Foreign visitors to Mt. Fuji area down 77%

Foreign visitors represent an important of the tourism industry in the areas surrounding Mt. Fuji. The Mt. Fuji Visitor Center in Yamanashi Prefecture reported that the number of foreign visitors to the center between April and September, 2011, fell 77% from a year earlier to 20,650.

Chinese tourists typically make up the majority of foreign visitors to the Mt. Fuji area, however, the number of Chinese visitors fell by 78% to 10,300. Fuji Kyuko, a tourism company that operates in conjunction with the Visitor Center, had opened a sales office in Shanghai in July, 2010, but the effects of the March disaster continue to have a negative effect on their business.Read more


Foreign tourist numbers drop 25% in September

According to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), the number of foreign visitors to Japan in September, 2011, was 539,000. This was 24.9% lower than the number of visitors in September, 2010.

This is the 7th continuous month of decline following the March 11 Tohoku disaster. The JNTO said that the high yen and ongoing nuclear disaster has kept away wealthy visitors as well as those traveling with children and family.Read more