Number of Russian tourists increasing despite the fact that Japan is designated as an “unfriendly country”

TL;DR Even as Japan-Russia political situation has cooled after Japanese government decided to impose sanctions against Russia after Ukraine invasion, Russian tourists are increasing. Around 108.000 Russian tourists visited Japan between January and August this year. Almost double the number from last year. There is a long line of Russians seeking tourist visas at Japanese Embassy in Moscow from early in the morning.

Increase of Russian tourists to Japan may be result of easier to obtain Japanese visa compared to visa in European countries and more campaigns using Japanese characters by Russian stores. For example, Burger King has a collaborating campaign using anime "Attack of the Titans" and Hello Kitty Burger is being served at stores that took over McDonald stores.