Foreign visitors spent ¥2.2076tn in Japan between July and September, 3.2% more than a year earlier, according to the Japan Tourism Agency's preliminary (first-flash) estimate of its inbound consumption survey. The total rose even though the number of visitors fell.
Fewer visitors, bigger bills
Spending per general traveller, meaning every foreign visitor except cruise passengers, rose 6.1% to about ¥234,000, while the number of such visitors fell 2.1% to 9.425mn. Total spending by general travellers was ¥2.2023tn, up 3.9%. Including cruise passengers, visitor numbers fell 4.8% to 9.645mn.
The cruise segment moved the other way and by far more: 220,000 passengers, down 56.2%, spending ¥5.3bn, down 71.0%. The agency warns that cruise sample sizes in 2026 were not always sufficient, so those figures should be handled with care. The growth rates for all visitors, general travellers and cruise passengers come from different populations and should not be read as one series.
China shrinks, Korea and Taiwan fill in
The gap between volume and value is clearest in the source markets. Taiwan is now the largest, at ¥381.8bn (up 26.2%), ahead of China at ¥358.3bn (down 39.8%), Korea at ¥293.8bn (up 45.8%), the United States at ¥240.9bn (up 9.1%) and Hong Kong at ¥155.5bn (up 37.1%).
| Market | Spending | Change on year |
|---|---|---|
| Taiwan | ¥381.8bn | +26.2% |
| China | ¥358.3bn | -39.8% |
| Korea | ¥293.8bn | +45.8% |
| United States | ¥240.9bn | +9.1% |
| Hong Kong | ¥155.5bn | +37.1% |
China supplied 27.8% of spending in the same quarter of 2025 and 16.2% now. Chinese general travellers fell 49.8% to 1.211mn, yet each spent about ¥294,600, up 22.1%. Korea shows the reverse: arrivals rose 28.7% to 2.576mn, but per-head spending was about ¥114,000. The same survey puts Taiwan at about ¥199,000 per head, with 1.904mn visitors, up 15.5%.
The highest per-head spenders were French visitors at about ¥423,000, followed by Mexican (¥414,000) and Nordic (¥407,000) travellers.
Where the money lands
Lodging took 35.2% of spending (¥777.8bn), shopping 27.7% (¥610.9bn) and dining 22.9% (¥505.8bn). Against a year earlier, the shopping share rose from 25.7% and the transport share edged up, while entertainment and similar services fell from 4.9% to 4.3%. Shopping is where Chinese visitors still stand out: the agency lists it as their highest category per head, and their shopping spend was ¥143.8bn.
Caveats
Mexico, the Nordic countries and the Middle East were added as separate survey markets in 2026; before that they sat inside "other". The agency tells readers to be careful when comparing, which matters for the 16.7% fall in "other" spending. The estimate is a first flash: it weights responses using Japan National Tourism Organization arrival counts and the previous year's departure data, and the agency updates its weights in later releases. The release does not explain why spending by market moved as it did.