“Drinkable Cigare” is so hard to get it’s been dubbed a “phantom”.
Tokyo Station is packed with all sorts of delicious offerings, but right now one of the most sought-after treats you’ll find there is the Coo-Che.
Created by super-popular Tokyo sweets brand YokuMoku, whose signature product is a light and buttery rolled langue de chat cookie called a “Cigare”, the Coo-Che is a brand new dessert drink that takes an extra-large Cigare and essentially wraps it around an original vanilla shake.
Dubbed a “drinkable Cigare”, the Coo-Che (pronounced “Coo-Shay’), takes its name from the words “cookie” and “shake”, and it can only be purchased at the Yoku Moku Tokyo Station Ichiban-gai store. Ever since its 19 June release, the drink has become so incredibly popular that it’s now almost impossible to get, leading it to be dubbed a “phantom” due to its elusiveness.
After several attempts to get our own hands on it, we were finally able to purchase a Coo-Che the other day, but there’s a process involved as you have to register for a digital numbered ticket through advance reservations on the Line messaging app. Simply add the official Yoku Moku line account as a friend, then tap the button for “Coo-Che numbered ticket” in the menu at the bottom of the account. Select your preferred time and tap “Apply for numbered ticket”, then check that the “Ticket acquired” message appears and you’re ready to go.
Digital numbered tickets become available from 7 p.m. the day before, and there are six time slots to choose from: 11:00 a.m., 11:20 a.m., 2:00 p.m., 2:20 p.m., 5:00 p.m. and 5:20 p.m. If you don’t arrive within 15 minutes of the time shown on your ticket, your reservation will be cancelled, regardless of the reason.
We managed to secure a reservation for 11 a.m. on a Monday, but competition for time slots was fierce, so we recommend being ready to book your desired slot right at 7 p.m. on the day before your visit.
When we picked up our drink, we could see that the store was well aware of the drink’s viral fame, even setting up a photo spot for it so people could easily share photos of their Coo-Che.
It certainly looked beautiful, and when we got our first taste of it, we were immediately impressed by the taste of the vanilla shake.
▼ The Coo-Che costs 780 yen (US$5.10).
You could see little specks of vanilla on the surface of the shake, providing an elegant vanilla aroma that was irresistible, and the flavour was so rich that it was almost like a drinkable custard.
▼ According to Yoku Moku, both the shake and the langue de chat use the same original Yoku Moku vanilla found in its famous Cigare biscuits.
The shake also contains crispy langue de chat biscuit pieces, crunchy crumble cookies and fluffy whipped cream, allowing you to enjoy a variety of different textures in every sip.
▼ Squeezing the cup helps to crack the biscuit, so you can mix all the components together for even more deliciousness.
It’s such a beautiful and unique treat that after paying for ours and trying it outside the store, we saw passersby staring intently at our Coo-Che. There’s a small eat-in space inside the store, but even there you’ll be turning heads because it really is such an unusual sight to see.
So next time you’re passing through Tokyo Station, be sure to reserve your Coo-Che beforehand so you can get a taste of one of the most beautiful and sought-after drinks in Tokyo. And be prepared to turn heads as everyone stares in envy at your Coo-Che.
Store information
Yoku Moku Tokyo Station Ichibangai store / ヨックモック 東京駅一番街店
Address: Tokyo-to, Chiyoda-ku, Marunouchi 1-9-1, Tokyo Station Ichibangai, Basement 1
東京都千代田区丸の内1丁目9－1東京駅一番街 地下1階
Open: 9:00 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Website
Akihabara Ramen Center is dead. Long live Akihabara Seimen Center.
Some neighborhoods have spots that seem to be cursed as restaurant locations. A new eatery opens up, only to abruptly shut down a year later, only for another restaurant to move in, and then the whole cycle repeats, over and over.
