Tourism to Japan is on a roll and the World Expo in Osaka continues to lure in visitors
Osaka’s hosting a World Expo throughout most of 2025 appears to be helping fuel surging interest among Canadians in visiting Japan. Yuka Suzuki of the Japan National Tourism Office’s Canadian office told a recent Toronto event that last year saw her homeland host a record 580,000 Canadians, a 36% increase from the previous year.
“This momentum has continued in 2025,” she told her audience, adding that “iconic cities like Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka have… captured the world’s attention.”
Osaka’s World Expo will run into October and be visited by millions of people. It marks the second time the city has hosted a World Expo, the first being in 1970.
But Suzuki told those on hand for an event dubbed Hidden Gems of Japan that the country “has so much more to offer” than its cities, including “breathtaking natural landscapes” and a “rich culture.”
Shin Kawai of Tokyo Tourism’s Toronto office in turn said the Japanese capital is “a place full of surprises,” adding he has a Toronto friend who has visited Tokyo over 20 times and “still finds something new and exciting every time he goes there…
“I’d like you to visit Tokyo but I’d like you to visit other parts of Japan where you’ll find special gems,” Kawai added.
Tokyo also won praise from Torontonian Adam Waxman, who’s spent considerable time in Japan, and said Tokyo is a blend of “old and new. Everything you could want to experience in Japan can be found in Tokyo.”
A city often associated with bright lights and leading-edge technology also is home to the likes of the Zojoji Temple, a Buddhist structure dating back centuries.
The Meguro River works its way through Tokyo, providing a “charming stroll” by cherry trees that flank the waterway, Waxman added.
Tokyo’s Mount Takao has trails leading to its 599-meter-high summit, with hikers passing shrines, he reported.
“The hidden gems are everywhere,” Waxman added.
Waxman said there are intriguing experiences found outside Tokyo, including “Samurai villages” that enable visitors to dress as one of those famed warriors.
Other sites enable people to dress as a Ninja and learn Ninja techniques and even visit a Ninja home that has traps designed to keep intruders at bay.
Other tourism experiences cited by Waxman include overnighting in a monastery, an experience that provides a great venue for meditation and sees vegetarian breakfasts served to visitors; scuba diving in Okinawa, which Waxman said is “second to none”; whitewater rafting; and skiing in Hokkaido, which Waxman praised for great powder snow schussing opportunities.
Hokkaido also has a thriving beer scene, he continued.
The JNTO used the evening to directly familiarize guests with aspects of Japan, including serving them sushi; having a sake sommelier on hand who served guests different types of that distinctly Japanese alcohol; and having a flutist with strong ties to Japan perform for the audience.
