KOBE (Japan), Sept 4 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- The Japanese city that hosts Himeji Castle is considering doubling or tripling admission fees for visitors who do not live in the local area, officials said on Wednesday, after the city backed down from a plan to impose higher ticket prices only on foreign tourists
According to Kyodo News Agency, the local government of Himeji in Hyogo Prefecture is also considering a premium ticket plan targeting foreign tourists, which would include a luggage storage service and discounts at restaurants, in addition to admission to the UNESCO World Heritage site.
In June, Himeji Mayor Hideyasu Kiyomoto made headlines when he told an international symposium he is contemplating quadrupling entry fees for foreigners, increasing an adult ticket from the current 1,000 yen ($6.80), to help pay for maintenance costs.
Kiyomoto told reporters at the time that he wants to avoid raising the admission fee for Himeji locals, preserving the site as "a place of rest" for them.
The remarks drew backlash from municipal assembly members, who argued that targeting foreigners with higher prices could hurt the image of the castle, the officials said.
Himeji will introduce the new admission fee system as early as the spring of 2026 after discussing it with the municipal assembly and the Agency for Cultural Affairs. It plans to keep the entry fees the same for Himeji residents, the officials said.
“Himeji Castle has more buildings designated as national treasures or important cultural properties than any other castle in Japan, and admission fees are an important source of funding for preserving and passing the castle on to future generations,” one of the officials said.
Around 1.48 million people visited the castle in fiscal 2023, including 452,300 foreigners, marking the first time the number of foreign visitors exceeded 400,000 since data became available in fiscal 1992, according to the city government.
-- BERNAMA-KYODO
