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Rankings

Rankings: Japan tourism by the numbers

Every list on this page is built from a government dataset, not from opinion: JNTO’s monthly arrival counts, the Japan Tourism Agency’s survey of 30,000 departing visitors, and the national overnight-stay statistics. The numbers are quoted as published, the date each table was checked is shown on the page, and the commentary is written from the figures.

Last checked · Sources

42.7 millionforeign visitors in 2025
+15.8%vs 2024
Tokyomost visited prefecture
228,782 yenaverage spend per trip

The rankings

Official data
Most visited prefectures
All 47 prefectures of Japan ranked by foreign visitors in 2025, with spending per visitor and nights stayed, from the Japan Tourism Agency survey.
Official data
Where each nationality goes
The prefectures visitors from the US, UK, Australia, Korea, Taiwan, China and 13 other countries actually visit, from the 2025 Japan Tourism Agency survey.
Official data
Visitors by country
Every source market for tourism to Japan ranked by 2025 arrivals, with growth, share and the January–August 2026 figures, from JNTO statistics.
Official data
Busiest months
Monthly visitor arrivals to Japan for 2024, 2025 and 2026, the peak and quietest month for each nationality, and what it means for your dates.
Official data
Visitors by year
Foreign visitor arrivals to Japan for 2019, 2023, 2024, the record year 2025 and 2026 so far, with the month-by-month figures, from JNTO.
Official data
What visitors buy
The shopping categories foreign visitors bought in Japan in 2025, what they spent on each and which nationalities buy what, from the official survey.
Official data
What visitors do
The activities foreign visitors did in Japan in 2025 and what they want to do next time, ranked, with the gaps that show what people wish they had planned.
Official data
Spending by country
Average spending per trip and per night in Japan for visitors from 20 countries, split into accommodation, food, transport and shopping, 2025 data.
Official data
Spending by prefecture
All 47 prefectures ranked by what foreign visitors spent there in 2025, and by spending per visitor, from the Japan Tourism Agency survey.
Official data
Guest nights by prefecture
Foreign guest nights for all 47 prefectures in 2025, the foreign share of all hotel guests and the change since 2019, from the Overnight Travel Statistics.

Why rankings from official data? Most “top 10 places in Japan” lists are written from the same handful of blogs and repeat each other. The figures here come from the same surveys the Japanese government uses to plan tourism policy, so they show where visitors really go, what they really buy and when they really come — including the places that get very few visitors, which is often the most useful information of all.

How to use them. If you are choosing between regions, start with the most visited prefectures and the “where each nationality goes” table: the second one shows which places are popular with people like you, and which are mostly domestic. If you are choosing dates, the busiest-months table shows which nationalities arrive when, so you can avoid the peak of your own market. The shopping and activities rankings are a reality check on what is worth planning for — and the spending tables give you a budget baseline for your own nationality.

What the numbers cannot tell you. They are national averages. A prefecture with few visitors overall can still have one crowded spot, and a busy prefecture has quiet corners. Use the prefecture guides for the detail, and the planning tools to turn the averages into your own numbers.

Sources used on this page and in the rankings