The result builds on a record-breaking 2025, which saw more than 1,058,300 Australians travel to Japan, up 15% year-on-year and marking the first time annual visitation surpassed one million.
While “Japow” continues to draw skiers and snowboarders, Australia’s growing appetite for Japan extends well beyond the traditional slopes.
Travellers are seeking immersive seasonal experiences – from soaking in open-air onsens surrounded by snow and watching snow monkeys bathe in Nagano, to wandering lantern-lit winter festivals and marvelling at surreal ‘snow monsters’ in Zao Onsen.
Above: Nabana no Sato Winter Illumination
In Nagano, Aussies accounted for a healthy 7.4 per cent increase in bed nights spent in the prefecture on the corresponding period in 2024.
More than 163,000 overnight stays were booked by Australians from January until the end of November, a jump of 28,020 compared with the previous year’s figures.
“And we have yet to receive results from December, the start of the busy ski season,” said Helen Wong, Australian representative of the Nagano Tourism Organization.
“While the winter months remain overwhelmingly popular, we are beginning to hear many more Australian accents beyond the snowfields,” she said.
Particular interest has been directed towards the southern most regions of Suwa and Southern Nagano (left).
“These breathtakingly beautiful areas are renowned for their soaring alps, vast lakes and in season the colourful cherry blossoms and wildflowers – a hiker’s delight during the warmer months,” added Ms Wong.
Nagano is also renowned for its traditional hot springs, the Zenko-ji Temple, Matsumoto Castle and popular Jigokudani Monkey Park (main image).
Another natural beauty is vast Lake Suwa, Nagano’s largest lake, which is shadowed by Yatsugatake and other mountains. From spring to autumn, the foothills are smothered by the colours of wildflowers.
