In the latest survey, Japan has the strongest passport! No need for a visa for their nationals to visit 190 countries — the most globally. Like my students, many Japanese enjoy traveling abroad. Great to hear their stories and how they learned about different cultures and tasted various delicacies. It’s indeed very educational to go overseas. The world is our classroom!

On the other hand, many tourists chose to visit Japan! The tourism target goal for 2020 was already reached. Imagine 31 million tourists roaming around Japan in 2018. I believe more to come this year as the country hosts the World Cup Rugby. As the country increased their target, can they reach 40 million in 2020 – the year they will host the 32nd Summer Olympics?

There are already schedules of cherry blossoms festivals & viewing locations but it’s still worth to see the winter illumination in different parts of the country. Check the site here: https://japan-attractions.jp/special-winter_illuminations/

Reposting the “Ultimate Guide to Winter Illuminations in Japan: https://blog.gaijinpot.com/top-winter-illuminations-japans-47-prefectures/

This is an article in progress as I’ll be adding popular tourist spots in Japan in the near future.