Purpose of travel and the scope of Tet 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.

Total arrivals and the spending of leisure visitors measure different groups. This edition keeps those distinctions visible, separates public-sector and private-employer Tet arrangements, and presents dated Japanese options for winter and spring. Event and booking conditions make regional food and cultural visits easier to evaluate.

Booking dates to put on the calendar now

• 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

• For April’s Miyako Odori, connect the itinerary to the 6 January, 10:00 JST scheduled ticket release. Performances run from 1–30 April 2027. Identify the desired date and performance, then verify ticket types and booking conditions. Gion Kobu Kabukai

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.

From December 2026 through May 2027, organisers across Japan have published dates for a range of events. Vietnam's Tet announcement, meanwhile, does not give every worker the same seven-day leave. Keeping those two kinds of information separate makes the calendar useful without turning it into a demand forecast.

The Vietnamese government's guidance on the 2027 Tet break sets out 4–10 February for the covered state administrative bodies and public units. Other employers choose among the arrangements provided by law and give the required advance notice. That public-sector period cannot be assigned wholesale to company employees or schools.

Nagasaki provides a precise calendar intersection. The city's tourism office calls 5–21 February a planned festival period. The announced Tet period for the covered public-sector bodies is 4–10 February, so 5–10 February overlaps on the calendar. This does not establish when all Vietnamese residents can travel or how many will visit Japan. Individual illumination and performance schedules and participation conditions were not verified here; check the current official programme. Nagasaki announcement · Vietnamese government guidance

Sapporo is not covered by one universal art-festival ticket. Although the main period is 16 January to 21 February, venues have different start dates and closure days. Online advance sales for the Sapporo Citizens Gallery ticket end 15 January; each of the other paid venues has its own ticket. Official venue and ticket information

Spring introduces two earlier sales dates. The March sumo tournament in Osaka starts advance sales on 6 February; Kyoto's Miyako Odori announces 10 am on 6 January. Neither date guarantees seats for a preferred performance. Japan Sumo Association · Miyako Odori organiser In the next issue, we will check employer- and school-specific Vietnamese calendars and updates to admission or participation terms in Japan. Event dates alone cannot predict flowers or snowfall.

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

Corporate incentive orders have a different clock

Check corporate incentive trips separately from individual leisure travel. JNTO’s 2025 handbook cites a March 2023 travel-company survey in which clients often placed arrangement orders less than two months before departure. The response count and a Japan-only distribution are not provided. For corporate enquiries this November, confirm headcount deadlines, vehicle and banquet cancellation terms, and itinerary-change cut-offs separately. JNTO Vietnam chapter, p.179

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 Vietnam 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 201,409, +17.2% year on year (the published JTA rate), with an average stay of 7.6 nights. The unweighted respondent counts were 141 in 2025 and 160 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 356,605, +6.4% year on year, and 55.3 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): Base leisure itinerary discussions on the leisure subset rather than the longer all-purpose stays that also include other trip purposes. Maintain consistent information on existing bookings, additional costs and local contacts for both agency and direct enquiries. The application-method question concerns tour products and international return tickets, not all hotel or activity reservations.

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 61,760 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

Interests and individual requirements

JNTO’s 2026 Vietnam strategy separates first-time visitors from those with previous Japan experience and pays attention to family-and-relatives travel. Food, streetscapes and nature are themes, while a wider range of experiences is emphasised for repeat visitors. The strategy also highlights social media and travel agencies as channels for regional information. These are ways to present a market, not fixed preferences for individuals. For a November enquiry, ask separately about prior visits, companions and who will make each booking. A regional suggestion should include how to get there, the organiser’s booking channel, event dates and available languages as well as an image. Ask the traveller directly about allergies, ingredients to avoid and preferred dishes. A family-and-relatives planning theme does not determine party size or room allocation. Ask about ages, luggage and mobility preferences, then check regional transport and accommodation terms for the intended dates. Check each dining venue’s hours and reservation requirements for the actual visit date. 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