The attractiveness of Japanese ryokan to foreign visitors to Japan

Analysis of Japanese and English reviews of Tripadvisor’s “Japanese inns popular among foreigners”

抄録

Ryokans (Japanese inns) that have been having difficulty attracting guests will improve their management by accepting foreign visitors to Japan after the end of COVID-19 pandemic. This study finds the attractiveness of Japanese inns to foreign visitors of Japan by analyzing and comparing reviews posted in the Japanese and English language by guests of the top 20 “Japanese inns popular among foreigners” on Tripadvisor (2020). As the result, the attractiveness of Japanese inns to foreign visitors to Japan are Japanese-style rooms, Japanese food, tatami mats, yukata (Japanese summer kimono), gardens, and open-air hot spring baths, which are not special to Japanese people. Based on these findings, I proposed ways for inns under severe business situation to satisfy foreign visitors, drawing on the other successful cases of accepting foreign visitors to Japan.