Thousands of people are canceling trips to popular tourist spots in western Japan even though many of their destinations were left unscathed by the recent deadly rain disaster, local officials said Wednesday.

Dogo Onsen in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, known as one of Japan's oldest hot springs, is usually bustling with Japanese and foreign tourists. But a local cooperative representing about 30 hot spring inns found that more than 3,000 people have canceled their reservations at hotels and inns following torrential downpours earlier this month.

"Maybe people think that the devastation extends across the prefecture," said an official at the cooperative.