After living in Tokyo for over a year, Karin Nordin noticed something peculiar. The hot spring towns of Kusatsu and Zao — normally packed with Chinese tourists — had thinned.
“We have seen less mainland Chinese tourists in Tokyo,” the 33-year-old Malaysian told CNBC after returning from Japan in early 2026.
Hotel prices in tourist areas appear to have stabilized and no longer spike during holidays observed by mainland China, unlike previous years.
Nordin’s experience is representative of Japan’s wider tourism landscape, which saw Chinese tourists stay away from Asia’s third largest economy amid a diplomatic spat that started last November over comments made by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
Data from the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) revealed that the number of arrivals from mainland China plunged over 60% year on year in January, but overall tourist numbers were just down 4.9% year on year.
