BEIJING, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) — “Summer rain on the wall traces of torn poem cards” — When Chinese traveler “Hikari” visited the Rakushisha in Kyoto, Japan, she couldn’t assist considering of the poem written by Basho, a Seventeenth-century Japanese haiku grasp, throughout his keep there.
Located in western Kyoto, the thatched retreat just isn’t on any typical must-visit lists for vacationers in Kyoto. But for followers of haiku poetry, the location — also referred to as the “Hut of Fallen Persimmons” — is a hidden gem because it was as soon as the residence of considered one of Basho’s most well-known disciples, and in addition accommodated the grasp himself for a time, throughout which he wrote the well-known haiku.
OFF THE BEATEN PATH
Japan has lengthy been some of the widespread abroad locations for Chinese vacationers. While vacationer points of interest resembling Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto, and conventional Japanese meals like sushi served with wasabi keep their lure amongst Chinese vacationers, journey behaviors and preferences have been regularly altering over current years.
During China’s weeklong National Day vacation final 12 months, the main journey service supplier Trip.com Group recognized a rising desire for off-the-beaten-path routes amongst Chinese guests, reporting triple-digit progress in Chinese vacationer bookings for much less crowded locations resembling Yokohama, Takayama and Ito.
And as this 12 months’s Spring Festival approaches — set to start out later this month with a complete of eight public-holiday days — rising numbers are eyeing much more area of interest Japanese locations.
If you’ve got visited widespread Chinese social community and lifestyle-sharing platform Xiaohongshu, or “rednote,” you might have come throughout posts printed by vacationers speaking about utilizing the lengthy Spring Festival vacation to see the seasonal drift ice in Abashiri or Shiretoko Peninsula in Japan.
The two locations, each situated on Hokkaido’s edge and dealing with Okhotsk, supply drift-ice sightseeing excursions within the winter months. These excursions have turn out to be more and more widespread amongst Chinese vacationers in recent times, with some even reserving months upfront.
People have additionally posted images of their visits to the Ogasawara Islands, a distinct segment Japanese journey vacation spot that may solely be reached by boat from Tokyo, with the journey lasting about 24 hours.
The rising recognition of those beforehand lesser-known locations within the tourism market is carefully related with the altering construction of Chinese vacationers to Japan.
According to statistics from the Japan National Tourism Organization earlier this month, Japan obtained greater than 6.9 million visits from the Chinese mainland in 2024. The determine is decrease than the 9.6 million reported in 2019, but marks a 188 p.c progress from 2023 — the best enhance charge amongst all of Japan’s vacationer sources.
Behind the restoration of basic customer numbers, China’s already mature Japan-bound tourism market has pivoted from sightseeing in tourist-heavy areas and bundle excursions towards extra diversified and in-depth journey varieties.
Japan’s Nikkei beforehand cited Tomoyuki Takata, president of Trip.com International Travel Japan, as saying that there have been extra particular person vacationers and fewer vacationer teams amongst Chinese guests. He famous that Trip.com had seen vacationer bookings for Japan from the Chinese mainland double in 2024 in comparison with 2019.
Also, because of the continual facilitation of visa procedures and relaxed visa insurance policies, multi-entry Japan vacationer visas at the moment are accessible to extra Chinese individuals, lots of whom are younger and well-off, with a excessive journey literacy degree and a desire for solo visits.
In December 2024, China and Japan reached 10 agreements to advertise people-to-people and cultural alternate, together with efforts to assist tourism cooperation and introduce extra facilitation measures to advertise mutual visits between vacationers from the 2 international locations.
Boosted by extra favorable visa insurance policies, a number of Chinese airways have deliberate to extend flights to Japanese cities resembling Tokyo, Okinawa and Shizuoka within the first quarter of this 12 months.
Observers count on that pushed by these elements, the annual variety of visits from the Chinese mainland to Japan might exceed 10 million within the close to future.
MORE FAVORS FOR CHINESE VISITORS
In September final 12 months, 34-year-old Yangyang and her husband traveled to Wakayama Prefecture. Having visited Japan in 2010 and 2016, she famous that there have been “obviously more” Chinese vacationers this time round.
Services for the comfort of Chinese guests are additionally simple to search out, she mentioned, noting that they’d obtained help from Chinese-speaking workers at a railway station in Wakayama City.
As the capital of Wakayama Prefecture, the town itself just isn’t a vacationer attraction however has seen rising numbers of Chinese guests as a stopping level linking Osaka and the well-known Kumano Kodo pilgrimage route, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which has gained recognition in China in recent times.
Moreover, main tourism-related service suppliers in Japan try to draw clients from China, selling their providers or merchandise on Chinese social networks. Earlier this month, the West Japan Railway Company uploaded a video to its official Xiaohongshu account, which was launched in November final 12 months, introducing its routes and railway passes.
With the expansion of Chinese vacationer numbers, the presence of Chinese firms in Japan can be rising.
Signs promoting “Go with Alipay/WeChat Pay” can now be simply noticed in Japanese procuring malls and eating places.
In November, Alipay+, a cross-border cell funds answer by China’s Ant Group, and PayPay, Japan’s main QR code fee operator, introduced an upgraded partnership to broaden the service provider protection of Alipay+ in Japan, overlaying extra companies of various sizes in numerous areas.
DEEPER UNDERSTANDING
Following the announcement of Japan’s extra favorable visa coverage for Chinese vacationers, Japanese documentary director Ryo Takeuchi expressed his pleasure on Weibo, one other Chinese social media platform.
“That’s great! There can be more exchanges between China and Japan, and mutual understanding will be enhanced,” the director, who is known amongst Chinese viewers for his documentaries about China, wrote in a submit.
On Xiaohongshu, individuals are additionally posting their journey itineraries and suggestions in Japan revolving round particular themes — from structure and historical past to literature and tradition.
“It will be boring if you travel to a place without knowing anything about it,” learn one submit recommending Japanese books for mountain climbing journeys within the nation.
In one other submit, the creator recalled his go to to the Eiheiji temple, a centuries-old Buddhist temple in Japan’s Fukui Prefecture, in addition to his dialogue in regards to the Zen faculty of Buddhism with a monk there.
One Weibo person has shared what she referred to as a “lucky moment” throughout her journey to Japan, utilizing two phrases from conventional Japanese aesthetics: “I accidentally got off the bus too early and had to walk to my destination. On the way, I stumbled upon a beautiful scene — fallen leaves, a gentle breeze, flowing water, birdsong and a vermilion shrine gate nestled amid the lush greenery…”
“At the time, the romantic beauty of wabi-sabi and yugen flowed from my sight into my entire being.”