Thousands of people are cancelling trips to popular tourist spots in western Japan, even though many of these destinations were left unscathed by the recent deadly rain disaster, local officials said Wednesday.
Dogo Onsen in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, known as one of Japan's oldest hot springs, is usually bustling with Japanese and foreign tourists. But a local cooperative representing about 30 hot spring inns found that more than 3,000 people have cancelled their reservations at hotels and inns following torrential downpours earlier this month.
"Maybe people think that the devastation extends across the prefecture," said an official at the cooperative.
"Simple calculations show cancellations by 3,000 people are equivalent to a financial loss of about 45 million yen ($399,000). If we take the impact on nearby shops into account, the damage is even greater," the official added.
Ehime, along with Hiroshima and Okayama prefectures, was hit hardest by the rain and ensuing flooding and mudslides, which left 223 people dead, according to the National Police Agency.
(File photo of Dogo Onsen Honkan bathhouse)
While Uwajima and other southern Ehime cities were devastated by the rain, the damage to Matsuyama was relatively limited, and the Dogo Onsen Honkan bathhouse, designated as an important cultural asset of Japan and a major tourist attraction, is operating as usual.
"I was a bit worried, but I came because I called the local tourism association and was told it was okay," said Maiko Mizushima, 26, who came to the hot spring from Kanagawa Prefecture near Tokyo.
"I am relieved to see the damage was smaller than I had expected. I am glad I came," she added.
"We want people to come, thinking visiting this place and spending money here is a way to support us," said a Matsuyama tourism official.
Cancellations have similarly affected Hiroshima's Miyajima island, home to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Itsukushima Shrine and its floating gate, as well as the historical quarter of Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, with many traditional buildings.
(File photo of Miyajima)
"We have seen cancellations of tours and are worried that the impact may persist into the autumn, when the largest number of people come," said a person involved in local tourism, adding mud flowing into the sea could obstruct operation of ferries to and from Miyajima.
The number of tour buses arriving at the scenic historical quarter of Kurashiki has also halved since the disaster, even though the area is distant from the Mabi area, where more than 4,000 houses were flooded.
Amid drops in the number of guests, 51 hotels and lodgings within Okayama have decided to provide food and rooms for free for about 1,000 affected people with special needs until the end of this month. The prefectural government will shoulder the room costs.
Washuzan Shimoden Hotel in Kurashiki has decided to accept, among others, infants, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with disabilities, since reservations until the end of August are roughly half the amount of an average year.
"I was moved by hotel operators who continued to help people affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Kumamoto earthquakes despite being affected by the disasters themselves. Now, it is our turn," said the hotel's president Hisanori Nagayama, referring to major earthquakes that occurred in recent years in Japan.
As of Tuesday evening, about 4,700 people were taking shelter at evacuation centers in 16 prefectures, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
(File photo of Kurashiki)
