Japan
Japan is one of the 193 UN member states, in Eastern Asia. UN Tourism counted 31.9 million international arrivals there in 2019, more visited than 90% of the 199 places with figures, so its stamp in Globestamp is printed in Metallic.
- International arrivals
- 31.9 millionin 2019, UN Tourism
- Rank by visitors
- 21st of 199most visited first
- Stamp finish
- Metallicrarer than 10%
- Area
- 373,310 km² (144,136 sq mi)
- Population
- 126 millionNatural Earth estimate
- Prefectures
- 47in Globestamp’s regions layer
- Airports
- 83with scheduled flights
- World Heritage Sites
- 26on Globestamp’s list
Does Japan count as a country?
Yes. Japan is one of the 193 UN member states, so every common list counts it: the UN’s 193, Globestamp’s 250 and the Travelers’ Century Club’s 330.
| List | Counts Japan? |
|---|---|
| UN member states (193) | Yes, a member |
| Globestamp’s countries and territories (250) | Yes |
| Travelers’ Century Club (330) | Yes: Japan, Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa) |
| European Union | No |
| Schengen area | No |
Part of the map here is disputed (Kuril Islands). Globestamp takes no side: when a photo was taken in a disputed place, you decide which country it counts for.
The Japan stamp
Every country in Globestamp has its own stamp, drawn after a real entry stamp. Its finish shows how few travelers get there. Japan’s is Metallic: ink with mica in it, the finish for places with 15 to 40 million visitors a year. With 31.9 million international arrivals in 2019, Japan is more visited than 90% of the 199 places with figures. See every stamp on the stamp wall, or the rarest on the least-visited countries.
What counts as a visit to Japan
The common rule among travelers is that you set foot there: an airport layover usually doesn’t count, and a port where you went ashore does. Globestamp counts Japan when one of your photos was taken on its ground, or just off its coast; a photo taken from a plane never counts. Photos only at an airport make a transit stamp in lighter ink, counted only if you count layovers. Read more in how to count the countries you’ve visited.
Places in Japan you can collect
Under the country itself, Globestamp keeps layers of places on your globe, and a photo taken at one ticks it. These are the ones it knows in Japan, from 26 World Heritage Sites to 124 volcanoes.
World Heritage Sites 26
Himeji Castle (1993) · Hiroshima Peace Memorial (1996) · Itsukushima Shrine (1996) · Yakushima (1993) · Shirakami-Sanchi (1993) · Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (1994) · Historic Villages of Shirakawa-gō and Gokayama (1995) · Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine (2007) · Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara (1998) · Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range (2004) and 16 more. On the bucket list →
National parks 8
Shiretoko National Park · Akan Mashu National Park · Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park · Daisetsuzan National Park · Nikkō National Park · Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park · Shikotsu-Tōya National Park · Kushiro-shitsugen National Park. On the bucket list →
Famous landmarks 7
Mount Fuji · Himeji Castle · Tokyo Skytree · Itsukushima Shrine · Kinkaku-ji Temple · Fushimi Inari-taisha · Sensō-ji Temple. On the bucket list →
Volcanoes 124
Mount Fuji · Mount Asama · Sakurajima · Mount Aso · Mount Unzen · Mount Ontake and 118 more. On the bucket list →
Ski resorts 114
Furano · Hakuba · Niseko · Yuzawa · Hakuba Happoone Winter Resort · Appi Kogen Ski Resort and 108 more. On the bucket list →
Wine regions 6
Alps · Cave d'Occi, Niigata · Hayashi Winery · Katashimo Winery · Ushiku Chateau · Vineyard TAMA. On the bucket list →
Theme parks 133
Tokyo Disneyland · Tokyo Disney Resort · Universal Studios Japan · Mobility Resort Motegi · Tokyo DisneySea · Nara Dreamland and 127 more. On the bucket list →
Zoos and aquariums 182
Ueno Zoo · Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium · Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan · Jigokudani Monkey Park and 178 more. On the bucket list →
Botanical gardens 164
Shinjuku Gyoen · Yubu Island · Koishikawa Botanical Garden · Kyoto Botanical Garden and 160 more. On the bucket list →
Science museums and planetariums 113
National Museum of Nature and Science · Miraikan · National Institute of Polar Research · CupNoodles Museum Osaka Ikeda and 109 more. On the bucket list →
Events in Japan
Total solar eclipses over Japan that the app knows: 22 July 2009. A photo inside the path of totality that day ticks “Watch a total eclipse”.
