Rooms, transfers and the whole-party budget

A joint report by Online Resort × Enjourney
Editorial update: 9 November 2026 JST | Forward travel window: December 2026–May 2027

Statistical periods, release stages and the scope of rules and calendars are stated below. Japanese event and sales times are JST; origin-market holidays use the local calendar.

For travel with family or friends, a destination needs to be considered alongside suitable rooms, transfers and the total cost of meals and activities. This edition combines observed arrivals and spending with travel opportunities from December 2026 to May 2027, the scope of Philippine holidays and Japanese booking dates. The family-travel focus is an editorial use of JNTO's target segments, rather than a description of every traveller from the Philippines.

Booking dates to put on the calendar now

• For an April F1 itinerary, note 15 November at 11:00 JST now. The main advance spectator tickets for the Japanese Grand Prix on 9–11 April 2027 are scheduled to go on sale on 15 November 2026 at 11:00 JST. Thursday–Friday and Thursday-only tickets have a separate 20 December, 11:00 JST sale date, and overseas purchasing routes have restrictions. Check the specific ticket category before arranging it. Suzuka Circuit

• If the January Tokyo itinerary includes sumo, note the 5 December advance-sale opening. The January tournament runs from 10–24 January 2027. Verify the desired day, seat type and sales route; the published tournament dates do not guarantee a seat. Japan Sumo Association

December 2026–May 2027 | Travel and booking dates

Base calendar checked on 4 November 2026, with additions on 5 November and targeted updates on 9 November. Record-level check dates are retained. Japanese event and ticket-sale times are JST; origin-market holidays use local calendar dates.

For travel between December 2026 and May 2027, a holiday's name alone is not enough to plan a visit. Here we put the Philippines' official holiday categories beside dated Japanese events and ticket announcements, keeping what is known distinct from any forecast.

Presidential Proclamation No. 1427 for 2027 classifies 25–26 March as regular holidays and 27 March as a special non-working day. Chinese New Year on 6 February is also a special non-working day. However, EDSA Anniversary on 25 February is a special working day and must not be counted as a day off. Day of Valor on 9 April and Labour Day on 1 May are regular holidays. These categories do not tell us an individual's actual leave, a school's term dates or intention to visit Japan.

Check the F1 ticket category and sales channel together. Main advance tickets are scheduled for 15 November 2026 at 11:00 JST; Thursday-only and Thursday/Friday tickets are scheduled for 20 December at 11:00. Those latter tickets cover 8 April 2027 or 8–9 April. Asoview has separate openings: West Area tickets on 16 November at 11:00, and Thursday-only/Thursday–Friday tickets on 21 December at 11:00. Asoview purchases cannot be resold, upgraded or changed to a different age category. All times are JST. Suzuka's channel-specific guide

Some overseas-issued cards may fail registration with MobilityStation, and the organiser identifies different purchasing routes for some countries and regions. Check account registration, payment and the organiser-listed route before the sale. This does not mean that all overseas cards are rejected or that another outlet guarantees a purchase or seat. Payment conditions Overseas purchasing guidance

March's holiday dates and the expo's opening date are different facts. GREEN×EXPO opens in Yokohama on 19 March, before the Philippines' 25–27 March holiday dates. That sequence does not define a traveller's actual trip. The organiser lists 18 March as the end of the one-day early-bird ticket period and requires a visit date and time reservation after purchase. Shuttle buses and parking have separate conditions if used. Official expo ticket information

9 April is a holiday, but the F1 ticket clock starts in November. The Suzuka race weekend is 9–11 April, and the 9th is a Philippine regular holiday. This is an overlap between two published calendars, not a visitor forecast. Suzuka Circuit announces an 11 am sales start on 15 November for main advance spectator tickets. Seating categories, eligible purchasing regions, parking tickets and camping need separate checks. A sales launch does not guarantee a preferred seat. Official F1 calendar · Suzuka ticket guidance

January offers a shorter cultural encounter. At Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi, the free opening event plans gagaku court music, *rōkyoku* storytelling and a lion dance. The organiser says visitors should come directly on the day: 11 am on 2 January and 1:30 pm or 3 pm on 3 January. Performers or programmes may change. Official performance details The next issue will check any holiday-proclamation updates, admission arrangements and transport notices. A calendar cannot establish snowfall, flowering or ticket availability.

