Most Visited Cities in Japan

1. Tokyo – 30M+ annual visitors; neon, temples, food, pop culture.
2. Kyoto – Ancient capital; 1,600 temples, Gion, Fushimi Inari, bamboo groves.
3. Osaka – Food capital (takoyaki, okonomiyaki); castle, Dotonbori, Universal Studios Japan.
4. Nagoya – Industry (Toyota), science museum, castle, day trips to Takayama/Shirakawa-go.
5. Sapporo – Hokkaido capital; Snow Festival, beer, ramen, skiing, nature.

Other major draws: Hiroshima (Peace Park), Nara (deer, Todai-ji), Fukuoka, Okinawa, Kanazawa, Nikko.