Himeji Castle: "There are too many foreign tourists, so maybe we should make their admission fee 4 times higher!"

Regarding the admission fee (1,000 yen for those aged 18 and over) for the World Heritage Site Himeji Castle (Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture), Hidetaka Kiyomoto, the mayor of Himeji City, revealed at an international conference held in the city on the 16th that they are considering raising the fee for foreign tourists by about four times. The aim is to address overtourism and fund the castle’s repairs.
At the conference, Mayor Kiyomoto said, “You can enter Himeji Castle for 7 dollars. I’m thinking of raising the price. I want foreigners to pay 30 dollars, while citizens pay around 5 dollars.” On the 14th, the yen exchange rate in the Tokyo foreign exchange market was in the 157 yen per dollar range, making the admission fee for those aged 18 and over approximately 7 dollars.
According to the city’s website, of the approximately 1.48 million visitors to Himeji Castle in fiscal 2023, about 450,000 were foreign tourists, the highest ever.

https://approach.yahoo.co.jp/r/QUyHCH?src=https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/c5ad5a176526f364841f92218c6601a3f4183f71&preview=auto

That's so mean!

Well, 1,000 yen is cheap anyway.

Foreigners won't care, but it'll hurt Japanese people. What's the point?

>>5
They're not raising the price for Japanese people.

Japanese people can keep paying 1,000 yen. Other countries do similar things.

Sounds good, make it Japan-only pricing.

Didn't a public art museum in Nara do the opposite and charge Japanese people more?

They haven't raised it yet? And the planned increase is too low.

Even if they raise the price, tourists will still come.

They should implement dynamic pricing.

It's common everywhere for local residents to get a discount. Nothing unusual.

Local or city discounts exist, so this is just a national version. No problem.

Buildings get damaged just by people walking through them. It's free to just look at the castle from outside.

Sounds good. Do the same for ski resorts filled with foreigners.

The whole of Japan should adopt this. It's a great idea.

About time. Do more of it.

Making it cheaper for locals is something every country does. Like in Italy, the churches in Rome charge tourists because they get lots of visitors, but the ones in Milan are mostly free.

Lots of tourist spots in various countries do this. Tourists pay 2-3 times more than locals.

Raise train fares too. They’re too cheap. Double them.

As long as they don't raise it for Japanese people, it's fine.

It’s normal for prices to be different abroad.

What if they made it cheaper for foreigners who can't come easily, and more expensive for Japanese people who can?

>>33
The current 1,000 yen fee is like nothing for foreigners.

>>33
It's not about revenue but about tackling overtourism. Right now, tons of foreigners are coming easily.

>>33
They eat tons of expensive food at Tsukiji without caring.

Even in Thailand, they charge foreigners more than 1,000 yen at temples.

Charge foreigners 10,000 yen.

A Taiwanese person once got mad because they were charged more at a Japanese BBQ restaurant than Japanese people. Is this okay?

There's a trend of imitating developing countries and saying it's fine.

>>53
Imitating developing countries...?

>>53
Even developed countries do this. Learn more about foreign countries.

People opposing this probably haven't been abroad. This is common everywhere.

Other countries do it, so go ahead.

This is the correct way to handle inbound tourism.

In return, offer some services.

What about people who aren't local citizens?

>>54
It'll be the same as before.

He said Himeji citizens can enter for 5 dollars, so general tourists will pay 30 dollars.

Himeji citizens: 1,000 yen
Hyogo Prefecture residents: 2,000 yen
Japanese people: 4,000 yen
Foreigners: 8,000 yen

This is OK.

Japanese people won't be able to afford it...

So it costs 1,000 yen now? Before the renovation, it was around 600 yen.

Only do this for foreigners.

Charging only foreigners more is discrimination. Don't they know this caused a huge uproar before?

>>69
Then raise the price for everyone and give discounts to those who can prove they're residents of Japan.

I thought it was just inbound tourism, but they’re actually differentiating.

It might be a problem if restaurants charge different prices, but for cultural properties, making them too expensive can affect education, so many countries don't do it.

They should have done this from the start.

Is the castle the only reason people come to Himeji?

>>74
Well, it's close to Osaka and has good access. It's also a good stopover when heading west.

>>77
Himeji is at the edge of Hyogo. The access from Osaka isn't good at all. It's really far.

>>92
It might be far in terms of distance, but I remember easily stopping by Himeji Station when crossing Japan with a Seishun 18 ticket. It's quick with the Shinkansen or a limited express.

>>92
You don't know the real edge of Hyogo. Specifically, the remoteness of Banshu-Ako.

>>102
Koderacho is also part of Himeji, but it's a countryside. They should have stayed as Kanzaki-gun during the merger.

>>77
There's nothing to see or eat locally. Maybe the station soba?

>>92
Far? It's about 30 minutes from Shin-Osaka. By access, I mean transportation. Castles are often in remote places, but Himeji is right in front of a Shinkansen station.

>>74
It's commonly considered the best castle site in Japan.

>>74
It's a castle that survived wartime air raids. The history is romantic.

Himeji City Aquarium is great (shameless plug).

At a zoo in Bangkok, I encountered a sign written in Thai for 20 baht and in English for 200 baht for those who couldn't read Thai.

It's amazing that ripping people off is a national policy. Can individuals do it too?

>>80
Sure, many shops are already doing it.

Some countries charge ten times more for non-citizens. They should do more of that.

How about setting the base fee at 4000 yen and giving citizens one free ticket per year?

>>84
You need money to protect cultural assets. Setting the price so high that no one comes defeats the purpose.

