TOKYO - The Lunar New Year holiday has begun as the Chinese government continues to call on its citizens to refrain from traveling to Japan, prompting questions about how popular destinations once favored by Chinese tourists are now faring.
In Tokyo’s Asakusa district, typically bustling with foreign visitors, travelers from regions that celebrate the Lunar New Year were visible in large numbers. Visitors from South Korea and Indonesia said they had come to mark the holiday period. At the same time, some Chinese tourists noted that there appeared to be fewer visitors from China than before, with one traveler from Beijing saying that foreigners seemed more numerous overall and another from Henan estimating that Chinese visitor numbers had fallen by 50% to 60%.
Businesses offering experiences such as rickshaw rides and kimono rentals, which had drawn many Chinese tourists through 2025, are also feeling the change. Aiko Ozawa of Jidaiya, which handles Japanese cultural experiences, said that based on her impression, the number of Chinese visitors has indeed declined overall.
At a well-known filming spot near Kamakurakoko-mae Station on the Enoden Line—famous as a location associated with the anime Slam Dunk—tourists from Chile and Malaysia said they had come because of the series or on family trips. Before the Chinese government began urging its citizens to avoid travel to Japan, the crossing had been packed with visitors taking photos, but a visit on January 18 suggested noticeably fewer people than in 2025. A tourist from Shanghai said this was their second visit and that the most noticeable change was the drop in crowds, adding that frequent news about Japan–China relations had led family members to advise against traveling.
According to figures released on January 18, about 385,000 Chinese visitors came to Japan in January 2026, down more than 60% from the same period a year earlier. The effects are being felt across the country.
In Osaka’s Shinsekai district, businesses say the situation during this year’s Lunar New Year differs markedly from last year. At a restaurant popular with Chinese tourists, Katsuya Ueyama, chairman of Kushikatsu Daruma, said visitor numbers were clearly lower than usual, estimating them at about one-fifth of normal levels.
In Bibai, Hokkaido, which has attracted many foreign visitors in recent years seeking winter activities, reservations from Chinese tourists during the holiday period totaled just 50 people—one-fourteenth of the number seen in 2025. Takashi Komizu, manager of Alpen, said the expected number of Chinese visitors had fallen significantly below initial projections.
As the Chinese government’s call to refrain from travel shows no sign of ending, attention has turned to the scale of the economic impact.
Japan National Tourism Organization data released on January 18 showed that the number of Chinese visitors to Japan in January stood at about 385,000, down 60% year-on-year. Since the Chinese government began urging citizens in November 2025 to avoid traveling to Japan, the trend has continued to decline.
The effect is also visible in travel spending. According to the Japan Tourism Agency’s inbound consumption survey, foreign visitor spending totaled 2.2969 trillion yen in the October–December quarter of 2024, of which Chinese visitors accounted for 430.3 billion yen. In the same period of 2025, overall spending rose to 2.533 trillion yen, but spending by Chinese visitors fell to 353.4 billion yen.
While spending by Chinese tourists has declined, overall inbound consumption has increased, suggesting Japan may be gradually reducing its reliance on Chinese demand. However, Masato Koike, a senior researcher at Sompo Institute Plus, estimates that if per-visitor spending remains unchanged from last year, consumption during the Lunar New Year period alone could fall by 48.5 billion yen, pushing down Japan’s GDP by about 0.01%.
Source: TBS