We thought we might have discovered one of these concentrated pockets of bad restaurateur luck in Akihabara, downtown Tokyo’s anime and video game district. When Gattsuri Udon, a restaurant specializing in udon noodles, opened up in September of 2024, it looked like it had a prime location, literally right across the street from Akihabara Station on Showa-dori Street.
▼ Gattsturi Udon (がっつりうどん), shortly after its grand opening
With Akihabara being such a hot spot among international tourists, and ramen being by far the most popular kind of Japanese noodle dish overseas, we figured Akihabara Ramen Center would have better luck than Gattsuri Ramen did. So imagine our surprise when it didn’t even make it to its first birthday, as Akihabara Ramen Center closed earlier this summer, and has now been replaced by…
…Akihabara Seimen Center, yet another restaurant.
“Seimen” means “noodle-making,” signaling that the restaurant makes its own noodles. What kind of noodles? Ramen and udon, in Akihabara Seimen Center’s case.
Wait a second, so this spot that used to have an udon restaurant, and then had a ramen restaurant, now offers both of those? Yep, and looking at the notice posted at the entrance to the outdoorsy eatery, we finally found out that Gattsui Udon and Akihabara Ramen Center didn’t so much go bust as evolve towards their true form.
“Thank you for your continued patronage,” says the sign, before going on to explain that:
“We are a company that started out as a noodle maker. We want to make it easier for people to have a filling, delicious meal of freshly made noodles. In addition, with the times we’re living in being as they are, we want to be Japan’s best cheap restaurant, with a flavor and price that’s only possible as a noodle-making center.”
Yes, it turns out that all three restaurants that have occupied this streetside spot in Akihabara were/are run by the same company, and they’ve been fine-tuning their concept bit by bit. As for wanting to offer an outstanding value, Gattsuri Udon only charged 300 yen (US$1.85) for a bowl of basic udon/ Akihabara Ramen Center was kind to our wallets too, but at 500 yen a bowl, so we figured that with the restaurant’s second rebrand, there’d be a second price hike too. However, to our pleasant surprise, all bowls of noodles at Akihabara Seimen Center, whether classic soy sauce-broth ramen, oily abura soba, chilled hiyashi chuka, or bukkake udon, are just 440 yen. The really attractive offer, though, is the combo of a bowl of noodles and a side dish-size butadon (pork rice bowl) for 550 yen (after tax).
With the low prices giving us some extra room in our taste-testing budget, we opted for a bukkake udon/pork bowl combo plus another bowl of abura soba, for a more thorough evaluation.
The udon turned out to be a happy reunion, as it’s basically a revival of what Gattsuri Udon served. The vast majority of udon noodles you’ll find in Japan are round, but Akihabara Seimen Center’s are flat, giving them a rustic, substantial feeling, and we quickly scarfed them down.
Moving on to the pork bowl, the meat was tasty, with sliced green onion and a slightly sweet marinade working to mouthwateringly accentuate the pork belly’s succulency.
Size-wise, this is a side order, not a meal in itself, but considering that it effectively only costs 110 yen, this is excellent in terms of both quality and quantity.
The abura soba was joyfully familiar too, as it’s a match for how Akihabara Ramen Center prepared the dish. We would have liked some vinegar or chili oil served on the side to maybe switch the flavor up a bit as we ate, but what’s here is very satisfying as-is, with the kind of heavier presence fans want in this oilier ramen variant.
So even if the name keeps changing, this is still a fantastic place to grab a quick, inexpensive meal that ticks all the boxes it needs to if you’re sightseeing in Akihabara (or even if you missed the last train, since the restaurant is open 24 hours a day). We may not have any idea as to how long Akihabara Seimen Center is going to be calling itself that, we can confidently say that as long as it’s the same people running this restaurant, it’ll be worth eating at.
Restaurant information
Akihabara Seimen Center / 秋葉原製麺センター
Address: Tokyo-to, Chiyoda-ku, Kanda Hirakawacho 4-1
東京都千代田区神田平河町4-1
Open 24 hours
A beautiful way to show off your Starbucks collectibles.
