In what will probably become dubbed the "Airbnb Law", the cabinet office has said that they will allow private citizens to rent out their spare rooms and properties for up to 180 days a year.

In the Inbound Travel sector, one of Japan's three distinct travel domains, the trends are being set by foreign companies trying to bring global best practices to Japan.

Inbound visitors have transitioned from high-spending luxury travelers, and "once-in-a-lifetime" tourists, to a larger group of lower-value repeat visitors with naturally less money to spend on each trip.

Japan Travel KK signed a contract with Japan's largest bicycle rental company, DoCoMo Bike Share, for Japan Travel to become DBS' main (but not sole) marketing and sales partner for foreign inbound tourists.

Some countries have already been down this road - that of balancing thrills with spills. New Zealand pioneered jet boat rides at top speed through narrow and potentially dangerous river gulleys.

To shine a light on just how difficult things really are (or not) for hotel operators, we contacted experts in the hotel sector and asked them to give us some insight into the costs and returns of running a hotel business at the moment.

Some highly downloaded apps are just plain broken. My award for the worst app for inbound travelers is KDDI subsidiary Wire & Wireless' "Travel Japan (TJW) Free WiFi".

For foreign tourists coming to Japan for the first time, the experience must be surreal, almost like visiting a Disneyland. You get interesting stories, colorful costumes, safety and orderliness, ...

I clearly remember one fall day back in 2014 walking through Shibuya and suddenly realizing just how many more foreign tourists were around.

Problems that McKinsey ignores: entrenched bureaucratic thinking in government organizations JTA and JNTO, and the fact that currently the Japanese Inbound Tourism sector is pretty much controlled by foreign entities.