Kyushu sees record-breaking number of foreign tourists in early 2025

A pair of tourists superimposed on an image of Sakurajimi, Kyushu

The Kyushu Transport Bureau has released preliminary figures indicating a significant surge in foreign visitors to the region at the start of 2025.

This comes at a time when visitor numbers to Japan are under increased scrutiny. On one hand, Japan’s Tourism agencies are trying to boost tourism to the country, with many potential tourists lured by the currently weak yen offering better than ever value when travelling the country.

Skyline of Fukuoka City — More visitors are arriving in Kyushu and its main city of Fukuoka than ever before

In a contrasting viewpoint, there is increasing frustration at the behavior of some visitors to Japan, with disrespectful and sometimes criminal acts such as assaulting convenience store staff and voyeurism having been committed by tourists. This has led to many residents of Japan wondering if the economic benefits to the country are worth the hassle.

On February 21st, the Bureau announced that the number of foreign entrants to Kyushu in January 2025, excluding cruise ship passengers, surpassed 400,000 for the first time in a single month for “normal” entrants.

A Camellia Line Ferry docked in Fukuoka — A large number of tourists arrive in Kyushu on ferries from South Korea

“Normal entrants” are defined as those undergoing standard immigration inspections. Ship tourist landings, on the other hand, are those who undergo simplified immigration procedures available to foreign passengers on designated foreign cruise ships. The sum of these two categories represents the total number of entrants.

A cruise ship in open water at night — Cruise ships can dock at many ports in Kyushu, including Fukuoka, Kagoshima and Beppu

Specifically, the number of foreign entrants recorded for January 2025 was 409,987, representing a 120% increase compared to the same month in the previous year.

This figure marks a historic milestone, as it is the first time that “normal” entrants, defined as those undergoing standard immigration procedures (excluding simplified procedures for cruise ship passengers), have exceeded 400,000 in a single month.

This achievement also extends the region’s record-breaking streak for “normal” entrants, surpassing the previous highest ever figures recorded in November (372,561) and December 2024 (388,157).

A blue pool of water and steam in Beppu — Kyushu is home to a number of tourist attractions including the onsen town of Beppu

For the entire calendar year of 2024, the total number of foreign entrants to Kyushu reached 4,975,717, excluding cruise ship passengers in December.

This figure is the second highest on record, falling just short of the 5,116,366 visitors recorded in 2018.

Analyzing the arrival data by airport and port, Fukuoka Airport emerged as the primary point of entry with 3,416,863 arrivals.

Hakata Port in Fukuoka was the second most popular point of entry

Hakata Port followed with 466,067 arrivals, while Tsushima (Izuhara Port and Hitakatsu Port) recorded 192,159 arrivals.

Kumamoto Airport and Kagoshima Airport registered 181,921 and 70,367 arrivals, respectively.

The Aso Kumamoto Aiport terminal building — Kumamoto Airport is another popular entry point in southern Kyushu

The confirmed figures for January to November 2024, totaling 4,587,560 visitors, revealed that South Korea was the leading source of foreign tourists with 2,230,140 arrivals. China followed with 875,942 arrivals, while Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Thailand contributed 590,090, 365,250, and 92,365 arrivals, respectively.

Source: TNC