Spending categories and the scope of Seollal leave

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.

Alongside the scale of travel, this edition looks at spending on accommodation, food, shopping and activities. It keeps previous visits and travelling-party types distinct, and places the published Seollal dates alongside Japanese sales dates. The December 2026–May 2027 calendar offers evidence for choosing regions and allocating time within a specific itinerary.

Booking dates to put on the calendar now

• For the January–February Kobe Luminarie, distinguish general and group admission. Sales for the paid area of the 29 January–7 February 2027 event were announced to open on 1 November. General tickets specify a date and time; group tickets for 16 or more specify only the date on Monday–Thursday and a date and time on Friday–Sunday. A past sales opening does not establish remaining inventory. City of Kobe

• 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

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.

South Korea’s official 2027 calendar guidance shows a Seollal break from 6 to 9 February for institutions on a five-day working week, with Seollal itself on 7 February. It also identifies breaks from 27 February to 1 March and from 1 to 3 May. Actual leave depends on each workplace or school. These dates help identify overlaps with Japanese events; they are not a measure of travel demand from South Korea.

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

Read holidays and ticket releases separately

The Seollal break overlaps the 4–11 February Sapporo Snow Festival. Kobe Luminarie runs through 7 February, offering a different kind of winter visit within part of the same break. Standard tickets for the paid Meriken Park area specify a date and time. Group tickets for at least 16 people specify the date only on Monday–Thursday and both date and time on Friday–Sunday. Other venues have separate entry conditions. Weather and transport updates matter for outdoor events.

The Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka is scheduled for 9–11 April, with main advance spectator tickets due on sale this November, at 11:00 on the 15th. That event does not coincide with South Korea’s early-May break. Check seat categories, purchasing eligibility by country or region, and access to the circuit in the ticket guidance. The ticket-release date is not a general deadline for booking a trip.

Grand sumo has different advance-sale dates for its Osaka tournament in March and Tokyo tournament in May: 6 February and 10 April respectively. Neither tournament simply coincides with the 1 March or early-May Korean breaks. Whether a longer period of leave is possible changes which visit is practical.

The next issue will revisit ticket categories and availability, transport for Hokkaido and Suzuka, and schedules in light of actual workplace and school leave.

Market evidence | Arrivals, expenditure and reference periods

JNTO’s September 2026 nationality/region table estimates 842,300 visitor arrivals in its South Korea row, 25.6% above September 2025. Its January–September estimate is 8,262,700, up 21.6% year on year. JNTO also identifies South Korea as a September record market. Arrivals are border movements under JNTO's definition, not a census of unique holidaymakers: a repeat visitor is not removed merely because that person has come before. JNTO September nationality table; release notes.

The Japan Tourism Agency's July–September first preliminary estimate attributes ¥293.8 billion in inbound travel expenditure to South Korea, up 45.8% year on year. For the same quarter, the estimate of general visitors excluding cruise passengers is 2.576 million, up 28.7%. Expenditure per such visitor is ¥113,959, up 13.4%. With quarterly count and per-person spending both higher, they jointly help explain the higher quarterly total. They do not reveal which activities, trip lengths or prices drove the changes, and the total expenditure population and general-visitor denominator should not be casually interchanged. JTA quarterly tables.

The quarterly expenditure result adds a second perspective, but three months of expenditure cannot be divided by one month of arrivals to calculate a meaningful rate. Subsequent official revisions may change preliminary values.

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 South Korea 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 111,648, +16.9% year on year (the published JTA rate), with an average stay of 3.5 nights. The unweighted respondent counts were 761 in 2025 and 683 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 113,959, +13.4% year on year, and 4.1 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): Do not infer customer value from per-trip spending alone when average stays are shorter. Give clear meeting points, end times and transfer requirements for meals or local tours, and check whether a half-day or day activity fits the existing itinerary. Additional purchases depend on the individual's budget and available time.

Historical context for visit frequency and destinations

JTA analysis based on final 2024 data observed a greater share of visits including regional areas as visit count rose. It does not predict individual 2026 bookings. JTA analysis based on final 2024 data, printed p.2

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 1,568,140 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 South Korean respondents, 42.2% reported booking paid tours or activities before departure (n=535). Pre-trip presentation can also be useful for this nearby market. Show travel time from the accommodation area and morning or afternoon slots so customers can assess how a Kansai experience fits their itinerary.

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 does not treat South Korea as a single repeat-visitor profile. For travellers aged 50 or above who have visited Japan at least twice and travel as couples or with family, it points to regional food, hot springs and nature, including areas they may not have visited. For returning adult travellers in their 30s–40s accompanied by children, it pairs theme parks and local food with transport details, including access to places without direct flights and possible rental-car travel. JNTO segment strategy Ask which regions they have already visited, whether children are travelling and whether rail or a car fits the trip. Do not infer food preferences from nationality: ask about local dishes, ingredients they cannot eat and meal times, then confirm the property’s ability to accommodate requests in advance. Japan Tourism Agency ryokan Q&A For a route by car, check the rental conditions and road conditions separately; for rail, verify transfers and the last service. Ask each companion whether hot springs or local food matters more and narrow the options against the time available for travel.

Entry procedures and eligibility

The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ visa-exemption guidance describes a visa-waiver measure for South Korean holders of ordinary passports seeking a short stay of up to 90 days. Activities that require a different status, including remunerated work, are not made eligible by the short-stay description. Nationality, passport type, purpose and circumstances must be checked separately. JNTO’s “Korea” nationality-and-region row does not itself establish any individual’s entry conditions. JNTO's Korea market page offers longer-term context, separate from this month's release. For Korea-based applicants who do need a visa because of their passport or purpose, the embassy also publishes a visa-type and document guide; this does not make a visa application necessary for waiver-eligible short stays.

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