A Summary of General Information on Tourists Visiting Tokyo
This page presents a cross-sectional summary of general information from the six surveys published on this site.
It is a central place to review information for a comprehensive understanding of the tourism trends among domestic and foreign visitors to Tokyo. Tourism business operators and local governments are welcome to use this information for your marketing activities.
For detailed information regarding each dataset, please refer to the respective survey pages and raw data.
Tourist Destinations,
Timing, and Numbers
(Monthly)
Total number of visitors at tourist facilities
◆ For detailed figures, please refer to the summary table.
[Izu Islands]
Monthly number of tourists
◆ For detailed figures, please refer to the summary table.
[Ogasawara Islands]
Monthly number of tourists
Analysis
Destinations
Many people, both Japanese and non-Japanese, visit the Shinjuku, Chiyoda, Shibuya, and Minato wards. When we focus in on foreign tourists, they tend to visit the Chuo and Taito wards more than Japanese tourists do. This could be due to the presence of popular tourist destinations for foreigners, such as Ginza and Asakusa.
Timing
We can see that there is an increase in Japanese tourists to Tokyo in May, July-September, and December, as well as over extended leave periods, such as over Golden Week, summer vacation, and New Years. Meanwhile, looking at 2022, foreign tourists are increasing from October to December. This increase is assumed to be due to the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. As for the Tokyo Islands, while no distinction is made between Japanese and non-Japanese tourists, the high number of visitors between July and August is considered to be primarily due to people seeking out summer leisure activities.
Surveys used for illustrative purposes
- Survey on the Number of Visitors at Tourism Spots, etc.
- https://data.tourism.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/en/data/jittai-irekomi/
- Survey on the Number of Visitors to Tokyo Using Mobile Data
- https://data.tourism.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/en/data/mobile/
- Survey on the Status of Inbound Tourists on the Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands
- https://data.tourism.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/en/data/tosho-irekomi/
Tourist Length of Stay
and Expenditure
Analysis
Length of Stay
Japanese tourists are excluded from the day-trip category, and the volume zone consists of day-trippers. (Refer to “Tourist Spot Parameter Survey” for more details.) For those staying overnight for sightseeing purposes, the volume zone is staying for one night, and there tends to be an increase in tourists staying more than two nights for the Tokyo Islands, such as the Izu Islands and the Ogasawara Islands. When it comes to foreign tourists, many of them stay in locations for more than three nights. In particular, when the purpose is to visit friends and family or to study abroad, many foreign tourists stay for seven nights or more.
Expenditure
Japanese tourists tend to spend the most on accommodation expenses, followed by other expenses, and then transportation costs. While foreign tourists have higher overall expenses compared to Japanese tourists, it is evident that they allocate a relatively higher proportion of their expenditure towards shopping, accommodation, other expenses, and dining out.
Surveys used for illustrative purposes
- Tourist Spot Parameter Survey
- https://data.tourism.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/en/data/jittai-para/
- Survey on Behavioral Characteristics of Foreign Tourists by Country/Region
- https://data.tourism.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/en/data/kunibetsu/
Reason for Visit
Analysis
Both Tokyo residents and foreign tourists are attracted to the food and sightseeing spots of Tokyo (city and culture). Surveys are distinct with differing response options for Tokyo residents and foreigners, which makes overall comparison difficult, but Tokyo residents tend to show a higher inclination towards shopping when compared to foreigners. Meanwhile, foreigners tend to be attracted to the service aspect of Tokyo as a whole, such as its hygiene, public safety, and hospitality.
Surveys used for illustrative purposes
- Survey on Awareness of Tourism Among Tokyo Citizens
- https://data.tourism.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/en/data/ishiki/
- Survey on Behavioral Characteristics of Foreign Tourists by Country/Region
- https://data.tourism.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/en/data/kunibetsu/
Summary
These are some generic tourism trends of domestic and foreign visitors to Tokyo discovered by combining the results of six surveys that are available on this website. While this section has primarily focused on presenting the overall results of the data, for a more in-depth understanding with essential insights which take into account the other available results, we recommend applying filters to the graphs and visiting the individual survey pages.
We encourage tourism business operators and local governments to read through the other surveys available that are in line with your goals.