Do you think tourism to Japan will ever become huge?

[evanny]

Originally Posted by GoNative

That really is a very Eurocentric view of the world (gee you're from Europe aren't you? ).

yes i am. but does it mean i am wrong? no. in general western world (including Russia) know far more about western culture and are usually more interested in it. Europeans and Americans are also the people that travel the most, or at least the people who spend the most money.

everyone is so touchy just because someone says something against Japan. Jesus.

in comparison.
for my family of 4 trip to Egypt to a 4.5 star hotel 100m from the coast with 3 pools that had bars in the middle and all meals +wine and beer as much as you want was for free. including trips to Valley of Kings and Karnaka temple it ended up costing 4 000$. i wouldn't see any of the luxury in Japan for that money. probably could barely get a flight with that kind of money.

still. middle class is what makes up the tourism in the world and Japan is too far and/or too expensive for most of the people.

[JohnBraden]

Back when I went in Oct 2010, the people I know were surprised when I told them what I paid for the trip. It was through Japan Airlines which isn't the cheapest airline to Tokyo from Chicago. I spent 10 nights at a Prince hotel which is probably middle-of-the-road. Since most people don't know how much it is, most imagine it is a lot. When I told them I only paid $1800 for the whole trip, they were really surprised. Granted, that's just the bare essentials (trip and lodging), but it's not a bad start. But then you want to be able to take advantage of the trip, and like MMM always mentions, not eat like a bird and skimp on the good things the country has to offer. That's where things start to add up. It's not a cheap place to go to, by all means, but it is quite a ride for most of us. Both times I went as a tourist was for 10 nights, which really turn out to be 9 full days in country. To me it was worth it. The first time was to the Keio Plaza and that ran me about $2600 in 2005. The next time I go in March, I'm planning on adding a week to the aforementioned 10 nights and we'll see how much it costs me. I'll have to add a 2 week JR Pass to that, and with the ever strengthening yen (or weakening Dollar-not sure which one), the 45100 yen is going to be quite a bit.

[BobbyCooper]

Originally Posted by JohnBraden

Back when I went in Oct 2010, the people I know were surprised when I told them what I paid for the trip. It was through Japan Airlines which isn't the cheapest airline to Tokyo from Chicago. I spent 10 nights at a Prince hotel which is probably middle-of-the-road. Since most people don't know how much it is, most imagine it is a lot. When I told them I only paid $1800 for the whole trip, they were really surprised. Granted, that's just the bare essentials (trip and lodging), but it's not a bad start. But then you want to be able to take advantage of the trip, and like MMM always mentions, not eat like a bird and skimp on the good things the country has to offer. That's where things start to add up. It's not a cheap place to go to, by all means, but it is quite a ride for most of us. Both times I went as a tourist was for 10 nights, which really turn out to be 9 full days in country. To me it was worth it. The first time was to the Keio Plaza and that ran me about $2600 in 2005. The next time I go in March, I'm planning on adding a week to the aforementioned 10 nights and we'll see how much it costs me. I'll have to add a 2 week JR Pass to that, and with the ever strengthening yen (or weakening Dollar-not sure which one), the 45100 yen is going to be quite a bit.

I payed 440 Euros for my One Way Ticket with Ethiad Airways.

I plan to leave with 7 grand and work maybe 6 to 8 months and include Korea for at least 3 months into my trip.

It's very easy to manage I think and you can easily go and eat outside too almost every day. Even include some dishes which might coast 20 Euros or more from time to time.

I did it the same way in Australia and NewZealand and almost did not work at all in the entire year I was traveling.

[evanny]

messed up this post....mistook you for someone else.

edit will come later

EDDIT.
Boby.
so. it costs 700 $ for a one way ticket. still think it is cheap? to go both ways for 1400$?

[BobbyCooper]

Originally Posted by evanny

messed up this post....mistook you for someone else.

edit will come later

EDDIT.
Boby.
so. it costs 700 $ for a one way ticket. still think it is cheap? to go both ways for 1400$?

Oh a Return Ticket is of course always cheaper. But for a One Way Ticket is the best you can get.

Trust me I spend hours^^

[JohnBraden]

Originally Posted by evanny

messed up this post....mistook you for someone else.

edit will come later

EDDIT.
Boby.
so. it costs 700 $ for a one way ticket. still think it is cheap? to go both ways for 1400$?

Back in October, Japan Airlines charged me $1000 for their portion of the bill, which left $800 for the hotel @$80/night. For March, JAL wants $1472 if I were to go, so yeah, that's a big portion of the bill and it's not cheap, but I can't fathom taking a US-based airline with the service and delays they always seem to have.

[JBaymore]

Originally Posted by evanny

everyone is so touchy just because someone says something against Japan. Jesus.

No... reactions are to HOW you say it.

Originally Posted by evanny

in general western world (including Russia) know far more about western culture and are usually more interested in it.

Precisely my point when I said:

Originally Posted by JBaymore

It is just that the Western world does not typically TEACH much of anything about Eastern history, geography, religion, culture, or art in the public education system.

Personally, I think the lack of tourism is mainly due to two things........ language and mis-preceptions

Yup.... mispreceptions about Japan.

And just out of curiosity..... how much time have you spent in Japan in the last 15 years or so?

best,

..................john

[evanny]

ahhh...did i hurt your feelings about HOW i said it? i think i was rather modest. and really, you pussy? this is internet. grow some big ones, hairy ones.

and dude. wtf. your response post to me has been completely edited. and now you quote it as your original text. lol.

[JBaymore]

Just researched some stats for 2010. Not sure how accurate they are.... this was a fast web search .

The top visited international travel cities are located:

In Asia
33.7 million

In Europe
29.7

In Middle East
24.4

In USA
9.7


best,

...................john

[evanny]

seeing how asia is 3 times bigger and holds 2/3 of the worlds population, are you really surprised? that is rather expected that the world largest region will altogether get the most visits.

and Japan ranks 8 from all the top visited countries in asia with 8+mil visits.
in world rank France has 76 mil.

World Tourism rankings - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia