Local News

According to a domestic visitor survey conducted by Tokyo-based Recruit Lifestyle, the number of visitors to the seven prefectures of Kyushu fell 580,000 to 17.22 million year-on-year. After an increase in visitors to western Japan following the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, it appears visitors are returning to sites in eastern Japan, including the Tokyo SkyTree, which opened in May 2012. According to the survey, Fukuoka attracted 4.74 million visitors—the most among the prefectures of Kyushu and 170,000 more than last year—thanks to low-cost carriers. Aside from Fukuoka and Saga, the remaining five prefectures recorded declining numbers of visitors. The survey also included prefectural comparisons over eight categories, such as “abundance of delicious local foods”. Hot spring-rich Oita prefecture ranked first in the “appealing accommodations” category and placed in the top 10 in four of eight categories. Kagoshima and Nagasaki prefectures also ranked well in various other categories. Nishinippon Shimbun, Aug. 6