If you know anything about me, you’ll know that I really love Japan.  I spent 5 years living there and loved every moment of it, and I have very much to be grateful to Japanese people for.
What you might not know is that I also have strong bonds with S. Korea, and some bonds with China as well. I lived in Korea for 2 years before moving to Japan, and loved it there too. I’ve also visited China, dated a Chinese girl, and have had many Chinese friends. So I have more than a passing interest in the 3 countries and their interactions, both at home and abroad.

Now I’ve been on the road for 9 months since I left Japan in August 2010. I’ve traveled across SE Asia, Central Asia, and now Europe and the UK. One thing I was shocked to see near the beginning of my travels was a change in SE Asia from previous times I’ve been there: much more Japanese marketing and Japanese tourists traveling in budget areas rather than only in resort areas made specifically for them.

That was slightly surprising, but what has shocked me more has been in the past 2 months across Europe. Not only are the streets littered with Chinese and Korean tourists, but most tourist sites have marketing all over the place in Korean…only old signs seem to be written in Japanese.

My thoughts?
Possibly (although this is all just speculation) Korean tourists are spending the most money in more expensive tourist areas, especially in Europe. Chinese are also all over, but there’s not so much marketing towards them, so maybe they’re a bit more stingy with their wallets? Clearly though, it’s not worthwhile for tourist sites to market to Japanese people these days, meaning they’re not spending much money in these areas, and haven’t been for long enough that marketers have moved on.

It seems like this was a trend that started before the earthquakes, etc… That makes me think of a couple possibilities:

1. The Japanese economy’s trouble and their conservative/pessimistic nature has driven them to tighten their belts and cut down holidays in places like Switzerland, Vienna, and Scotland, and move to more reasonable spots like Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
2. Japanese people have been going to all the main sites in Europe for years and have generally gotten tired of them. They’re tired of the long flights for short holidays, and the richer ones are moving more towards places like Macau, Maldives, and and exotic Malaysian locales to spend their money, while Koreans and Chinese who are newer into their riches are moving to the more traditional spots that were once littered with camera-wielding Japanese tour groups.

What do you think?
Has the failing economy followed by unprecedented natural disaster driven Japan out of their place of power in Asia for good?
Is this just a temporary condition that will return to normal once all these crises pass?

The most perplexing point to me is that everyone in Europe is marketing towards Koreans, not so much to Chinese.
Is Korea really doing that well right now? Or is the Chinese reputation for having a tight wallet guiding marketing decisions?

Or is all of this just a false perception that I’ve gotten because of the limited locales I’ve been traveling in?

My conclusion:
I wish I had some Japanese people around to chit-chat with every once in a while! >.<