Just when you thought travel to Japan couldn’t get any more popular among Australians, new data released by the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) reveals that 42.6% more Aussies visited the Asian nation in April 2025 than in the same month last year.
According to the fresh data, some 115,000 Australians hit Japanese shores during the month – which saw the Easter period, school holidays and cherry blossom season take place just weeks apart.
April figures follow an upward trend for Japan-bound travel, with 429,000 Australians visiting the country from January to April 2025 – a year-on-year rise of 28.6%, which is also almost half of 2024’s total arrivals.
Globally, the nation welcomed nearly 4 million (3,909,900) visitors in April, an international record – and authorities are confident this growth will continue throughout 2025 as Australians travel off-peak.
JNTO Australia Executive Director Naoki Kitazawa says the figures clearly demonstrate Japan’s ever-growing popularity among Aussies.
“Demand has been incredibly strong, and these figures are exciting to see,” he states.
“Increased airline capacity, special offers and a favourable exchange rate are spurring Australian travellers to discover Japan’s distinctive regions, each with their own character, culture and cuisine, from hiking and cycling in magnificent national parks year-round to summer island-hopping in Okinawa or Ogasawara or seeking out authentic one-of-a-kind local experiences.
Kitazawa also urges Australians to broaden their horizons by heading outside of the most popular spots.
“While first-time visitors have historically headed to the Golden Route of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto, or the ski fields in Hokkaido and Nagano, Japan has so much more to offer, and we are delighted to welcome Australian travellers to embrace it all.”
And the value of the Aussie visitor isn’t lost on tourism operators in Japan, who recognise that travellers from Down Under spend more per visit.
“Australian travellers are highly valued by Japan. In general, they stay longer than other visitors, and many repeat visitors like to expand their horizons and choose new regional areas to explore,” JNTO Australia Media and Marketing Senior Assistant Manager Andrew Coombs says.
“As visitor arrivals grow, we will continue to focus on sustainability, luxury and adventure travel to attract responsible tourists, and share the economic and cultural benefits throughout the country.”
Coombs adds that Japan’s growing appeal is fuelled by adventurous travellers eager to step out of their comfort zones and dive into authentic cultural experiences – from ryokans to artisan workshops.
Domestic decline
While the ongoing boom in travel to Japan raises question marks over the country’s capacity to welcome mass tourism, Inside Travel Group Director and Japan travel expert Alastair Donnelly says the Asian nation actually needs more international visitors.
“The vast majority of tourism in Japan is domestic. So, of all the visitors to Kyoto in 2019, only 17% were inbound tourists. And of all the room nights in Kyoto in 2019, interestingly, only 35% [or] something like that was inbound,” he told Karryon in an interview earlier this year.
“However, domestic tourism is inevitably on the decline in Japan because they have a population decline, and the main people travelling are the older people who have retired – and over time, that is reducing quite rapidly.
“So, it’s really important for Japan to replace domestic tourism with inbound tourism and that’s part of the government strategy. This is why they have this long-term view – the 60 million [visitors] by 2030 – because it’s replacing part of the economy that’s disappearing because of population loss.”
However, Donnelly says tourism can only grow sustainably if it is more dispersed across the country.
