This is the seventh entry in our multi-part series on marketing Japan to affluent foreign tourists. In November 2023, we had the good fortune of having lunch at and touring the premises of the Shisui Hotel in Nara. The Shisui is one of Bonvoy Marriott’s Luxury Collection hotels. There are thirty-one of them. If there … Continue reading The Shisui Hotel
Selling Nara to the Well Heeled
I This is the sixth entry in our multi-part series on marketing Japan to affluent foreign tourists. Is shop till you drop about to stop among the inbound? Well, an abrupt halt seems unlikely, but the sight of hordes of tourists leaving the shores of Nippon with bags and boxes of merchandise, homeward bound like … Continue reading Selling Nara to the Well Heeled
Noh Theater, Part 2
David Garrick between Comedy and Tragedy by Joshua Reynolds This is the fifth entry in our series on marketing Japan to affluent tourists. This week we again turn our attention to theater. In the previous entry we mentioned that Noh is not dead, as indeed it is not. However, it is necessary for us to … Continue reading Noh Theater, Part 2
Noh Theater, Part 1
An Incubus "dreams-nightmare" by The Public Domain Review is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0. This is the fourth entry in our series on marketing Japan to affluent tourists. This week we turn our attention to theater. Kabuki—that song-and-dance act featuring crossdressers and makeup that lays it on thick—is for many foreigners the most emblematic of Japanese theatrical … Continue reading Noh Theater, Part 1
Food: Nara-zuke
Nara-zuke, Traditional Foods in Japan, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries This is the third entry in our multi-part series on marketing Japan to affluent foreign tourists. To some in the Anglophone world, pickles might be all about a guy named Peter pecking at pickers packaging pipers. Well, that didn’t come out very well, did … Continue reading Food: Nara-zuke
Nara City, Nara Prefecture
Yakushi-ji's East Pagoda is a Japan's National Treasure in Nara, Nara prefecture, Japan.* This is the second entry in our multi-part series on marketing Japan to affluent foreign tourists. Our story begins in Nara, a city that attracts more than a few tourists, to be sure, but punches way below its weight when one considers its historical and cultural … Continue reading Nara City, Nara Prefecture
Attracting Upmarket Tourists to Japan: High Time for High-End
This is the first entry of our multi-part series on marketing Japan to affluent foreign tourists. We will look at this topic from a number of perspectives and give considerable attention to a recently opened “Luxury Collection Hotel.” We will also, on occasion, make use of our characteristic and somewhat unconventional sense of humor, but … Continue reading Attracting Upmarket Tourists to Japan: High Time for High-End






