Koreans planning trips to the United States are worried about privacy intrusions, but many are also turning to self-censorship. Posts are piling up on U.S.-travel community sites, including comments like, “I have to go to the United States, so I deleted all my social media posts,” and, “I’m worried even my YouTube comments could cause problems.”
Kyoto, a city beloved by Koreans, will raise its lodging tax tenfold, from the current maximum of 1,000 yen ($6.31) per person per night to 10,000 yen starting March 1. In April, Hokkaido will introduce a lodging tax, with a rate of up to 500 yen, and 13 municipalities, including Sapporo, will also impose their own lodging taxes.
10k Yen lodging tax is only for rooms that cost more than $630 per person per night. For rooms that cost less than $130 per person per night, the tax is only 200 Yen or $1.26 with a couple tiers in between but it isn’t ‘expensive’ until you’re paying at least $300 pp/pn for your lodging.