February 20, 2024

Toward the Promotion of Night-time Economy

JTB (Japan Travel Bureau) will begin offering evening tours for inbound tourists in March in cooperation with Asahi Breweries. They plan to organize 10 to 15 tour programs per season, or about 50 per year, on themes such as "traditional performing arts" and "boats," mainly in the Tokyo metropolitan area and the Kansai region. This aims to create demand for nighttime tourism, which is considered a weakness in Japan.

The range of tour products will be broadened to include those targeting luxurious tourists. As a first step, a night tour of cherry blossom viewing spots around Asakusa and Sumida River in Tokyo by rickshaw will be organized in late March. The price is 25,000 yen for two people.

HIS also began offering karaoke plans for visitors to Japan in February, anticipating nighttime demand. The company will collaborate with Dai-ichi Kosho, which operates the karaoke restaurant "Big Echo," to offer exclusive plans at six stores in Tokyo. The course includes all-you-can-drink drinks starting at 2,500 yen per hour and a penlight that lights up in 15 different colors at the reception desk, starting at 4,400 yen per hour.

The Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry notes that Tokyo lacks content that can be enjoyed during the after-dinner hours. According to the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the "night-time economy" has an economic scale of approximately 3.7 trillion yen in London and 2.1 trillion yen in New York and is expected to create jobs.