Oct. 11 marks one year since Japan reopened its borders to individual tourists. Since then, the relatively new word ¥¤¥ó¥Ð¥¦¥ó¥É (inbaundo, inbound) has been making frequent appearances in the news.

While its original meaning is ¡°inward bound,¡± the Japanese katakana usually suggests ÔLÈÕÂÃÐÐ (³ó¨­nichi ryok¨­, travel to Japan) and Íâ¹úÈËÂÃÐÐ¿Í (gaikokujin ryok¨­-kyaku, foreign travelers). In the context of ÔLÈÕ, the kanji ÔL (³ó¨­, otozu[reru], tazu[neru]) means ¡°visiting,¡± and ÈÕ (nichi, jitsu, hi, ka) represents ÈÕ±¾ (Nippon/Nihon, Japan).

According to a survey conducted by ÓQ¹âŽØ (kank¨­c³ó¨­, the Japan Tourism Agency), the proportion of visitors who are ¥ê¥Ô©`¥¿©` (°ù¾±±è¨©³Ù¨¡, repeaters) has been steadily increasing, making up the majority of overseas tourists. Another trend that has been spotted is ÖÍÔÚ¤ÎéLÆÚ»¯ (taizai no c³ó¨­ki-ka, prolonged stays), which allows visitors to explore less touristy places in addition to the main destinations of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. Local towns and villages are slowly benefiting from this trend by offering immersive ÌåòYÐͤÎÖv×ù (taiken-gata no k¨­za, hands-on workshops), or by allowing the renovation of ¿Õ¤­¼Ò (akiya, vacant homes) into ¹ÅÃñ¼Ò¥Û¥Æ¥ë (kominka hoteru, old house hotels).