When I went to Tsukiji the other day, I was really surprised by the number of foreigners. About 85-90% of the visitors were foreign. Was it different in the past?

It's lame to start doing it now just because other countries are doing it.

>>94
Why?

Inbound Castle

I think it's good. Those who want to come to Japan will still come.

Since Japanese people also only go once, 4000 yen is fine.

>>99
Even if you go a second time, you wouldn't want to enter again.

There are so many inbound tourists that it's tough, so it's fine.

Wouldn't it be enough to just double it? If they avoid it, the number of visitors will drop sharply.

>>117
They probably think it won't affect much since people can still look from outside without paying.

From a foreigner's perspective, it's like something that costs 100 yen becoming 400 yen.

Himeji Castle looks beautiful from the outside, but the inside isn't that interesting. Just taking a few photos from outside is enough.

Himeji Castle is surprisingly far.

>>113
From the station, it's less than a 10-minute walk through the shopping street. But there's not much else to see.

Well, this is fine. If the price hike doesn't target nationalities but Japanese residents, it would be perfect.

It's too cheap at 1000 yen to begin with.

That's fine. Tourist spots should raise prices more while the yen is weak.

It's only natural for cultural properties to charge higher prices for foreigners. In the city abroad where I go once a year, historical sites are free for locals but 20 euros for foreigners.

They need to cover maintenance costs, so a slight price increase is inevitable, regardless of the increase in foreign tourists.

Well, it's good to have many foreign tourists.

This is a nice decision.

If tourists were spending money elsewhere in Himeji, it might be different. But many just visit Himeji Castle, don't stay, don't eat, don't shop, and then leave.

>>136
Is there anything else in Himeji besides the castle? Other castle landmarks like Kumamoto or Matsumoto have nature as well.

>>159
There's some B-grade gourmet food if you look for it. For foreign tourists, there's... not much. For Japanese tourists, there's more, like Taiyo Park.

From the outside, it looks like a mansion, but inside, it's just an old house.

You think castles look cool from the outside, but inside, they're not that interesting.

>>137
The view from the top of the main keep is nice. But whether the view of Himeji's cityscape is enjoyable is another question.

>>144
In the Edo period, when there were no taller buildings, you could see the entire harbor from the top. It must have been a spectacular view.

>>137
Inuyama Castle was the opposite. It's a wooden watchtower, but you can really feel what it was like.

I used to live in Himeji, but I never went there.

For Japanese people, cultural properties and historical learning are priced appropriately. For foreigners, it's just entertainment.

In places with tipping cultures, the tips would cost more than 1000 yen. They're saving money by not tipping.

Takeda Castle, Amagasaki Castle, Akashi Castle, Okayama Castle. If they raise the prices, foreign tourists might disperse to nearby castles.

>>148
Takeda Castle: It's quite far without a car, not suited for foreign tourists.
Amagasaki Castle: Will foreign tourists come?
Akashi Castle: Similar vibe and location, so maybe.
Okayama Castle: Too far.

>>148
It's sad that tourists won't flow to Shikoku.

Raise the fare for foreigners on trains too. I'm a user of the Asakusa Line, and it's really annoying when groups of people with huge suitcases get on.

>>151
There's actually a cheap unlimited ride pass for foreigners. They raised the price a lot, though.

>>166
There are passes that only foreigners can use. They really need to do something about the poor riding manners. Since they have money, they should just use taxis.

It's fine if you're alone, but what if you want to go with your family?

It's normal for tourist spots.

Castles aren't fun unless you're a history nerd.

>>157
Himeji Castle is fun even if you just take photos from the outside.

>>162
Well, that's true. It was nice taking photos from the Otokoyama Waterworks Park.

Nowadays, Osaka Castle is more popular than Himeji Castle.

Himeji doesn't have any specialties except for around the train station.

Unlike other tourist spots, Himeji Castle has almost no Asian tourists, only Western tourists. Why is that?

>>164
It's hard to include in tightly packed, cheap short-term tours because of its slight distance. It used to be the same for Japanese tourists. Most of them are group tourists.

Instead of tax-free shopping, make foreigners pay a tourist infrastructure tax.

This might soon become an international issue.

>>173
In Singapore, all museums are free for locals and charge only foreigners.

It's fine. If they agree to crazy prices in Niseko, there won't be a problem.

France and Italy have been doing it for a long time.

On the contrary, expose any facilities that are offering discounts to foreigners.

In China, they charge foreigners ridiculous entrance fees even at the Forbidden City. We should charge more too.

How do you determine if someone is a foreigner or a Japanese? Do they have to show ID every time?

>>183
If they look Japanese, they're let through. If they look suspicious, they show ID. That's how it's done abroad.

India does the same. High prices for tourists, pocket change for locals.

It's normal in other countries to set higher prices for tourists.

That's fine. If they still want to see it, they'll pay.

Then let's use that money to rebuild Azuchi Castle.

There's already a full-scale replica of Azuchi Castle in Mie Prefecture, so it's fine.

Shirasagi Castle is world-famous.

A typical Hyogo resident experience: The first castle you see is Himeji Castle, usually on a kindergarten or elementary school trip. It's sad because Himeji Castle sets the standard, and there's no castle better than that.

>>197
When I saw Okayama Castle, I was like, "Is this really a castle?"

This is how it should be. Kyoto should do it too.

With 1.5 million visitors, 1000 yen is too cheap considering maintenance costs.

It's fine. There was a place in Thailand where only Nakura was free.

It was funny when Nakura got into Angkor Wat for free.