The findings of Kyoto city similarly showed a record high 5.35 million visitors from outside Japan, up 40 percent from 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, stayed in the municipality in 2023.

“Kyoto isn’t a tourist city, it’s a city that values tourism,” Daisaku Kadokawa, the city’s mayor, said during a recent interview at its city hall, where he wore the formal kimono that ...

KYOTO -- The popular Gion Festival in this Japanese ancient capital will be held in July without any COVID-19 restrictions, organizers have announced.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been brutal for Japanese tourism since 2020. Destinations in Kyoto, which once attracted millions from all around the world, are searching for ways to reinvent themselves ...

KYOTO -- The room occupancy rate at major hotels in this ancient Japanese capital city in October recorded a post-coronavirus pandemic high of 63.7%, ...

A study by the city government found that tourists from overseas spent on average 37,437 yen ($250) in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic. But in 2023 that figure had nearly doubled to 71,661 yen.