Booking GREEN×EXPO for a group itinerary

Early-bird one-day tickets went on sale on 19 March 2026, with sales ending on 18 March 2027. Admission date/time reservations and shuttle or parking bookings are separate. Coaches need advance bookings for the north or west parking areas; do not arrange roadside drop-off or pick-up around the venue. Direct buses from Haneda Airport and other hubs remain in planning. Treat them as unconfirmed transport until timetables, fares and booking methods are published. Organiser’s sales announcement Official tickets Access information

General groups require at least 15 visitors entering together, excluding the escort. The general-group discount ticket requires at least 15 users of that ticket type. The full-reservation deadline is 10 days before the day preceding the visit for general groups, or 30 days for school groups. Confirmation by linking ticket IDs must be completed four days before the visit. Website cancellation is unavailable after full-reservation approval; confirmed general-group bookings cannot be changed, cancelled or refunded. School groups have a limited exception for unavoidable reductions in pupil numbers. Check the headcount and each deadline with the authorised seller. Group-booking FAQ

Market evidence | Arrivals, expenditure and reference periods

Spending allocation and traveller profile

Statistics rechecked on 4 November 2026. The source is the Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) July–September 2026 first preliminary survey. This entry covers general visitors classified under the Philippines nationality/region category, travelling for tourism and leisure; the survey-defined cruise category is excluded. It does not count departures from that country or region or November bookings. Spending is nominal JPY per person per trip and includes estimated domestic-Japan spending within package-tour payments. International passenger fares paid to Japanese airlines and shipping companies are excluded. JTA 2026 workbook

Compare spending and stays within the same trip-purpose group

Tourism/leisure spending was JPY 158,961, −15.9% year on year (the published JTA rate), with an average stay of 7.2 nights. The unweighted respondent counts were 250 in 2025 and 355 in 2026. Mean nights include same-day, zero-night visits. 2025 final workbook 2026 first-preliminary workbook JTA summary

For all trip purposes, including business and visiting relatives, the 2026 estimate was JPY 160,522, −12.7% year on year, and 19.7 nights on average. This is a different respondent group; its mean is not an individual leisure traveller’s budget. JTA summary

Six spending categories: the two comparable quarters

The total year-on-year percentage is published by JTA. Category changes are editorial calculations from the two workbooks, not a published category-growth series; 2026 shares are published workbook values. Changes were calculated before rounding, so subtracting the two displayed yen amounts can differ from the displayed change by about one yen. Rounded rows may also differ from the rounded total by a few yen. These nominal comparisons do not isolate inflation, exchange rates, stay length or traveller composition. 2025 workbook 2026 workbook

Selected purchases, with their respondent counts

The purchase rate is a weighted share. The purchaser count is unweighted; dividing it by the market sample does not reproduce the rate. The conditional mean is spending among purchasers, not the price of one product or willingness to pay. These purchase measures concern spending during the Japan visit and differ from the package-inclusive six-category figures above. Mean purchaser spending is withheld below 30 purchasers; * marks 30–99 purchasers. This is an editorial caution, not an official significance test. JTA Reference Table 5

Traveller composition

These are separate questions; do not multiply the rates into an unreported joint group. The website-application item in questionnaire E3 concerns tour products or international return air/sea tickets, not all hotel and activity bookings. “Individually arranged” does not mean every component was booked directly by the traveller. JTA Reference Table 4 Questionnaire E3

Planning implication (editorial proposal): Quote rooms, meals, transfers and admissions for the actual party and ages, with shopping budget separate. The family/relatives share describes this quarter's respondents; it does not establish that every party has children. Ask about stays with relatives and who handles bookings in Japan.

Timing: July–September 2025 is final; the same quarter in 2026 is first preliminary and subject to revision. Any 2024 regional analysis above is historical context, not evidence of Q3 2026 or November behaviour. Statistics rechecked on 4 November 2026.

Foreign guest-nights in August 2026: top five prefectures

Second preliminary release, published 30 October. Classification is by nationality/origin, covering establishments with 20 or more rooms. The national total for this market is 88,840 guest-nights.

Shares use the same market, month and facility scope and are rounded to one decimal. ＊ marks an estimated standard error rate of at least 30%. Guest-nights are not unique people, rooms, November bookings or available inventory. Rounding can prevent prefecture sums from matching the national total. The stratification basis changed in January 2026. JTA source, Reference Table 1 (August) · Release

When paid tours and activities were booked

Among Philippine respondents, 68.9% reported booking paid tours or activities before departure (n=366). This supports offering Kansai experiences before the trip. Show party-size pricing, age requirements, duration and meeting and finishing points so customers can check whether the activity works for everyone travelling.

