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Japan Turns to Rural Towns as Tourism Boom Slows on Fewer Chinese Visitors

Japan is steering foreign tourists toward rural communities as Chinese arrivals fall after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Taiwan remarks. The government has raised its departure tax and boosted tourism budgets to help reach 60 million annual visitors by 2030.

By matthew jonathan

November 15, 20262 min read

Japan Turns to Rural Towns as Tourism Boom Slows on Fewer Chinese Visitors

Japan is turning to its rural communities to sustain a tourism boom that may be losing steam, as Chinese visitor numbers fall after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's November 2025 remarks on a potential Taiwan crisis angered Beijing. The slowdown threatens the government's goal of attracting 60 million foreign visitors a year by 2030.

That target is about 40 percent higher than the 2025 level. To reach it, the government wants to look beyond Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka and draw travelers to smaller communities through local food, culture and distinctive experiences.

"Repeat visitors tend to choose rural areas as travel destinations," a Japan Tourism Agency official said. "We want foreign tourists who have come to love Japan to explore more parts of the country."

More than 60 percent of foreign visitors' overnight stays are concentrated in Japan's three major metropolitan areas. That raises concerns about overcrowding, while rural towns struggle to attract tourists despite their cultural and culinary offerings.

Money for the push comes partly from Japan's departure tax. On July 1, the government raised it from 1,000 yen ($6.3) to 3,000 yen per person leaving the country, a priority measure championed by Takaichi.

Tourism-related budgets funded by the tax had generally stood at around 40 billion to 50 billion yen a year outside the pandemic slump. They rose to 130 billion yen in fiscal 2026. The government has requested 180 billion yen for fiscal 2027 to support events showcasing local food and traditional crafts, and the opening of cultural properties.

In Rikuzentakata, a coastal town in northeastern Japan still recovering from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, 33-year-old Kyohei Oikawa is using wine and seafood to bring in visitors. He worked for a wine trading company and a winery in France before returning home in 2020 to grow wine grapes.

He also runs boat tours to oyster farms, where visitors can sample fresh seafood and local wines. Many visitors come for disaster-related sites, including the Miracle Pine Tree, one of the few trees left standing after the tsunami.

Oikawa hopes to show them more. Next spring he plans to open a winery and tasting facility in the hills east of the city, a project backed by revenue from the departure tax.

Subsidies and promotion alone will not be enough, tourism expert Tomoya Umekawa said. Rural tourism also needs better services, transport links and sustainable local involvement, he said.