have always been interested in quintessentially Japanese approaches to modern culture, and, increasingly, visits to nail salons have become the new hot thing.
Okinawa’s prized seaweed under threat as oceans warm
Local harvesters gather <i>mozuku</i> during low tide at Hyakuna Beach in the city of Nanjo, Okinawa Prefecture. As the planet warms, rising ocean temperatures are placing increasing pressure on the seaweed industry.
‘Defense,’ not ‘warfare,’ stressed as pacifist Japan beefs up capabilities
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi attends an annual training session near Mount Fuji at Higashifuji Training Field in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, on June 7.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Digital marketer Netyear zeros in on generative AI
Digital marketer Netyear zeros in on generative AI

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER