PUBLISHED ONOctober 12, 2025 6:30 AMBYMelissa Teo "You're going to Japan again?" is a line I often hear from my friends and family when I tell them my travel plans.
It's true, I do visit the Land of the Rising Sun at least once a year, regardless of how many days of annual leave I have.
But after visiting the usual hotspots like Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto several times, my new aim is to explore different parts of the country.
In fact, one goal on my bucket list is to visit all of the country's 47 prefectures.
Apparently, I'm not the only Singaporean who wants to see more of Japan besides Tokyo Tower, Osaka Castle and Fushimi Inari Taisha.
Research by Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) in 2024 found that Singapore travellers have expressed interest in less frequented parts of Japan.
This is evident from an increase in the number of their overnight stays in Japan's regional areas in 2024 as compared to 2023.
In terms of percentage growth, Okinawa comes at the top of the list and saw a total of 60,550 overnight stays from Singaporean travellers — a 210 per cent increase from 2023.
The second and third regions that saw more overnight stays were Kyushu and Chubu, which had 237,170 (62.3 per cent increase from 2023) and 183,520 (38.8 per cent increase from 2023) overnight stays respectively.
Within each region, some prefectures saw a larger increase in Singaporean travellers than others.
Apart from Okinawa, which is both a region and prefecture, Yamaguchi in the Chugoku region and Fukuoka in the Kyushu region saw 93.2 per cent and 73.6 per cent more overnight stays respectively.
Other popular prefectures were Saga in the Kyushu region (71.7 per cent increase), Gifu in the Chubu region (71.5 per cent increase), and Aomori in the Tohoku region (58.6 per cent increase).
I, too, am among those adding to these numbers.
In December 2024, Fukuoka, which sits on the northern shore of Kyushu Island, was one of the several prefectures I visited during a road trip with my family.
I also visited Gifu in 2023 for my honeymoon and explored attractions like Gifu Castle and Mount Kinka.
So far, I've only visited 12 out of the 47 prefectures but from these areas alone, I've come to realise that each part of Japan has its own charm.
For instance, back in 2019, my family and I visited Kagawa, which is known for olives as it was the first place in Japan to successfully cultivate the fruit. So we managed to sample many delicious products made with it.
The region is also known for sanuki udon, a staple in Kagawa cuisine and we chanced upon many quaint eateries selling the dish.
When I was in Tottori last year, I found out that the prefecture is known for its pears. I even visited an entire museum dedicated to it — the Tottori Nijisseiki Pear Museum.
Tottori is also the one of the three places in Japan that have sand dunes, a phenomenon that occurs due to its location.
It seems like I am not the only one who wants to experience the charms that each area of Japan has to offer.
According to JNTO, the increase in overnight stays across the various reasons can be largely attributed to tourists becoming more aware of the "unique local culture" that each of these areas has to offer.
In 2024, a record-breaking 691,000 Singaporeans visited Japan, according to figures from JNTO.
The bulk of the travels (19.7 per cent) were in December and 136,200 visitors were recorded to have visited the country.
Overall, this is 16.9 per cent increase from 2023, where there were 591,000 visitor from Singapore alone.
One Singaporean, Fariqqin Anuar, hasn't just explored less common destinations in Japan — he has also visited all 47 prefectures, a goal that he set for himself in 2023.
Earlier in May, he finally visited the 47th and last prefecture on his list — Kanzawa.
The 35-year-old has been to Japan more than 11 times and usually flies into Tokyo and Osaka before journeying out of the city area to the quieter parts of the country.
In total, he has visited Tokyo at least seven times and Osaka around nine times.
When asked if he preferred the main city areas or the less visited parts of Japan, Fariqqin shared that he prefers a trip with "a balance of both".
"The big three cities can get a little overwhelming in terms of crowds but it can also get a little too lonely and quiet in the smaller prefectures," he explained.
"Because the main cities are tourist hotspots, there obviously are more activities and things to do, see and shop. The main cities also obviously have better and more efficient transportation systems. Some of the smaller prefectures have only three trains coming to the station every hour."
Fariqqin pointed out that the other prefectures have their own charms despite "lacking in activities".
"Some festivals are only exclusively held at the smaller prefectures. Like the demon summoning one that I went to in Akita. There are a lot of things you can do at the hidden gems that you can't do in the three big cites," he further elaborated, citing examples like the Sand Dunes in Tottori, Seven Hells of Beppu, the atomic bomb sites in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as Ghibli Park in Nagoya.
He also shared that each areas have their own signature dish too. For instance, prefectures that are nearest to the sea or seaports such as Hokkaido, Fukui and Kanagawa have the freshest seafood and "most delicious sushi in all of Japan."
Having covered the entirety of Japan and experienced plenty of what the country has to offer, Fariqqin understandably has a hard time picking a favourite prefecture.
"Out of all the 47 prefectures, it is very difficult for me to pick even top five. The most interesting I feel is Fukui because of their dinosaur-themed prefecture. The main station itself, Fukui Station), has a pretty magical atmosphere with moving dinosaur statues around the area," he shared.
And despite having been to Japan so many times, he is already looking forward to his next trip.
"I will definitely return at least once a year! Maybe to run away from this horrid summer Singapore heat to cooler weathers in Japan. Perhaps I will go there in October but I definitely will be there in January," he excitedly told us, adding that he is considering between Perhaps Beppu for the onsens or Hokkaido to enjoy the snow.
While he hasn't visited all 47 prefectures like Fariqqin, Leslie Koh, 39, is another Singaporean who travels to Japan frequently.
The full-time travel content creator has been to Japan a total of 13 times and counting.
Similar to Fariqqin, he always flies into Osaka and Tokyo before transiting to other prefectures. Usually, he rents a car to drive from place to place.
"It gives me more flexibility when it comes to time management as well as being able to adapt to last minute changes," he explained.
While he's visited the main cities multiple times, Leslie shared that he prefers Japan's "hidden gems".
"You get to experience the true Japanese omotenashi (Japanese concept of hospitality) and really soak in the culture," he told us, adding that the pace of life in these areas is also slower so travellers "don't get so overwhelmed".
Out of all the prefectures he has visited, the one he has found the most interesting is Tottori.
"They have the largest sand dunes in the whole of Japan where you can ride camels and it feels like you're in another country," he shared.
"Not only that, during winter, you can witness the phenomenon of snow, sand and sea all in one place."
Unsurprisingly, Leslie already has two upcoming trips to Japan soon, where he will be headed to Azumino City and Iwate.
"Azumino City produces 60 per cent of the wasabi in Japan while at Iwate, I will be snowboarding at Appikogen, the largest ski resort in the northern Tohoku region," he shared.
He also has two pending trips — one to Hiroshima and another to Aomori. If he makes them happen, it'll be his first-ever visit to both prefectures.
Leslie also noticed that more Singaporeans like himself are visiting less common places in Japan.
"Even for snowboarding this coming winter, I've been hearing a lot of people planning to visit Hakuba instead of the usual spots in Hokkaido," he shared.
"I think that in the last two years, everyone has been revenge travelling to Japan so they were hitting the usual hotspots and now, they are looking for places beyond that."
[[nid:704972]]