If you’ve ever dreamed of owning your very own Starbucks, the chain now has a new product that allows you to do just that, on an adorably tiny scale.
Called the Starbucks Collection Rack, this new collectible is a cleverly designed display shelf that’s designed to show off your miniature goodswhile recreating the look of a real Starbucks store.
Natural wood finishes evoke the warm and inviting interior of a Starbucks, with beautiful details that include side windows to draw in natural light, and a Starbucks sign that lights up at the flick of a switch.
With notches on the sides of the display, shelving can rearranged as desired, allowing you to create a number of looks, from a simple rack setup to a store register design, complete with counter and signboards.
The display comes to life when filled with Starbucks collectibles like Bearista figures, tiny matcha Frappuccinos, and other items that come in the Miniature Collection sets available through the Starbucks Rewards programme.
The rack itself is sold as a self-assembly kit, priced at 6,000 yen (US$40.80), and will be made available only to Gold members of the rewards programme. In order to become a Gold member, you’ll have to register for Starbucks Rewards, where you start off as a Green member, and after accumulating 250 stars within the space of a year – you earn 1 Star for every 60 yen spent – you’ll automatically be upgraded to Gold member status.
Doing the math, you’ll need to spend around 15,000 yen to reach Gold status, assuming all purchases qualify for Stars and are made using the Starbucks app or a registered Starbucks Card, as per the conditions of the programme.
With limited-edition drinks like Frappuccinos currently in the 700-800 yen range, that works out to be around 21 beverages, which is a lot of drinking. However, a faster way to earn points is by buying merchandise, and with the chain just releasing a new “Discovery Series” collection of goods showcasing different regions of Japan, and a Bearista range with an unbearably cute 4,900-yen tumbler, you can easily be on the fast track to owning your very own miniature Starbucks store.
Source, images: Press release ● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Taking a break in the shade? Here’s some Japanese vocabulary and cultural knowledge that could be yours by the time you step back into the sun.
Summer in Japan can be a divisive season. To some people, it’s the season of intense heat and humidity, while to others, it’s the season of intense heat and humidity that also has awesomely fun events, delicious foods, and cool traditions.
But whether you love it or hate it, it’s impossible not to feel the season if you’re in Japan during the summer, and so it’s definitely going to come up as a topic of conversation too. With that in mind, here are eight great words for talking about summer in Japanese.
1. natsu
We’re starting off with the obvious one, since you can’t talk about summer without the Japanese word for “summer:”natsu, written in kanji as 夏.
Speaking of kanji, because of the modular nature they give to Japanese vocabulary, there are all sorts of other words that contain natsu, such as natsuyasumi (summer vacation), natsufuku (summer clothing), and even natsubate (feeling exhausted from the summer heat).
2. umi
Another fundamental building block of conversations about summer, umi is the Japanese word for “sea” or “ocean.” Its meaning is a little more expansive than those aquatic English equivalents, though, since umi is also used in many situations to mean “beach.”
Though there are Japanese words specifically for sandy shorelines (hama or tsunahama), they aren’t usually used in talking about plans for summer fun. Even if the plan is just to stroll, sunbathe, or otherwise hang out on the sand, if someone wants to say “Let’s go to the beach!” in Japanese, they’ll say “Umi e ikou yo!”, using umi to describe their desired destination.
3. suikawari
Speaking of ways to have fun at the beach, one of Japan’s most iconic seaside activities is suikawari. This one is actually two vocabulary words in one, with the first being suika, the Japanese word for “watermelon,” the fruit that, by far, is the most strongly associated with summer in Japan.