Largest cities
| City | People (urban area) |
|---|---|
| Tokyo | 35,676,000 |
| Ōsaka | 11,294,000 |
| Yokohama | 3,697,894 |
| Nagoya | 3,230,000 |
| Fukuoka | 2,792,000 |
| Sapporo | 2,544,000 |
| Sendai | 2,250,000 |
| Hiroshima | 2,045,000 |
Airports
Japan has 83 airports with scheduled flights, 28 of them large. Each is a dot on Globestamp’s airports layer, and every flight you log adds to how far you’ve flown (try the flight distance calculator).
47 prefectures to fill in
Globestamp goes deeper than countries: its regions layer splits Japan into 47 prefectures (Natural Earth’s first-level divisions), and each one fills in when a photo was taken there.
All 47
Aichi Prefecture · Akita Prefecture · Aomori Prefecture · Chiba Prefecture · Ehime Prefecture · Fukui Prefecture · Fukuoka Prefecture · Fukushima Prefecture · Gifu Prefecture · Gunma Prefecture · Hiroshima Prefecture · Hokkaidō · Hyōgo Prefecture · Ibaraki Prefecture · Ishikawa Prefecture · Iwate Prefecture · Kagawa Prefecture · Kagoshima Prefecture · Kanagawa Prefecture · Kōchi Prefecture · Kumamoto Prefecture · Kyōto Prefecture · Mie Prefecture · Miyagi Prefecture · Miyazaki Prefecture · Nagano Prefecture · Nagasaki Prefecture · Nara Prefecture · Niigata Prefecture · Ōita Prefecture · Okayama Prefecture · Okinawa Prefecture · Ōsaka Prefecture · Saga Prefecture · Saitama Prefecture · Shiga Prefecture · Shimane Prefecture · Shizuoka Prefecture · Tochigi Prefecture · Tokushima Prefecture · Tokyo · Tottori Prefecture · Toyama Prefecture · Wakayama Prefecture · Yamagata Prefecture · Yamaguchi Prefecture · Yamanashi Prefecture
Questions people ask
Is Japan a country?
Yes. Japan is one of the 193 UN member states, so every common list counts it: the UN’s 193, Globestamp’s 250 and the Travelers’ Century Club’s 330.
How many tourists visit Japan a year?
UN Tourism (via the World Bank) counted 31,881,000 international arrivals in Japan in 2019, the 21st most of the 199 places with figures. Countries count arrivals in different ways (some include day-trippers and cruise passengers), so treat it as a rough rank rather than an exact number of tourists.
How rare is a Japan stamp in Globestamp?
It is printed in Metallic, the finish for places with 15 to 40 million visitors a year, rarer than 10% of the places with figures. The fewer travelers a place receives, the rarer its finish, from plain Ink to Mythic.
Does Japan count for the Travelers’ Century Club?
Yes, and more than once: the Travelers’ Century Club lists Japan, and counts Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa) as separate destination. The club’s list has 330 destinations.
Places as rare as Japan
Near Japan
Sources
- Countries, cities and regions: Natural Earth 10m admin-0 (public domain); lists as of October 2026.
- Visitors: UN Tourism via the World Bank, ST.INT.ARVL (International tourism, number of arrivals), CC BY 4.0, data updated 2026-10-08. Each country's latest year before 2020. Countries count visitors differently; use as a rough rank.
- World Heritage Sites, parks, landmarks and the bucket-list places: Wikidata (CC0), as compiled in the app, October 2026.
- Airports: OurAirports (public domain), airports with scheduled service.
- Travelers’ Century Club: the club’s list of 330 destinations, as of January 2022.