Low Food Globalization Index Reflects Few Foreign Visitors in Kagurazaka but Highlights Its Authentic Japanese Charm
Measuring Foreign Visitor Impact in Kagurazaka Through a Food Globalization Index
To address this, we created a globalization index focused on “food” and calculated its correlation with the rate of foreign visitors. According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s “2023 Survey on Foreign Tourists’ Behavior by Country and Region,” the top activity for foreigners visiting Tokyo was “enjoying Japanese food” (93.3%), making a globalization index related to food a valid indicator for estimating foreign visitor rates in Kagurazaka.
Proportion of Restaurants with English and Vegetarian Menus
Source: Tabelog
When considering the proportion of restaurants within an 800-meter radius of each station that offer “English menus” and “vegetarian menus” as the globalization index for food, the rankings were as follows: Shibuya (24.9%), Shinjuku-Okubo (21.6%), and Ginza (21.5%). These rankings match the visit rates. The correlation coefficient between the visit rate and the globalization index for food in the top seven regions was 0.87 (with 1.00 being a perfect positive correlation), indicating a very high correlation.
Foreign Visitor Rate and Globalization Index
Source: Tabelog, Tokyo Metropolitan Government
This suggests that we can estimate visit rates using the globalization index for food. Kagurazaka-Iidabashi’s globalization index for food (the average of the values within an 800-meter radius of Kagurazaka Station on the Tokyo Metro Tozai Line and Iidabashi Station on the JR line) was 12.7%, significantly lower than the top tourist destinations, but slightly higher than Tokyo as a whole (10.5%). This suggests that fewer foreign tourists visit Kagurazaka compared to Tokyo’s popular tourist spots. The lower number of foreign tourists likely reduces the necessity of having English or vegetarian menus.
Kagurazaka: Authentic Japanese Charm Free from Overtourism
Feedback from participants in our Kagurazaka walking tour included comments like “A wonderful and informative tour of ‘REAL’ Japanese life. I highly recommend it.” For travelers who want to see and feel Japan itself, rather than navigating overcrowded tourist areas full of foreign tourists, Kagurazaka is the ideal place. If a restaurant has only Japanese menus, this can be overcome by hiring a Japanese guide or using translation apps.
I previously wrote a blog titled “Are You a Traveler or a Tourist? If You Are a Traveler, Come to Shinjuku Kagurazaka,” and indeed, Kagurazaka is a town where intellectually curious and adventurous travelers should visit.
Kagurazaka is a diverse town where new and old cultures, including samurai culture, temple town culture, geisha culture, French culture, and shopping street culture, are exquisitely mixed. Moreover, Kagurazaka, which is also a residential area, offers a glimpse of “REAL” Japanese life. It is a town more suited to travelers than tourists.
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