Wari comes from waru, the Japanese word for “split” or “break into pieces.” All Japanese words end in U, but doing some grammatical tinkering lets us change it into a noun, wari, and that’s how we get suikawari, or “watermelon splitting,” a game that’s sort of like Japan’s version of a pinata. In suikawari, a whole watermelon is placed on the ground, and a player is given a heavy stick and blindfolded. After being spun around to make them dizzy, the blindfolded person then tries to swing the stick down onto the watermelon and crack it open so everyone can then scarf down on the fruit.
Suikawari could be played anywhere, but having a soft, sandy surface helps prevent any injuries should the blindfolded player stumble or miss with their swing, and also makes for easier cleanup after the watermelon has been cracked open, so its been a popular beach activity in Japan for generations.
4. hiyake
Another two-parter, hiyake starts off with hi, meaning “sun,” and yake is the noun-form of the verb yaku, meaning “burn.” So, pretty obviously, hiyake means “sunburn,” right?
Yeah, but it’s a little more complex than just that. In everyday conversation, the Japanese language doesn’t really differentiate between a painful crimson sunburn or a fashionable mocha suntan. Hiyake is used to describe both conditions. Those suntanned Sanrio characters, for example, are referred to as their hiyake versions in Japanese. Hiyake, by the way, also shows up in the Japanese word for sunblock, hiyakedome (literally “sunburn stopper”).
5. kiin to suru
Sunburns aren’t the only potential pain that can come from overindulging in summer fun. Even if you’re relaxing in the shade, you might hear someone suddenly shout “Kiin to suru!” in a voice wrought with alarm and regret, as they’re having a brain freeze.
If you want to be technical about it, the full phrase for “having a brain freeze” is “atama ga kiin to suru,” (“[my] head is going ‘kiin’”) but as you can imagine, phrasing tends to be a little less rigid when it feels like your synapses have just been coated in ice. The key part here is the onomatopoeia kiin, describing a sharp pain and with the middle part (pronounced like a long E vowel sound) drawn out in proportion to how badly your head is hurting because you were chowing down on your ice cream or shaved ice too quickly.
6. semi
Though not the only sound associated with summer, the most difficult to ignore is the sound of the semi, or cicadas. If you happen to live in a part of the world that doesn’t have these seasonally active insects, the sound they make can best be described as a high-intensity buzzing, so strong that if you didn’t know otherwise, you might mistake it for some sort of electrical equipment that’s having problems.
And yet, you’d be very hard-pressed to find someone in Japan who doesn’t love the sound of semi. When we asked around the SoraNews24 office, our Japanese coworkers were unanimous in their positive feelings about it, and you can find all sorts of summer-sound background noise videos on YouTube from Japanese posters where the cicada buzz has a prominent presence.
▼ This one has more than six million views.
Though they produce this sound by rapidly vibrating a part of their body near the abdomen, cicadas making noise in Japanese is described with “semi ga naku,” using the verb naku, meaning “cry,” “call,” or “bark,” that’s used when animals such as birds, dogs, or cats make noises with their throats. Oh, and while pretty much everyone in Japan like semi, no one likes coming across a semibakudan, “cicada bomb,” an almost-dead cicada that’s collapsed on the ground in a park or on a sidewalk but springs noisily back to life when someone approaches, often starling the person half to death themselves.
7. nyudogumo
“Cumulonimbus clouds” probably isn’t going to help most non-meteorology enthusiasts form a mental picture, and calling these cloud formations “thunderheads” might have your in-English listener assuming you’re talking about a forgotten team of comic book superheroes or obscure 1980s barbarian fantasy movie. Mention nyudogumo to people in Japan, though, and they’ll immediately know what you’re talking about, since the high temperatures and high humidity that practically all of the country experiences during this time of year make these cloud formations a common sight and telltale sign that summer is in full force.
The back half of nyudogumo comes from a softened-pronunciation variant of kumo, the Japanese word for “cloud,” but the first part of the word is less immediately intuitive. Nyduo is a shortened version of onyudo, which is a kind of yokai monster depicted in Japanese folktales as a giant with a shaved head like a monk’s. To imaginative eyes, cumulonimbus clouds bring to mind the stature of these towering terrors, giving them their name.
