Record tourist figures for Japan

Japan, although it may not be an obvious holiday destination for many, last year received a record number of foreign visitors.

A total of 4.37 million travellers entered the country from overseas in 2005, a rise of 13.8 per cent from the year before, which is an historic record for the land of the rising sun, the Post Chronicle reports.

According to the Japan national tourist organisation, last year's World Exposition, which ran for six months in Aichi prefecture was a key contributor to the increase of international visitors.

In particular the number of visitors from South Korea was up ten per cent and there were 1.28 million tourists from Taiwan, according to figures from the Japan Times.

There many historic sites, cultural venues and places of natural beauty to visit in Japan.

The cities of Tokyo and Kyoto in particular, with their mix of modern space-age architecture and ancient temples and shrines, are two of the preferred tourist destinations.

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