Japan wants travelers to transcend the country’s iconic tourist sites — and consider spending their yen in lesser-known locations.
The federal government-backed Japan Tourism Agency chosen 11 destinations as a part of a “model tourism” project to get “high-value-added” inbound travelers to go to different parts of the country, in keeping with a press release.
The 11 destinations vary from regions to cities to mountain ranges, but all have one thing in common: They don’t seem to be yet on most tourists’ radars.
Because the JTA explained, in keeping with a CNBC contributor translation: “High-value-added travelers make up only about 1% of all foreign visitors to Japan, but account for about 11.5% of [inbound] spending, mostly in metropolitan areas. Attracting these tourists to rural areas could contribute to regional revitalization.”
CNBC Travel takes a have a look at what each of the 11 spots has to supply travelers — whether or not they’re wealthy.
Eastern Hokkaido
The highlight of the east side of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island, is Shiretoko National Park, which shows Japan’s great outdoors at its most rugged and wild. Visitors in the summertime can hike up the 1,661-meter (5,450-feet) Mount Rausu or go for more leisurely treks in bear country across the Shiretoko Five Lakes.
Shiretoko National Park in eastern Hokkaido juts out into the Sea of Okhotsk.
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Alternatively, travelers can brave biting cold temperatures for snowshoe tours in winter or icebreaker cruises through the drift ice along the coastline of the Sea of Okhotsk in spring.
Mount Hachimantai
Straddling the borders of Akita and Iwate prefectures, this mountainous plateau delivers especially stunning views throughout the fall in late September and October. Travelers can enjoy it through mountaineering trails or a scenic drive on the Hachimantai Aspite Line.
Mount Hachimantai in fall.
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It is also home to a group of small hot spring hamlets and villages, where travelers can enjoy traditional ryokan inns and mineral-rich baths, including mud baths at Goshogake Onsen and open-air baths under starry night skies on the mountainside Toshichi Onsen.
Nasu
The Nasu Kogen highlands in Tochigi Prefecture, to the north of Tokyo, have long been a well-liked retreat for Tokyoites because of their cooler summer temperatures and attractive natural scenery. Japan’s Imperial family has had a villa here because the Nineteen Twenties.
Nasu is home to a valley with Jizo statues, which are sometimes seen wearing red bibs or caps meant to guard the souls of youngsters.
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Beyond hot springs and traditional inns, activities on an overnight trip here could include a farm visit, mountaineering and even shopping on the sprawling Nasu Garden Outlet mall.
Hokuriku
This region bordering the Sea of Japan is home to the prefectures of Fukui, Toyama, and Ishikawa, and its star attraction is Kanazawa — a city that gives much of what makes Kyoto so popular, with fewer crowds.
Women within the district of Higashi Chaya in Kanazawa, Japan.
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Kanazawa’s highlights include the historic Higashi Chaya geisha district and Nagamachi samurai district, in addition to the Kenrokuen garden and crafts similar to gold-leaf work and Kaga-yuzen silk-dyeing. High-end traditional inns, like Asadaya, offer a culturally immersive stay.
Matsumoto and Takayama
These two cities within the Japanese Alps are wealthy with tradition. In Matsumoto, there’s Matsumoto-jo, certainly one of the best-preserved feudal castles within the country. And in Takayama, picturesque Old Town plays backdrop to spring and fall festivals that involve parades of towering floats decorated with gold leaf, lacquer and mechanical dolls.
A street in Takayama.
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Dating back to the Edo Period (1603-1867), the streets of Old Town are home to highly regarded regional sake. For tastings, stop by Funasaka or Harada breweries, positioned opposite one another in charming old buildings on the quaint street of Sanmachi Suji.
Tottori and Shimane
On the west side of Japan’s essential island, these neighboring prefectures offer travelers the chance to go off the beaten track, through sites like Izumo Taisha shrine, the award-winning gardens of The Adachi Museum of Art, UNESCO-designated Iwami Ginzan silver mines, and the mellow hot spring town of Yunotsu.
Iwami Ginzan, an underground silver mine in Shimane Prefecture that ended operations within the Nineteen Twenties.
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Ise-shima
Tradition runs deep in Mie Prefecture’s Ise-Shima area, from Japan’s most sacred shrine (Ise Jingu) to the feminine Ama divers who free-dive for seafood along the rugged coast — and with whom travelers can have lunch at diving huts like Amagoya Osatsu Kamado.
A female diver, called “ama” in Japan, displays a sea urchin she caught at the underside of the ocean off the coast of Shima in Mie prefecture.
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Ise-shima is arguably the “model destination” most able to welcome the JTA’s wealthy targets. Not only is it home to the plush Shima Kanko Hotel, which hosted the Group of Seven’s Iseshima Summit in 2016, it also welcomed – in the identical yr – Aman’s uber-luxury Amanemu resort in Iseshima’s Ago Bay.
Southern Nara and Wakayama
“Town of Nara is well-known, but fewer tourists travel to the southern a part of the prefecture that bears the identical name, nor into Wakayama Prefecture to its south.
Each are home to the UNESCO World Heritage-designated Kumano Kodo pilgrimage routes, a network of millennia-old trails that connect the three great Kumano Sanzan shrines and the sacred mountainside town of Koyasan.
The pilgrimage routes of Kumano Kodo in Wakayama, Japan.
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The paths cut through mountain ranges and deep forest, and sometimes skirt the Kii Peninsula’s dramatic coast, offering travelers a likelihood to attach with nature and take a look at rare experiences like an evening at temple-lodging in Koyasan.
Setouchi
This region covers coastal parts of Hiroshima and other prefectures surrounding the Seto Inland Sea. Outdoor types can cycle on the Shimanami Kaido, a 70-km route that connects Japan’s essential island to the island of Shikoku via a group of islets and dizzying bridges that deliver magnificent views.
The port city of Onomichi.
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On the northern end of the route, the historic port city of Onomichi is well value an evening for its retro vibe, maze of sloping side streets, and historic temples. On a tranquil island along the route, there’s also Azumi Setoda, a renovated traditional residence turned luxury boutique hotel.
Kagoshima, Aso and Unzen
The island of Kyushu in western Japan feature every part from energetic volcanoes to glimpses of samurai culture. Around Mount Unzen — a volcano that last erupted within the Nineties — are hot springs and mountaineering trails, while Mount Aso — last eruption 2021! — is an enormous caldera on a grassy plateau that can also be great for mountaineering.
Mount Sakurajima, the symbol of Kagoshima, has minor eruptions several times per day.
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As for samurai culture, stop by Sengan-en in Kagoshima, a stately home that blends Japanese, European and Chinese influences with a 12-acre landscaped garden where a part of the scenery is Sakurajima, a smoldering volcanic peak that emits frequent reminders of its potential for devastation.
Okinawa and Amami
In 2021, Amami-Oshima Island, Tokunoshima Island, the northern a part of Okinawa’s essential island, and Iriomote Island got joint UNESCO Natural World Heritage status for his or her biodiversity and endemic wildlife.
The forests of Amami-Oshima Island.
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While Iriomote is generally dense jungle and mangrove forest, Amami is healthier known for its white sandy beaches. These islands have a culture distinct from the remaining of Japan — they seem to be a melting pot of Japanese and Chinese influences, having been a part of the independent Ryukyu Kingdom for hundreds of years until 1879.