8. hanabi
And finally let’s stay in the sky with hanabi, a combination of hana, meaning “flower,” and bi, an alternate pronunciation of hi, or “fire,” giving us the fiery figurative flowers that light up the night sky, “fireworks.”
Fireworks are a very big deal in Japan, and have been so for a long time. The history of Tokyo’s largest fireworks event, the Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival, stretches all the way back to the 1700s. Though Japan’s largest fireworks events will fire off ten thousand or more rockets, funded with backing from major corporate sponsors, there are also smaller local-community fireworks shows. In terms of scheduling, though, fireworks festivals, called hanabi taikai, tend to be clustered between mid-July and early-August, so if you want to experience this quintessential part Japanese summer culture, now’s the time.
Obviously, there are many, many more words in Japanese for talking about this season, including all sorts of classical literary terms and poetic phrases if you want to get really fancy. So think of this as a light linguistic sampler, a little something to remember this natsu by even after your hiyake fades and your brain stops going kiin.
Top image: Pakutaso Insert images: SoraNews24, Pakutaso (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) ● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Beautiful new design pays homage to regions that the bullet train serves, with charming hidden details.
When you’re travelling between cities on the Shinkansen in Japan, the journey is often just as memorable as the destination. That’ll be especially true for passengers on the Sanyo Shinkansen from this winter, as they’ll be able to enjoy the ride on a bullet train featuring a new-look “Yurari” design.
The new look will be gradually introduced on Kodama services between Shin-Osaka and Hakata Station in Fukuoka, as well as the shorter route between Hakata and Hakata-Minami. The special design will feature on eight-car N700 Series 6000 trains, which were converted from 16-car trains and used for Kodama services from September 2025.
▼ The Sanyo Shinkansen stops at popular destinations like Kobe, Himeji, Okayama and Hiroshima on its way to and from Shin-Osaka and Hakata.
The new “Yurari” design concept (“yurari” describes a gentle, swaying movement) draws inspiration from the waves and shimmering surface of the Seto Inland Sea, which can be seen by passengers along parts of the route. The trains, which are currently white with a blue line on their sides, will have a completely new pale blue exterior called “Sanyo Blue”, to evoke the peaceful image of a calm, windless sea, and in the sunlight the gentle hue is said to look almost emerald green.
▼ The Shinkansen will be going from this…
▼ … to this.
Along the body are a series of undulating dots to represent the “gentle passing of scenery and time”, with subtle wave shapes hidden within for passengers to “discover by chance, like an unexpected find during a journey”. When the train is moving at speed, these undulating dots look like lines, but when stopped at a station, the wave patterns between the dots can be seen more clearly.
The design concept, which goes by the full name “Yurari – Savouring the Gentle Flow of the Journey”, incorporates gentle waves and calming colours to reflect not only the surrounding scenery but the relaxed atmosphere of a Kodama journey. Although the train can reach speeds of up to 285 kilometres (177 miles) per hour, it operates at a more relaxed pace as it stops at every station along the route, giving passengers more time to enjoy the views.
The relaxed seaside imagery also appears in the logo, which features three flowing “waves” in graduated shades, further emphasising the movement of the sea and the passage of time. The design also incorporates motifs inspired by the prefectures along the route, giving the train a stronger connection to the regions it travels through.
Every element of the design carries meaning, which is fitting, given it was produced as a joint collaboration between West Japan Railway (JR West), who operates the Sanyo Shinkansen, and researchers from Kyoto Institute of Technology’s Product Design Planning Laboratory. This marks JR West’s first train exterior design created through an industry-academia partnership, and the lab’s design team studied the culture, traditions and natural landscapes along the line, and even visited train depots to refine the final look.
