Chubu and Hokuriku, from the Sea of Japan to the Pacific: What Kind of Trip Would You Like to Take?
Chubu and Hokuriku lie in the central part of Honshu, Japan’s main island. This article covers six prefectures: Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui, Gifu, Shizuoka, and Aichi.
Coastlines along the Sea of Japan and hot spring towns surrounded by mountains. Historic streets and views of Mount Fuji. On the Pacific side, there are also busy cities full of people on the move.
You might walk through a historic town or enjoy views of the sea and mountains. Different places bring different kinds of journeys to mind.
If you have been here before, think of the hotels or other places you stayed. If you are planning a visit, imagine somewhere you would like to stay.
Take a moment to picture your own journey.
How have Chubu and Hokuriku’s hotels and ryokan—traditional Japanese inns—changed through the pandemic?
We will compare guest nights in 2019, before the pandemic; 2021, during it; and 2025, after it, through a map and a data card.
As a way to get to know Chubu and Hokuriku, shall we explore together how its hotels and ryokan have changed?
Explore Hotels and Ryokan in Chubu and Hokuriku on the Map
Select a prefecture on the map to see total guest nights, the share accounted for by foreign nationals, establishments, guest rooms, room occupancy, and other figures. Switch between 2019, 2021, and 2025 to compare changes through the pandemic.
You can also search by prefecture name, use voice search, or move to other regions using the buttons at the bottom of the screen.
Start with a prefecture you have visited or somewhere you would like to go.
How Have Guest Nights Changed in Chubu and Hokuriku?
Total guest nights in the six prefectures covered here fell from 67,224,120 in 2019 to 38,542,830 in 2021. They then rose to 70,670,490 in 2025.
The recovery rate for 2025 compared with 2019 was 105.1%. Across Chubu and Hokuriku as a whole, guest nights exceeded the pre-pandemic level.
Guest nights for foreign nationals also exceeded the 2019 level, and their share of total guest nights increased.
The number of hotels and ryokan declined compared with fiscal 2019, while the number of guest rooms stayed close to its fiscal 2019 level, with a slight increase.
Switch between the data card’s tabs to see the breakdown of guest nights, establishments and guest rooms, and licenses issued and closures across the lodging industry as a whole. Comparing the card with the map reveals differences between the figures for Chubu and Hokuriku as a whole and those for each prefecture.
What I Noticed While Making the Map
Guest nights in Chubu and Hokuriku as a whole exceeded the pre-pandemic level. Yet in some prefectures, room occupancy had not returned to its earlier level, even though guest nights had recovered.
Total guest nights, room occupancy, and guest nights for foreign nationals. Some prefectures remained below pre-pandemic levels on several measures, while others showed changes in different directions depending on the measure.
From places you remember to places you would like to visit next.
Shall we explore how hotels and ryokan in Chubu and Hokuriku have changed, moving between the map and the data card?
Sources: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Report on Public Health Administration and Services; Japan Tourism Agency, Accommodation Survey.
- Accommodation figures cover the calendar years 2019, 2021, and 2025 (January–December).
- Figures for establishments, guest rooms, licenses issued, and closures cover fiscal years 2019, 2021, and 2024.
- Guest nights count each guest for each night of their stay. One person staying for three nights counts as three guest nights.
- The maps and data cards use the Japanese labels “日本人” (“Japanese”) and “外国人” (“foreign nationals”) to reflect the statistical categories. Guest nights for Japanese nationals are calculated by subtracting guest nights for foreign nationals from total guest nights.
- The recovery rate is calculated as total guest nights in 2025 ÷ total guest nights in 2019 × 100.