International Visitors to Japan Leap to Record 3.7 Million in January 2025

The Japan National Tourism Organization announced that 3,781,200 international visitors came to Japan in January 2025, an increase of 40.6% compared to the same month in 2024. It is the second conecutive record-setting month following December’s tally of 3,489,800 and the fourth month in a row to log more than 3 million visitors.

Chinese travelers took advantage of the long holiday around the lunar new year, which started on January 29, with a total of 980,300 visiting Japan in January, more than double the amount the same month the previous year. Visitors from China have been relatively slow to return following the COVID-19 pandemic, but January’s figures were the third highest after July and August 2019 when there were more than 1 million visitors.

There were also record high monthly totals from South Korea at 967,100 (up 12.8% from January 2024) and Taiwan at 593,400 (up 20.5%).

Japan’s high-quality snow was a major draw for winter sports fans, particularly from Europe and North America. January saw new records of visitors from the United States at 182,500 (up 38.4%), Britain at 26,400 (up 33.3%), and France at 16,500 (up 14.2%). Australia had the highest monthly total ever at 140,200 (up 35.3%).

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo: Winter sports enthusiasts enjoy the snow in Hakuba, Nagano. © Pixta.)