'Meat lovers mecca': Qantas expands its flight schedule to Japan, as rising number of Australians flock to its safe and clean cities for affordable food and digs
A total of 920,000 Australians visited Japan in 2024, and the number is expected to top one million by the end of this year.
The Japan National Tourism Organisation said this week that 78,900 Australians visited Japan during May alone, an increase of 18.7 per cent on the same month last year.
The cherry blossom season is a tourist drawcard, but savvy Aussies are discovering much more.
Japan is a land of endless contrasts with cosmopolitan cities, quaint rural villages and a fascinating history.
There are festivals and cultural experiences, mind-blowing scenery, powdery snow and famous cuisine.
Tokyo's cloud-piercing skyscrapers may sit cheek-by-jowl with pockets of tranquility in ancient temples, quiet museums and parks.
Japan is exotic.
It's clean, it's safe and the Japanese are courteous and welcoming.
And unlike much of Europe, it is not so overcrowded.
Pay $850-plus a night for a room at the Mandarin Oriental or as little as $32 to $60 at one of the many low budget capsule hotels in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka.
Tokyo offers a seemingly unlimited choice of shopping and dining.
There is a carnival atmosphere at night.
Slurp a bowl of ramen noodles or open your lungs in a karaoke bar.
Food lovers may be surprised to learn that Japan has the highest number of Michelin starred restaurants in the world.
Japan's culinary traditions are epic.
Try affordable street food like yakitori and ramen or more upscale restaurants offering anything from vegetarian to fish dishes, sushi, eel, tempura, soba, udon, takoyaki, okonomiyaki, yakiniku and more.
Each region also has its own local specialties and culinary traditions.
Leave the city for a break in the onsen district noted for their communal hot steam baths.
Stay in a ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn that typically features tatami-matted rooms, futon beds, communal baths (often hot springs), and traditional Japanese meals.
Japan tourism chiefs say Australian travellers are now going beyond the regular Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto route to discover other diverse prefectures.
Data from the Japan Tourism Agency shows Australian visitor arrivals to Ishikawa Prefecture increased 92.8 percent to 131,260 in the last 12 months.
There were big jumps also in visits by Aussies to Gifu and Wakayama prefectures.
From Tokyo, it takes two hours and 35 minutes on the exciting Hokuriku Shinkansen fast train to reach Kanazawa, the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture on Honshu's northern coast.
It is known for its arts scene, its 'strolling gardens', traditional teahouses and sweets.
Visitors can try their hand at the region's traditional gold leaf craft or visit Omicho indoor market with 200 stalls dishing up local flavours and fresh seafood such as sashimi, scallops with sake and grilled oysters.
Ishikawa has a Museum of Contemporary Art and four hot spring villages and other town showcasing traditional ceramics and lacquerware.
Australians are also heading to the mountains in Gifu Prefecture to experience the fairytale village of Shirakawa-go with its "gassho-style" houses with thatched, steeply sloped roofs. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It is also a meat lover's mecca where you find Hida beef, also known as Hidagyu, a premium Japanese wagyu brand noted for its high marble score.
Travellers to Gifu can step back in time on the scenic Nakasendo trail that dates back to the Edo period.
This is slow-motion travel along a road once travelled by monks, samurai warriors and royalty.
Wakayama Prefecture is home to a sacred Buddhist region with more than 100 temples.
At the heart of it is Koyasan, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Travellers may stay in one 50 traditional temple lodges.
Wakayama is also home to the white sand beach of Shirahama, not well known outside of Japan.
It is a sister beach to Hawaii's Waikiki.
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The manager had to reassure a visitor from overseas who rang him in alarm saying there was a small marsupial in her bed. Elizabeth Howcroft, Hawthorn, Vic Exchange irate We all know, or should know, that when travelling overseas, and if given the choice of paying in local currency (in my case euros) or Aussie dollars, we should always say local. The business offering the choice makes a cut on the exchange rate by using their bank if you select Aussie dollars and you lose. Recently, when picking up a hire car in the mayhem that is Taormina, Sicily, I was not offered such a choice. On checking my contract later, I noted that the car representative had deceitfully scribbled on my contract that I was offered such a choice and had elected to pay in Aussie dollars. Be aware. 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Colin Hood, Carlton North, Vic Peace offering Justine Costigan's article on the Peace Hotel in Shanghai (Traveller, July 31) reminded me of the first time I was there in 1967. I was with 53 other students from Australian and New Zealand Universities on what was meant to be a fairly mundane travel tour, but it turned out to be quite the reverse. We arrived by train in Shanghai at about 2am and were met by hundreds of Red Guard students from Fudan University, who escorted us from the station on foot to the Peace Hotel on the Bund. The hotel was officially closed at that time because of the onset of the Cultural Revolution, and we were the only guests. The elaborate art deco decoration and quality accommodation were quite spectacular and unexpected. 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