More Japanese are getting on planes and heading out of the country compared to a year ago.
But it's still a sharp decline from pre-COVID days.
This week, Japan's National Tourism Organization said the number of outbound Japanese travelers in the first 10 months of the year was up nearly four times from a year ago.
However, that's still only about half the pace of Japanese international travel in 2019.
Professionals in the travel business say a big factor is the weaker yen. Back in 2019, you could buy a dollar for about 110 yen.
Today that's more like 143 yen — an improvement from a month ago, but compared to the pre-pandemic days, it's like adding a 30% tax on everything.
Even so, bookings are up for Japanese international travel around New Year's.
The Japanese travel agency H.I.S said reservations show the country’s most popular year-end travel destinations are closer to home this year.
The Yomiuri Shimbun quoted agency figures showing Seoul as the top destination and Taipei as the runner-up.
The third-place finisher is the destination that used to make the top spot for Japanese travelers in the years before the pandemic — Honolulu.
