A record 42.7 million international visitors came to Japan in 2025, which is a 15.8% increase on the previous high of 36.9 million in 2024, and the first time, the figure surpassed 40 million. It was also around 10 million greater than the pre-pandemic 2019 total of 31.9 million.
Tourists flocked to Japan especially at peak times, such as for viewing cherry blossoms and autumn foliage, and to enjoy high-quality winter snow as well as a weaker yen but this caused over-tourism in a few already-strained regions like Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Okinawa and Hokkaido.
To combat overtourism and manage high infrastructure costs, Japan has increasingly implemented dual-pricing systems and higher taxes for foreign tourists
The Japan Tourism Agency plans to set up an expert panel to draft guidelines for a dual pricing system charging higher fees at tourist facilities for foreign visitors, as reported in The Japan Times .The agency will aim to draw up the guidelines as early as April this year.
Kyoto hikes accommodation tax and bus fares for tourists
Since 2018, Kyoto has implemented a lodging tax. However, with the continued rise in tourism, Kyoto has revised the tax rates significantly from March 2026.
The updated rates will see the most notable increases at the luxury end. Guests staying in accommodations that cost 100,000 yen ($630) or more per night will face a tax of 10,000 yen ($63) per night, ten times the current rate and is also the highest tax rate on hotels in Japan.
Kyoto also announced a dual-pricing system for its public buses – the first in Japan to do so. Under the proposal, the current 230 yen ($1.50) flat fare for buses in the city centre will be raised to up to 400 yen for non-residents, while residents would pay a reduced rate of 200 yen. The new fares are expected to take effect from April 2027.
To tackle the congestion itself, the city plans to run special express buses for tourists and promote the use of the subway system.
Other attractions which have raised admission fees for tourists
In March, the city of Himeji raised the admission fee for Himeji Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage site, to 2,500 yen ($15.60) for non-residents, while keeping it at 1,000 yen ($6.30) for residents.
In Okinawa’s new Junglia theme park, there are two ways to buy a one-day pass. If you land on the park’s English-language site, the ticket price is 8,800 yen (US$$60). Switch to the Japanese-language portal, which requires using a local address and phone number, the same ticket costs 6,930 yen ($47).
Restaurants are following suit. Japan’s largest restaurant review and reservation platform, Tabelog, operates separate booking systems for domestic and overseas customers. On the English, Chinese and Korean versions, users must enter a credit card and pay a 440 yen ($2.80) per person system fee at the time of booking. The domestic site requires no credit card and charges no such fee.
The trend of dual pricing for tourists is here to stay
The yen’s slide has made the country cheap for visitors paying in dollars or euros; that omakase dinner that would cost $250 in New York is 12,000 yen ($75) in Japan, and a coffee that costs $5 in Paris costs less than half in Tokyo.
Inbound tourists spend a substantial amount per person, averaging around 227,000 yen ($1,430) in 2024. Without differentiated pricing, locals risk being priced out of their own neighbourhoods as businesses raise prices to match what tourists are willing to pay. Two-tier pricing is, in that sense, a way to keep services accessible to residents.
Photo courtesy of Cheah Saw Jit
