Destination: Osaka

The local news is full of talk of Osaka's financial woes, but one industry is booming against expectations: tourism.

One Saturday in early July, Osaka's beloved Cuidaore Taro, the pinstriped, drumming mascot that beckoned customers into Osaka's Meibutsu Cuidaore (Famous Eat Until You Die) eatery, embarked on a "retirement cruise" following the restaurant's shock closure due to economic hardship. Held upright by passengers hurling streamers from the ship railing, Taro-kun gave his final, somewhat-creepy grin to the tourists, locals and Dotombori neighborhood that'd been home to him and the restaurant since 1949, and passed – for now, anyway – into the annals of city history.

As far as omens go, the 'retirement' of Taro – commemorated in a million photographs and souvenir shop tchotchkes as one of the very symbols of the city – was a fairly big one; even more astonishing than the number of locals who unjokingly praised Taro in news interviews as "Osaka's Statue of Liberty" was the notion that the "Statue of Liberty" could be packed up and sailed off if Ellis Island fell on hard times.

In many places, it's a tricky time for tourism. Though – according to World Tourism Organization statistics – worldwide tourism went up five percent in the first four months of the year, plummeting visitor numbers and decreased spending at sightseeing mainstays have leaders rather concerned. This year, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger anchored a pleading TV ad calling on tourists to please, please come to the state and visit cities like San Francisco, where once-bustling spots like the Fisherman's Wharf fell quiet this summer. Fast-cooling European hotspots like Greece have had dark difficulties enticing visitors. Even hosting the international Olympic Games didn't much help Beijing: in the final weeks before the Games, hotel owners slashed room rates in desperation to improve anemic occupancy levels.

Whither Osaka tourism, mascot retirements notwithstanding? The good news is that there actually is good news: Japan has had great recent success with tourism, particularly regarding visitors from China, Korea and other Asian countries. The Ministry of Justice and the Japan National Tourist Organization recorded 2.75 million Asian pleasure tourists in 1997; 10 years later in 2007, that number doubled to 6.1 million visitors, an increase Gov. Schwarzenegger would probably give up cigars and his Hummer fleet for.

Additionally, despite being often derided as "dirty" or "ugly" or "uncouth" in travel books ("It's a nice place to live, but you wouldn't want to visit there" is a phrase even Osakans are sometimes caught using), Osaka actually beats every Japanese city save one in terms of incoming visitors; according to Ministry of Tourism stats, the city hosted 2.4 million business and vaca- tion travelers in 2007, the second-best number in the nation. (First in Japan, of course, with 7.2 million total visitors, is that slightly bigger city a few hours away in Kanto.)

"We try to promote all the advantages Osaka has: great accommodations, an advanced transportation system, a wide range of eating and shopping places," says Osaka Convention and Tourism Bureau Vice President, Project Management Kazuhiro Nagafuji. "It's also advantageous that there are other tourism cities around Osaka, such as Kyoto and Nara."

Though American pleasure travelers visit Osaka and Kyoto in roughly equal numbers (about 200,000 visitors to each city), the number of Korean and Chinese tourists to historical Kyoto (about 60,000 each) is dwarfed by the same number headed for Osaka, which last year saw 315,000 Chinese and 580,000 Korean tourists exploring Umeda, Shinsaibashi and other local neighborhoods. According to 2006 statistics, Nagafuji adds, foreign tourists pumped an average of ¥115,000 apiece into the local economy.

Despite the tireless efforts of Chinese, Korean and Japanese leaders to muck it all up arguing about contentious places of worship (Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine) or islands no one particularly cares about (South Korea's – probably South Korea's – Dokdo islets), the respective citizenry decided long ago that there's really nothing to fear from a weekend in Seoul or Shenzhen or Sakai Higashi. In Japan and Korea's case, international cooperation (2002's jointly hosted football World Cup) warmed relations, and pop culture sealed the deal: Japanese tourists burning to reenact scenes from the sappy import melodrama Winter Sonata swelled the coffers of South Korean businesses; young Koreans (and Chinese, and Thai) dazzled by the fashions in local mags like Blenda and Can-Can now return the favor with heavy spending in Tokyo and Osaka clothing boutiques, regarded by many in Asia as the places to turn to for the latest fashions.

Still, as anyone who's ever been a tourist in Osaka can attest, there is plenty of room for improvement. "Tourist surveys give fairly good evaluations of Osaka's accommodations and transportation system," Nagafuji says. "However, we hope to make more comprehensive tourist information signboards, and increase the amount of English and other languages available at restaurants and in tourism and transportation spots." Last year's International Association of Athletics Federations games at Nagai Stadium, which generated some ¥27 billion for Osaka, proved a handy reason at the time for Osaka to at least begin trying to provide more foreign-language information throughout the city.

However, there is the troubling news that Kansai's not-quite solvent International Airport may slash several travel routes later this year. "In the first half of 2008, the number of people visiting Osaka didn't really decrease [due to increased fuel surcharges and rising ticket prices]," Nagafuji states. "However, tourism will definitely be affected when some domestic and international flights stop operating later this year." Air Canada, for example, will cease its Kansai-to-Vancouver flight this fall, and Japan Airlines is considering the same for its London-direct route.

There is some degree of certainty that the city can weather the storm, however: China's tourist-creating economic boom may likely continue for some time, and city events like October's Midosuji Parade have steadily swelled with foreign tourists only recently discovering the city's varied charms. Osaka's most famous restaurant mascot may have sailed for the Gray Havens, but, as luck would have it for the many tourists who likely wondered what all the fuss about him was ever about, there are still plenty of other places in town to eat at.

Text: Jeff Lo • Photos: KS