Tourist surge in Nakagawa creates transportation challenge
Uguisu no Mori Golf Club and Hotel Bato has welcomed a surge in golfers from South Korea. (Nakagawa, Tochigi prefecture)
YUTARO YOKOYAMA
October 25, 2026 10:45 JST
UTSUNOMIYA, Japan -- A small Japanese town surrounded by farmland two hours from central Tokyo went little noticed by foreign tourists until a few years ago when a golf resort helped boost such overnight stays by 12 times in just two years -- with most visitors coming from South Korea.