by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 1:10 PM ET, Wed September 16, 2026
Destination specialist tour operator InsideJapan, part of Inside Travel, is sharing results from its 2026 Impact Report, showing how its efforts to promote responsible travel to Japan have created measurable impact for lesser-visited destinations across the island nation.
The 2025 initiative, which InsideJapan calls its "undertourism strategy," selected five destinations in Japan—Yamaguchi, Nagasaki, Toyama, Nagoya and Aomori—for their accessibility, local capacity and community willingness for tourism, taking travelers to these regions through InsideJapan experiences.
In 2025, the initiative helped contribute over $360,000 to the local communities, with one in ten InsideJapan trips visiting at least one of these destinations.
In 2026, that number was doubled to one in five trips, reaching 73% of its target of hosting 2,500 room nights across the five locations.
“When InsideJapan began 25 years ago, Japan was a very different tourism destination,” explained Inside Travel’s Co-Founder, Simon King. “Today, the challenge is not encouraging people to discover Japan but rather helping ensure that the benefits of that growth are shared more widely and that the experience of Japan continues to be special.”
“Our undertourism strategy is about using our influence as a tour operator,” King continued. “By encouraging travelers to trust us and look beyond the obvious places, we are providing a better cultural experience while supporting communities that genuinely want and need tourism.”
Inside Travel, the Japanese specialist operator’s parent company, became a certified B Corp in 2023 and has since committed to using travel to create a positive impact on communities around Japan and greater Asia.
The five “undertourism” destinations were chosen based on criteria such as infrastructure to support more tourists, an international visitor rate of less than 10%, and a location outside the top five most-visited prefectures, which currently account for 75% of international visitor stays.
In Toyama, InsideJapan’s impact was profound in 2025: it saw a 1,067% increase in room nights, with 90% of spend going directly to independent local suppliers.
The strategy also drove higher traveler sentiment, with travelers reporting a slower pace of travel, feeling genuinely welcomed by locals, and finding their experience more memorable.
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