Source: Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau’s FY2025 Kansai Airport exit survey, published May 2026. Four waves covered May, August–September and November–December 2025, and February–March 2026 at Terminal 1 international departures. The full sample was 4,381 departing foreign travellers, excluding transit; it included all trip purposes, not only leisure. Respondents selected one booking-stage category for paid tours/activities during their Japan trip. Each nationality’s full respondent base includes non-participants. Results were adjusted by nationality, not by age or sex. They are not nationally representative, do not isolate experiences located in Kansai, and do not measure days before departure or JTA’s package/international-ticket application channel. OCTB final report, printed pp.2, 10, 12–13, 58–59

The suggested Kansai product presentation is an editorial application of this limited observation, not a demonstrated national preference or sales effect.

Interests and individual requirements

JNTO’s 2026 Philippines strategy distinguishes family-and-relatives travel, couples or partners, and friends or colleagues, and highlights food, nature, theme parks and shopping. It also notes the role of social media in information gathering and travel agencies in trip planning. These are market-planning observations, not a description of every traveller. For a November enquiry, confirm the actual party size and ages, room and transfer needs, then ask which experiences matter most. If a place was found through a short post or image, verify its event dates, opening hours, booking deadline and transport with the organiser’s official information. Ask the traveller directly about allergies, religious requirements or ingredients to avoid. A family-and-relatives market segment does not imply that a child is travelling. Once party ages and mobility needs are known, check entry conditions and travel times for the actual dates. JNTO 2026 strategy · JTA food and reception guide

Shopping from November | The payment and refund sequence

Eligible tax-free sales moved to the refund method for purchases made from 1 November 2026. An eligible purchaser pays the tax-inclusive price at an authorised tax-free shop, obtains customs confirmation on departure within 90 days counted from the day after purchase, and then receives the consumption-tax equivalent from the retailer or its refund provider. The purchase date determines the changeover, not the date of entry. The usual threshold is at least JPY 5,000 excluding tax in eligible purchases by the same person at the same shop on the same day, subject to the applicable rules. Nationality alone does not establish purchaser eligibility. National Tax Agency, rules as at 1 November 2026

Goods consumed during the trip and goods carried out of Japan need careful handling. Customs checks operate at purchase-record level, normally corresponding to one sale or receipt. If any eligible item in that record is missing at the check, the other items in the same record cannot receive confirmation either. The shop can explain how the purchases are recorded. National Tax Agency, refund-method explanation

Complete the process before checking in the goods as baggage. For a domestic-to-international connection, customs confirmation takes place at the final airport of departure from Japan. Check baggage collection and re-checking arrangements with the airline and allow for a possible inspection. The official guidance does not allow checked baggage to be retrieved simply to complete the tax-free process. Japan Tourism Agency, traveller guidance

At Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu, Fukuoka, New Chitose and Naha, the Visit Japan Web online procedure is available within designated international-departure lobby areas connected to the dedicated wireless network. This online route is limited to people with Temporary Visitor, Diplomat or Official status of residence; Japanese nationals cannot use it. Tax-free purchasing eligibility and eligibility for this online route are different conditions. A request for inspection still requires attendance at customs, and completion of the customs procedure does not mean the refund has arrived. Japan Tourism Agency, eligibility and location National Tax Agency, online-procedure FAQ

Refund methods, timing and contact details depend on the shop or refund provider. Budget for the tax-inclusive payment separately from the expected refund. July–September spending predates the new system and cannot demonstrate its effect on shopping. National Tax Agency, sales and refund procedure

If a purchase record is wrong or missing. Contact the shop about incorrect details. A missing record may still be awaiting transmission by the shop; allow some time or ask the shop to check. National Tax Agency FAQ Q3-3/Q3-4 As a practical recommendation, travel companies can retain the shop and refund provider's contact details in the traveller's documents.

What the next edition will update

The December edition will move the travel window to January–June 2027. It will recheck the overlapping January–May dates, sales conditions and holiday eligibility, add June, and identify the reference period and release stage of any new statistics. Newly verified dates, changed conditions and closed applications will be distinguished in the update record.

Release availability checked on 9 November. October arrival estimates are scheduled for 18 November at 16:15 JST, and the second preliminary July–September inbound-spending release for 24 December. Check the actual released tables, including whether a separate market category is present, before updating. Planned release dates are not already-published results. JNTO schedule JTA schedule

September first-preliminary accommodation totals are already available, but this report’s nationality-by-prefecture comparison uses August second-preliminary figures for establishments with at least 20 guest rooms. September second-preliminary results are scheduled for 30 November. JTA / 観光庁・宿泊統計 公表予定 / Release schedule