Over the past 2 months or so, I had the opportunity to visit several resorts and tourist spots. This is Furano Ski Resort in Hokkaido, Kyoto, and Ishigaki Island in Okinawa Prefecture.
I visited Furano Ski Resort on a weekday at the end of February. It's been a long time, so I remember when I went there a long time ago, and I thought it wouldn't be that crowded even though it was the season, but this time was different. There is a ropeway that goes close to the summit, but there were quite a few lines, and there were many skiers from overseas in particular. From how they look and what they say, it's roughly like 30% Westerners, 30% Chinese and Koreans, and the rest are Japanese. Even at the hotel, I had the impression that what I could hear was more Korean and Chinese than Japanese. I had seen and heard it on the news, but I was surprised that I hadn't thought so much. Looking at the relationship with regional land prices, according to the land price announcement in Reiwa 6, other residential and commercial areas in Furano City were flat compared to the previous year, but there was a significant increase of 27.9% compared to the previous year at the Kitanomine-cho point close to the Furano Ski Resort.
I went to Kyoto just when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. I had already anticipated this place, but it was more crowded than expected. In particular, the number of overseas tourists was tremendous, and there was a long line at the green window at Kyoto Station, and Western tourists were particularly prominent. It was a situation where various languages were flying around even in the subway. Even with the land price announcement in Reiwa 6, commercial areas around Kyoto Station have risen drastically, with a 13 - 17% increase compared to the previous year.
I went to Ishigaki Island a little after spring break. As for this place, too, it was a weekday between spring break and Golden Week, so it was highly anticipated that it wouldn't be that crowded, but this was also spectacularly unexpected, and it was crowded with many tourists. The flight was a direct flight and the return flight was a connecting flight at Naha Airport, but all of them were almost full, and of course there were no people in suits, and almost all of them were seen as tourists. Even in the airport lobby, in addition to individual travelers, there were also group guests led by tour conductors, etc., and the small lobby was very crowded with people heading to the island or returning home from now on. Even in the land price announcement in Reiwa 6, the two commercial areas were respectively plus 3.3% and 6.3% compared to the previous year, but residential areas have risen drastically by about 12% compared to the previous year.
I knew from information that land prices at such tourist sites had also risen greatly along with the excitement of inbound and domestic tourism, but as I was busy with everyday life, I couldn't really feel it. However, by visiting these tourist spots this time, I witnessed their success, and I was once again convinced.
Reprinted from “Weekly Building Management” by Building Management Institute Co., Ltd. (with permission)