While Shinkansen are famous for their speed, this new design reminds us that it’s not always about getting to the destination in the fastest way possible – when you’re travelling in a world-class bullet train, sometimes the journey itself is worth slowing down for.
Source: JR West Top image JR West
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Limited-edition “gyugyutto” beverage features a fruit combo rarely seen at Starbucks.
After a succesion of brutally hot days in Japan, this summer is already testing our limits, even though the season has barely begun. Thankfully, there’s now some much-needed respite to be had, in the form of a new Starbucks Frappuccino to help keep us cool and calm as we enter the hottest days of the year.
Called the “Gyugyutto Orange & Mango Frappuccino” (“gyugyutto” means to be “packed full”), this icy beverage is the crowning glory of a new three-piece range that includes the “Chillax Soda Orange & Mango” (from 590 yen) and the “Craft Juicy Orange & Mango Tea” (630 yen).
While orange and mango have long been a popular flavour combination, it’s rare for them to partner up in a Starbucks Frappuccino, so our reporter K. Masami was especially excited to try the new drink when it was released on 22 July.
▼ It certainly looked beautiful when she received it, with its bright orange hues immediately lifting her spirit.
Lying in wait for her in the base was a mixture of mango juice, orange pieces – four different varieties with different levels of sweetness, acidity and aroma – and blood orange jelly.
▼ Up top, the drink was finished with honey blood orange sauce and whipped cream.
With no milk component in the main body of the drink, the Frappuccino looked like it would be extra icy and refreshing, so Masami braced herself for brain freeze and took a big slurp of the drink.
Thankfully there was no sudden brain freeze, so Masami was able to enjoy the delicious flavour of orange, which the drink was definitely “packed full” of. It was sweet and fruity, but with a refreshing acidity that Masami absolutely loved – so much so that she was quick to declare it her favourite new Frappuccino out of all the ones released this year.
At first, the orange flavour came through strong, but then the mango gradually appeared, adding extra sweetness. The juicy, smooth texture of the jelly provided a beautiful mouthfeel, helping to highlight the pulpiness of the oranges, making Masami feel as if she was drinking a whole piece of fruit.
The orange flavour was even more refreshing than she’d expected, and it went down incredibly easily, making it the perfect drink for a hot summer’s day. Mixing the whipped cream into the drink also worked well to transform it, giving it a slightly richer and smoother flavour.
The new Frappuccino proves yet again that Starbucks knows what it’s doing when it comes to summer refreshment. After already giving us peaches, pineapple, and muscat this season, the new Orange & Mango Frappuccino is perfectly timed for the hottest days of summer, and Masami says she’ll be returning for more before it disappears from the menu like a summer sunset.
One country’s travelers spend more than double the total average for tourists in Japan, and it’s one the Japanese tourism industry hasn’t paid much attention to.
The Japan Tourism Agency, part of the Japanese government’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, has released the results of its periodic Survey on Inbound Tourism Spending Trends, looking at data from April to June of this year (April being the start of the business year in Japan). During that time, the agency says that overseas travelers in Japan spent a total of roughly 2.5096 trillion yen (US$14.49 billion), a 0.2 percent increase compared to the same period in 2025.
Granted, that’s not a very big increase, but it’s still impressive that total spending went up even as spending by travelers from China, for decades one of the largest financial contributors to the tourism industry in Japan, cratered. Spending from 10 countries examined in the study increased by double-digit percentages, with the U.S. finishing at the top of the spending list and Taiwan leapfrogging China on its way to second place.
