As the flood of overseas tourists shows no sign of slowing, complaints about overcrowding and poor behaviour by visitors are prompting some in Japan to look at ways of controlling the flow without losing income, including by charging higher prices for foreigners.
The number of Australians going to Japan is up more than 26 per cent on pre-pandemic levels, with more than 330,000 Australians visiting in the first four months of this year, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data. Japan is now the third most popular destination for Australian residents, behind only Indonesia and New Zealand.
In the latest sign of a growing backlash, the mayor of the western city of Himeji on Sunday said he would like to start charging foreign tourists six times more than locals to visit the city’s famed 400-year-old castle. Overseas visitors should pay about $45 to visit the World Heritage-listed Himeji Castle, compared to about $7 for local residents, the mayor said.