Tokyo, the capital of Japan, is the 6th most “instagrammable” place in the world for 2020, according to the annual ranking by the travel site Big 7 Travel released on January 21.
Tokyo pulled up Japan by 10 slots from the country’s 2019 ranking of 15th. The travel site previously listed only countries. This is the first time it is ranking specific localities, thus allowing a few countries to have multiple cities on the list.
For 2020, another Japanese city, Osaka, is also among the most popular for Instagram users, ranking 38th in a list of 50.
Big 7 Travel is a website that curates travel recommendations — including destinations, hotels, and food — from social media platforms. To choose the “most instagrammable” places, it says it makes use of “a comprehensive scoring system” that takes into consideration the volume of “hashtags per destination, survey results of Big 7 Media’s 1.5 million audience, and votes cast by a panel of travel experts.”
“Visiting Tokyo is like visiting the future — flashing neon lights, incredible technology — yet there’s still a rich sense of culture and history. From modern art installations to ancient temples, Tokyo is an Instagrammer’s dream city. You won’t be able to put down your camera for the entire trip,” the site said.
About Osaka, it said: “Considering Osaka is one of the largest cities on the planet, with over 19 million people calling it home, it’s no wonder that it’s such a vibrant place to visit. Stop by Shinsekai to get that busy street shot so many people visualise when they think of Japan.”
The top 10 places for 2020 are the following:
- Sydney, Australia
- Hong Kong
- Dubai, UAE
- New York City, USA
- Singapore
- Tokyo, Japan
- Lisbon, Portugal
- Bali, Indonesia
- London, England
- Jaipur, India
“The final results are ranked in order of their visual allure and popularity on social media,” the travel site said.
Australia has topped the list for two consecutive years.
Aside from the two Japanese cities, 10 other destinations in Asia made it to the top 50 list:
- Hong Kong (2nd)
- Singapore (5th)
- Bali, Indonesia (8th)
- Jaipur, India (10th)
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (14th)
- Taipei, Taiwan (32nd)
- Palawan, Philippines (36th)
- Shanghai, China (40h)
- Seoul, South Korea (41st)
- Ha Long Bay, Vietnam (43rd)
According to Big 7 Media, 67% of people it surveyed said “they have visited a new destination after seeing it on Instagram, while 61% of people have booked a specific hotel after seeing it on their Instagram feed.”
It continued: “33% of people surveyed say they research their upcoming holiday destination via their Instagram feed.”
It said 77% of people surveyed said they take two to five holidays, including weekend breaks, every year.
Author: JAPAN Forward