Spending by foreign travelers in Japan by home country (April-June 2026) 1. U.S.A.: 384.8 billion yen (8.5 percent increase compared to same period last year) 2. Taiwan: 363.9 billion yen (27.9 percent increase) 3. China: 259.2 billion yen (48.8 percent decrease) 4. Korea: 248.9 billion yen (12.2 percent increase) 5. Hong Kong: 145.2 billion yen (7.8 percent increase) 6. Australia: 105.9 billion yen (5.9 percent increase) 7. Thailand: 71.8 billion yen (0.3 percent increase) 8. U.K.: 68.7 billion yen (0.4 percent increase) 9. Canada: 68.1 billion yen (10.4 percent increase) 10. Singapore: 60 billion yen (20.1 percent increase)
Outside of the top 10, there were surges in spending by travelers from France (57.4 billion yen, up 21.6 percent), the Philippines (45.1 billion yen, up 13.3 percent), Indonesia (42.2 billion yen, up 40.3 percent), India (40.7 billion yen, up 43.8 percent), Malaysia (39.4 billion yen, up 39.8 percent), and Russia (27.5 billion yen, up 62.3 percent).
As for how foreign travelers are spending their money in Japan, hotel expenditures remain the biggest category, accounting for 37 percent of the total, though that’s actually down a bit compared to last year, with upticks seen for spending on shopping and dining.
Spending by foreign travelers in Japan by category (April-June 2026)
● Hotels
2026: 927.8 billion yen (37 percent of total foreign traveler spending)
2025: 963.6 billion yen (38.5 percent of total)
● Shopping
2026: 673.1 billion yen (26.8 percent of total)
2025: 654.7 billion yen (26.1 percent of total)
● Food/beverages
2026: 545.4 billion yen (21.7 percent of total)
2025: 525.7 billion yen (21 percent of total) ● Inside-Japan transportation
2026: 252.7 billion yen (10.1 percent of total)
2025: 254.3 billion yen (10.2 percent of total) ● Entertainment services
2026: 108.8 billion yen (4.3 percent of total)
2025: 103.2 billion yen (4.1 percent of total)
But the biggest surprise of the survey involves which countries’ travelers, on a per-person basis, are spending the most while they’re in Japan. Across all nations, the statistically average foreign traveler in Japan spent 244,457 yen during their stay in Japan. The figures tend to be a little higher for North American and European travelers, who, given the time investment required for them to travel to Japan, tend to stay longer, and lower for Japan’s closer Asian neighbors.
Average per-person tourist spending in Japan by home country ● U.K.: 456,493 yen ● Australia: 426,949 yen ● U.S.A.: 378,547 yen ● Canada: 371,388 yen ● Singapore: 289,923 yen ● China: 266,753 yen ● Hong Kong: 225,117 yen ● Taiwan: 196.641 yen ● Korea: 99,542
However, the country with the highest per-person spending in Japan, is none other than..
…Mexico. Mexican travelers in Japan spent an average of 514,925 yen, more than double the total average for all visitors. Mexico was also the only country to cross the 500,000 yen threshold, with the next closest being an aggregate of travelers from the Middle East who spent an average of 482,836 yen.
Mexico’s strong spending wasn’t the result of a select few captains of the nation’s industry visiting Japan on lavish corporate-funded business travel, either. When the Japan Tourism Agency crunched the numbers to isolate spending specifically by leisure travelers in Japan, Mexico still had the highest per-person spending, at 511,867 yen per person (once again followed by the Middle East with 508,394 yen).
So does this mean we’re going to see the Japanese tourism industry rush to cater to Mexican travelers with increased Spanish signage and a prevalence of custom-designed tour packages, similar to when it became clear a few decades ago that there was huge potential in courting Chinese travelers? It’s probably a little too soon for that. Despite the eye-popping per-person figure, total spending by Mexican travelers in the first quarter of this year only came to 27.9 billion yen, one of the lowest totals out of the 25 countries/regions in the study. As a matter of fact, noticeable Mexican tourism spending is such a new development in Japan that Japan Tourism Agency didn’t collect data for travelers from the country specifically in its 2025 study. Still, it’s now clear that there are deep-pocketed Mexican travelers interested in coming to visit, showing once again that no country on the planet is getting as much tourism attention as Japan these days.
