Increased air capacity, a slew of new luxury hotel openings, new dining venues, tours and exhibitions, plus a favourable exchange rate: It’s never been a better time to visit the Land of the Rising Sun, says the Japan National Tourist Organisation.
It was all outlined last night [2 March 2023] when JNTO briefed media in Sydney for its plans and strategy for 2023.
“Our pillars for promotion include ‘luxury travel’, ‘sustainable travel’, and ‘adventure travel’, specifically in the Australian market,” said Andrew Coombs, Media & Marketing Senior Assistant Manager for JNTO.
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He told LATTE that many travellers are returning to Japan for their second or third trip and our aim is to provide experiences off the major Tokyo and Osaka Golden Route across the whole of Japan.
“There are a lot of new hotels and food experiences in Japan now that the country is open again and we encourage visitors to stay at traditional Japanese ryokan in places like Ginzan Onsen, a very photogenic place”, added Coombs.
JNTO says that rail is one of the best and most adventurous ways of seeing the country, especially on The Royal Express, a 3-hour luxury train journey from Yokohama to Shimoda in Shizuoka Prefecture.
It’s best to book and purchase tickets before leaving Australia as it will save clients time and money. They are available for 7-, 14- or 21-day periods.
“Getting to Japan has never been easier with most of the major carriers boosting flights over the next twelve months”, said Coombs. Virgin is launching a daily Cairns to Haneda service on 28 June 2023, Qantas has recently launched Brisbane to Haneda and ANA will start direct services between Perth and Narita in late October. The carrier will also bump up flights from Sydney to Haneda to twice daily from 26 March.
Coombs said there is also an abundance of new hotels throughout Japan such as The Ritz-Carlton in Fukuoka City set to open soon and the Tokyo EDITION Ginza slated to welcome guests in mid-2023. voco Osaka Central will launch in May and Hotel Indigo will open its doors in Tokyo in late 2023.
“I encourage travellers to have a look at the ‘luxury travel’ and ‘sustainable travel’ brochures on the JNTO travel.japan website,” he added.
Lead image: Japan National Tourist Organisation’s Yoko Tanaka, Executive Director; Andrew Coombs, Media & Marketing Senior Assistant Manager and Maho Iwasaki, Director.