In 2025 Japan received 42.7 million of foreign tourists, a flood of visitors from other countries wanting to get out selfies with Fuji in the backgroundsee the geishas of Kyoto, marvel at almond trees in bloom of Fujiyoshida or stroll through the famous (and increasingly dirty) Shibuya crossing. Among these hordes, however, there is a group of travelers with very different plans: their objective is not only tourist for the country. In fact, that is not the ‘highlight’ of their trips. If they go to Japan it is basically to get married.
And in doing so they are promoting a huge business.
Bodorrio in Japan? that Japan is living a real tourist boom It’s nothing new. In fact, not even the diplomatic crisis that broke out at the end of 2025 with Beijing (and the subsequent boycott by China) seems be taking its toll to the sector. Last year the country received 42.7 million of foreigners, an absolute record that exceeds by 15.8% the 2024 record and further strains the (often tense) coexistence between natives and visitors.
What is new is that, in the heat of that tourism accelerated, Japan is encountering an increasingly frequent visitor profile: foreign couples who come to the country to say ‘I do’. There is not much data on the phenomenon and what there is suggests that it is not a generalized or massive trend, but it is clear enough that in the last months have dedicated articles several Japanese newspapers.
Ceremony with views of Fuji. The last one to report on the subject has been The Japan Timesthat has interviewed to tourists who have decided to get married in Japan and to some of the companies specialized in organizing ceremonies. Specifically, they have talked with Nomad Weddingsa New Zealand firm that is dedicated to planning weddings and romantic getaways and claims to have served a thousand couples from more than 40 countries since its founding in 2012. It has had a presence in Japan for three years. Among its users there are tourists from Oceania, but also Europe, North America and Latin America.
“Our business is growing. It picked up quickly in 2025 and this year I’m traveling all over Japan helping couples get married. It’s definitely becoming more and more popular,” comment its founder, James Hirata, before sharing some data about the agency: from registering about four weekly consultations in 2025, they have gone up to 24 this year. Something similar happens with reserves: last year there were 24; So far in 2026 they have surpassed that figure and are at 69.
Not big numbers, right? True, but they represent only the balance sheet of a company. A quick Google search shows that there are more agencies who have decided to bet on that business niche and online guides that explain to foreigners how to manage a wedding in Japan. a few weeks ago The Japan News interviewed in fact to another company, Value Management Co., based in Osaka and which has been dedicated to offering marriage services to foreigners since 2024. Their figures are also modest, but those responsible hope to increase them exponentially in the coming years.
The figure: 4.3 billion. Beyond the balance sheets of each wedding agency, the market research firm Future Market Insights helps to understand better the enormous potential of the so-called “destination weddings” in Japan.
According to your calculationsin 2036 the sector could reach a valuation of 4.3 billion dollars, more than double the estimated volume in 2026. Taking into account the success of destinations such as Okinawa, the popularity of Japan in other Asian countries (China, South Korea or Taiwan) and the “growing acceptance of non-traditional wedding formats”, the firm expects the business to grow over the next decade at a compound annual rate (CAGR) of 8.5%.
What exactly do they offer? The Japan News share the case Specifically, a couple in their thirties from the US who said ‘I do’ in Osaka. Their case is interesting because it helps to understand what exactly brides and grooms who decide to travel thousands of kilometers to pass through the altar are looking for: first they wanted the ceremony to be in a garden, with cherry blossoms and Japanese architecture in the background; Then, after the wedding, several days in the country followed, traveling through Tokyo and Okinawa. In total they were in Japan for 17 days and mobilized about 20 guests, people who also took the opportunity to visit Yakushima, Fuji or Hiroshima.
Another example is that of Ben and Ariella Jacobya couple from California who in the spring of 2023 decided to exchange their vows thousands of kilometers from their home, near Lake Kawaguchi, with Fuji as a backdrop. She had never been to Japan. He did and decided he wanted his wedding to take place there. He is not the only one who makes a decision like this. Among the foreigners who come to Okinawa to get married are former US soldiers who return to the region where the Kadena Air Basein which they served.
The experience of course does not come cheap for them, just like the rest of the tourists who want to say ‘I do’ in Japan. Hirata explains that budgets fluctuate between 700,000 and one million yen (3,800-5,400 euros) only for the wedding ‘package’; that is, management and coordination, in addition to photography, hairdressing and makeup services.
Opportunities… and challenges. The increase in ‘destination weddings’ coincides with the tourism boom that Japan is experiencing and represents an opportunity for a sector (the one dedicated to organizing weddings and their services) that has seen how the domestic market is gradually becoming more complicated: the marriage rate in Japan has collapsed in recent decades and in the country it is increasingly common That couples who do get married do so in simple ceremonies, with few guests.
In contrast, foreign brides and grooms are increasingly attracted to Japan’s landscapes, heritage and culture. Also the possibility of linking the wedding with a trip around the country at a time when the weakness of the yen has made it more affordable for the rest of the world. That doesn’t mean it’s all advantages. ‘Destination weddings’ continue to face challenges in Japan, such as language and cultural barriers or the need to carry out procedures that lead to some foreigners to marry legally in their countries and then perform a symbolic ceremony in Japan.
Images | Kristin Wilson (Unsplash) and Yanhao Fang (Unsplash)
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