Structure of the book

It is within this context of more recent developments that this book offers a number of contemporary perspectives on tourism in Japan. Comprising a total of 14 chapters, including this introduction and brief historical overview of tourism policy and practice, the book addresses a number of themes, the first of which is a ‘past to the present’ focus on both the academic study of tourism in Japan and the evolution of policy in two specific tourism contexts.

In Chapter 2, Kumi Kato and Yumiko Horita provide a review of research articles and books on tourism and Japan published in both Japanese and English, the purpose being to trace the development of and identify the main themes and trends in the research from both a Japanese and international perspective. In so doing, they point to potential future directions in research into tourism in Japan, as well as justifying the content and focus of this book. The following two chapters then explore policies for and the development of tourism in two distinctive contexts, namely urban areas and forests. In Chapter 3, Yumiko Horita explores how urban tourism spaces in Japan have been developed alongside more general urban development, examining significant aspects and implications of the urban tourism development process and focusing in particular on how local communities in cities have become more engaged in the development and use of urban spaces for tourism and leisure. A similar theme is evident in Chapter 4 in which Yumi Oura analyses critically the historical development of the national forest management and policy in Japan and considers its relationship with tourism policy. She notes in particular that, since the 1990s, transformations in national forest administration policy have brought about the introduction of collaborative management in all aspects of forest management within the new concept of ‘forests for people’, concluding that such initiatives, including public participation in management, should be implemented more widely to support the further successful development of forest tourism.

The following five chapters explore different forms of tourism in Japan from a variety of perspectives. With the country hosting a number of international sports events from 2019 onwards, Chapter 5 contributed by Eiji Ito and Tom Hinch, explores sport tourism research in Japan. Based upon a systematic review of sport tourism research articles published in Japanese journals, it identifies trends in research methods and thematic patterns, going on to discuss avenues for future research, in particular for sustainable sport tourism research in Japan. Notably, it suggests that the integration of interdisciplinary knowledge in tourism, sport and other related studies is the key in helping to encourage sustainable sport tourism development after the hosting of major events. In Chapter 6, Adam Doering then focuses on surf tourism. Specifically, he offers a genealogy of domestic surf tourism development in contemporary Japan by tracing the historical production of one of Japan's most prominent surf tourism destinations, Miyazaki Prefecture. Examining how surf tourism came to be mobilized as a tool for revitalizing the local economy, he concludes with a reflection on how surf tourism development may (dis)connect local surfing communities. This is followed by Abhik Chakraborty’s assessment in Chapter 7 of the emergence of and future challenges facing mountain tourism. Noting the transformation of mountains from sacred places to the focus of tourism development, he draws on two case studies to explore how mountain landscapes are under pressure from both visitor numbers and climate change, but finds hope in indications of a heightened ecological consciousness and sense of place can be detected among local tourism stakeholders. In Chapter 8, Amnaj Khaokhrueamuang turns to rural tourism and, specifically, tea tourism. Observing that in recent years the production of tea in Japan has been in decline, he laments that limited attention has been paid to the potential of revitalizing this traditional industry through tea tourism. However, through a case study of an exchange programme between Thai and Japanese tea farmers, he develops a new model of tea tourism that conceptualizes its potential to the sustainability of tea growing communities. Pilgrimage tourism is the focus of Chapter 9, in which Ricardo Nicolas Progano and Kumi Kato explore this form of tourism in the specific context of the World Heritage nominated pilgrimage trail, the Kumano-kodo in Wakayama. Making reference to the evolving meaning of spirituality and tourism both globally and in Japan, this chapter explores the significance of today's spiritualities in destination management from the perspective of local communities.

Chapter 10 is the first of two chapters that consider how Japan confronts difficult pasts. Here, Richard Sharpley’s chapter explores the manner in which the controversial Kamikaze strategy is commemorated in contemporary Japan. Framed within a review of literature that reveals competing approaches to (re)presenting and commemorating Japan’s war history, he compares two heritage sites, Chiran Peace Museum and the Uzurano airfield near Kasai, to identify the extent to which the commemoration of Kamikaze pilots contributes to international understanding and reconciliation. Then, in Chapter 11, Simon Wearne provides the political and historical context for an ongoing project that seeks to present, through the development of a cultural tourism attraction, a more nuanced and informed understanding of Japan’s whaling heritage. In so doing, the project eventually seeks to contribute towards breaking the current impasse in contemporary international whaling discussions whilst promoting and maintaining the traditional sustainable whaling culture of Taiji in Wakayama Prefecture.

The final three chapters of the book collectively address different challenges facing the future of tourism in Japan. With the country’s susceptibility to natural disasters, in Chapter 12 Kumi Kato considers how resilience-based tourism may contribute to post-disaster community sustainability. With social sustainability-oriented tourism concepts and resilience planning as a framework, she proposes that tourism development in the early recovery phase is vital in helping communities maintain their connection with their places, which is argued to be the core of resilience. Such resilience is closely related to traditional ecological knowledge found in personal stories, monuments, folktales, literature and arts. This, she suggests, lays a foundation for a sustainable recovery and reconstruction, in which tourism can play a vital role. Chapter 13 is similarly concerned with the relationship between tourism and natural disasters in Japan, though from the perspective of the vulnerability of international tourists. Specifically, Hayato Nagai, Kaede Sano, Brent Ritchie and Takashi Yoshino reveal the country’s high risk of exposure to a range of natural hazards, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons and floods, before going on to highlight and discuss the challenges and issues that national and local government and also the tourism industry face in relation to reducing the vulnerability of international tourists to these hazards. Finally, in Chapter 14, Takahiro Ikeji and Hayato Nagai address the challenges surrounding the development of peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation in Japan. After reviewing the rapid expansion of the supply of P2P accommodation both globally and in Japan, the chapter considers relevant policies in Japan before going on to highlight potential solutions to the problems of P2P accommodation through a case study of Kyoto.

The book is then brought to a close with the addition of a short postscript that acknowledges the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent crisis for tourism as the writing of the book was being completed. Whilst the pandemic will have both short and long-term implications for tourism in Japan, not least necessitating a review of the country’s growth-oriented tourism policies outlined in this chapter as well as of its significant dependence on particular markets, it may also represent an opportunity to develop a more sustainable approach to tourism which, as many of the chapters in this book explicitly suggest, adopts a more community-focused approach.