Most satisfying food among inbound travelers in Japan 2024

The most popular food among foreign visitors in Japan was ****, according to a survey conducted in 2024. The Japanese cuisine offers various meat-based dishes including rice bowls with meat toppings (donburi), pork cutlet (tonkatsu) or new trend foods like meat sushi.

Who spends the most money on culinary tourism?

Eating and drinking constituted the third-largest expense item of inbound tourists in Japan, following accommodation and shopping expenditures. The majority of inbound tourists to Japan arrived from regions near the Japanese archipelago. The highest expenses on food and beverages were generated by foreign visitors from China, Taiwan, and South Korea.

The Japanese food service industry

The food service industry in Japan is growing steadily within the domestic HRI sector. Strengthened by a lively tourism sector, businesses specializing in popular Japanese dishes like noodle shops and sushi restaurants were recording an upward trend in sales revenue in recent years.
However, with fast food like hamburgers and chicken wings growing popular among Japanese consumers, major franchises like MOS Food Services and McDonald’s Japan arranged their product lines to include Western-style fast food with inspirations taken from the local cuisine.