On Google Japan, “Kyoto” proved to be the most frequently searched Japanese keyword among the “geographic names” of the tourist attractions in Japan. Followed by the runner up “Osaka,” “Tokyo,” “Nagoya” and “Kobe,” 3 of the top 5 keywords were locations in Kansai area.
The analysis was conducted by Travel Voice by extracting the top 10 search results on Google for “sightseeing & geographic names (in Japan)” and calculated into index, then compared the selected keywords with it. For the index of each searched keyword compared with the same figure from last year, “Hiroshima” increased the most with 79.6% , followed by “Yokohama” with 72.2% increase and “Kobe” with 48.1％ increase.
Looking at seasonal variations in the frequency of searches, “Kyoto” differed the most depending on the months. It was most frequently searched in March with 4.0 points but it was least searched in December with 2.3 points, showing 1.7 point difference between those 2 months. On the other hand, frequency of searches for “Okinawa” was stable throughout the year, showing only 0.5 points difference between the high and the low months.
▼The most frequently searched keyword of the year among the “geographic names” of the tourist attractions: “Kyoto”
On Google Japan, the most frequently searched keyword of the year among the “geographic names” of the tourist attractions in Japan was “Kyoto,” with index of 37.8 overwhelming other keywords. It was followed by “Osaka” (index 26.1,) “Tokyo” (index 24.3,) “Nagoya” (index 20.2) and “Kobe” (index 13.9.)
▼The highest rate of growth compared with last year: “Hiroshima”
The index for each searched keyword compared with the same figure from last year, “Hiroshima” topped in the rate of growth with 79.6% increase. “Yokohama” with 72.2% increase and “kobe” with 48.1% increase followed. On the contrary, “Okinawa” with 1.8% increase was the least.
▼Seasonal variations in the frequency of searches: “Kyoto”- the largest, “Okinawa”- the smallest
Seasonal variations in the frequency of searches varied evidently among the “geographic names” of the tourist attractions. “Kyoto” differed the most depending on the months. It was most frequently searched in March (4.0 points) and it was also frequently searched in August and September, but it was not searched so much in December (2.3 points) and June, showing 1.7 point difference between high and low months.
Such tendency also applied to the top ranked tourist attractions, for instance “Osaka” (1.6 points) and “Tokyo” (1.3 points.)
By contrast, the frequency of searches for “Kamakura” intensely increased once a year in April and May, which was unique from other keywords. (Seasonal variation between the high and the low months was 1.0 point.) On the contrary, frequency of searches for “Okinawa” was stable throughout the year, showing only 0.5 point difference between the high and the low months. “Yokohama” as well proved to be consistently searched year round with 0.6 points seasonal variation.
【Procedure of research】
Researched on Google. The top 10 search results for “sightseeing & geographic names (in Japan)” were extracted and converted into index by comparing with the standard value (1.0) which was the monthly total of the frequency of searches for “Tokyo” in January 2012. Covering from April 2013 to March 2014. Geographic names were chosen by Travel Voice Editorial Department extracting the top 40 keywords combined with “sightseeing” from Google AdWords keyword planner.
(Koji Tsurumoto, Travel Voice Editorial Department)
