～About kicking off the new service～
Aidma Media, which publishes and runs Hobby Journal, will kicking off a new website on September 1st and start offering new services. What our company is launching is a site called ‘Hobby Toys Trip’ that shares information about toy and character events. Through this site, we aim to share event information with people living abroad and foreign travelers in Japan, helping them discover cool goodies and have amazing experiences.
The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) estimates that the number of foreign visitors to Japan in the first half of 2026 will be 21,084,800, down 2% compared to the same period last year. Since 2026 marks a turning point where the trend of visiting Japan, which was focused on certain countries, is spreading to other countries and regions, the annual number is expected to drop slightly from 2025 (about 42.68 million) to about 41.4 million. One reason why high interest in visiting Japan can still be maintained even when the types of visitors change is the popularity of Japanese anime. Japanese anime has become more well-known as streaming services are set up in different countries, and new fans are visiting Japan to see famous spots and buy merchandise. Japanese anime is helping to spark people’s desire to visit Japan.
Hobby Toys Trip will start operating as a site that supports the enthusiasm of inbound travelers like this. The event details will be introduced in four languages (Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean), just like on the Hobby Journal website. We did the same with our SEO strategy, keeping a high rate of direct traffic from overseas while also boosting our promotion power on social media. With this, we’ll be sharing event information with people living abroad and visitors to Japan.
Through this site, we help foreign travelers visiting Japan have experiences and opportunities to purchase products, so they can return to their home countries with fun memories. The Japanese government, in its Basic Plan for Promoting Tourism Nation, has set a goal of 60 million foreign visitors to Japan and 15 trillion yen in inbound spending by 2030. Our company will work on running the site so that Hobby Toys Trip can help achieve government goals and contribute to the development of the toy and character industry.
Link address for Hobby Toys Trip → https://event.hobby-journal.com/en/