Hoping to beat the tourist crowd on your trip to Japan? That ship has sailed

I think I beat the tourists on my trip to Japan.

I took a picture with the famous Glico sign on my first night in Osaka.

Days later, CNBC’s Abigail Ng saw multiple groups of people flocking to this spot to pose for pictures. — Courtesy of Chen Meihui

Maybe I should have known that it was a Monday.

It was very difficult to get a picture at the top of the forest in Kyoto, which is an hour away from Osaka.

My journey to a Kyoto Buddhist temple was no different, as I got off a packed bus and encountered a human traffic jam on the way to my destination.

Visitors gather on a terrace near the Kiyomizu-dera to watch the sunset and autumn leaves in Kyoto, Japan.

There were long lines for food stands at Universal Studios Japan. The Flying Dinosaur has a single-rider queue which has shorter waiting times than the regular one.

The CEO of the Tokyo-based travel agency Tokudaw was not surprised by my experience.

She said the crowds could be a mix of local and foreign tourists. The group was given discounts by the government to encourage tourism.

Everyone is going to Mount Fuji or Hakone on the weekend because of the domestic campaign.

She said that on Saturdays and Sundays it feels like the entire Japan is going to Disneyland.

Wanping Aw said it can take three to four hours to reach Mount Fuji from Tokyo on weekends because of traffic jams. The journey usually takes around two hours, she said.

International visitors rushed back once authorities announced the restart of visa exemptions.

I waited 40 minutes for a seat at Ichiran even though I arrived at 11 a.m. The would-be customers left when they heard the estimated waiting time.

Tourists on chaperoned package tours were the only ones who needed visas when Japan reopened its borders in June. There were less traffic jams before the rules were lifted.

She thinks her customers enjoy Japan more.

Everyone was very happy from June to the end of October.

According to preliminary data from the Japan National Tourism Organization, 498,600 visitors came to Japan in October, more than double the 206,500 visitors in September.

Club Med's resorts in Hokkaido will be full for the upcoming winter season according to the company's CEO.

She told CNBC Travel that online bookings to Japan increased by 79% after the easing of measures.

The company's bookings are strong for the year-end period, at 85% of pre-covid levels. She observed a drop in bookings in January and an increase in April.

H.I.S. Travel told CNBC Travel that customers from Singapore have made reservations all the way through to April.

After the school holidays in Singapore end, there is no change in demand, according to the H.I.S. executive.

He said that people from all over are traveling around the lunar new year holiday.

Singaporeans love Japanese food, and that’s one of the reasons why they’re returning to Japan, said Fritz Ho of H.I.S. International Travel.

The manager for meetings, incentive, conventions and exhibitions said demand has reached 75% to 80% of the levels of 2019.

The weak Japanese currency is one of the reasons for the destination's popularity.

The dollar is stronger against the Japanese currency.

Japan is a much more affordable holiday destination at the moment, but it was popular before the currency weakened.

She said that Japan has always been popular for its pristine ski conditions, architecture, art, traditions, food and fascinating pop culture.

Japan's high standards were attractive to visitors.

Despite the recovery in tourism, October's arrivals are still only a fraction of the more than 2 million people per month in 2019!

Chinese tourists are the missing piece of the puzzle.

More than 730,000 visitors from China came to Japan in October. The 21,500 Chinese tourists made up 4.3% of the total visitors.

According to analysts, China is expected to reopen between the second and third quarter of 2023.

The understaffed tourism sector may collapse due to the huge surge in arrivals.

She told CNBC Travel that there were Chinese-speaking staff on every level of a high-end hotel she visited in Tokyo.

She said that Japan is serious about money from China.

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