. Kishida says Japan will ease COVID border controls from Oct 11 That this would be achieved in such an unexpected setting on the comments section of a single article on a white-and-orange travel blog, which came to accumulate nearly 3,000 comments as though it were a 2000s-era forum feels almost too ridiculous to be true. Japan fully reopening in full is all but inevitable at this point. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers. (Updated February 12, 2023.). Japan is open to travel. So why aren't tourists coming back? Some events and . The downgrade would pave the way for a normalization of social and economic activities in Japan, and should mean that non-residents are able to enter the country without PCR tests or additional paperwork. Ill never forget this amazing, special blog and the unlikely community of shared pain that flourished here for as long as I live. As for you, Tom Id buy you a round at my favourite izakaya if I could! Japan Travel Advice & Safety | Smartraveller China retaliated by suspending the issuing of short-term visas in South Korea and Japan. Let's have a proper look at what has changed for those planning to travel to Japan in 2022 and what to expect when you finally do get here. Japan has seasonal attractions in fall and winter. The government is planning to submit a bill in October, which could give accommodation operators more authority to impose these types of infection control measures. Thats all we need, more authority (power), given to an already power drunk country, to impose more measures on us tourists. Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile. We eagerly await your arrival!. Thanks for all the updates and helpful info during this stressful and hard time, Tom!! Its pretty clear the government is focused on moving forward. If youre planning your trip to Japan, what do you think about these itineraries? Travelers from most countries can now enter Japan without applying for a visa in advance. Japan's Tentative Border Reopening Likely to Have Limited Impact I am incredibly pleased to finally welcome back individual travellers after coping with the pandemic during a wait of two-and-a-half years. Japan is now allowing foreign nationals to enter Japan for purposes other than tourism so long as they have a sponsor in the country. What are testing, face mask, and vaccine requirements for visitors? So why aren't tourists coming back? var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; Saturday, 4 March 2023, 15:47 Last update: about 1 hour ago. There are no quarantine requirements, and travel is visa-free for the vast majority of people reading this. Japan, one of the world's last major holdouts during the pandemic, is dissolving its COVID-19 restrictions and opening the door back up to mass tourism. Frankly, the miscalculation here by the Kishida administration is thinking that this will have an immediate impact on inbound travel. Obviously, the easing has to occur at some point and this lag will always play out, but the notion that this moves the needle for fall is misguided. Think the need to adapt and live with the endemic virus will outweigh fear when it comes to Japans reopening plans? What follows is based on that research and fixation with the on-the-ground situation in Japan. Japan Tourism: The decision means Japan will allow in a limited number of foreign tourists on package tours starting June 10. However, Japan is now joining the rest of the world as people are ready to move on with life. This time, instead of Black Ships, the. Will Japan Ever Reopen Its Borders To Tourists?!? Recently, Japan reopened to limited numbers of fully vaccinated foreign business travelers and students, and raised its daily limit of these arrivals from 3500 to 5000. That's a hardship for the many. Mon 10 Oct 2022 23.22 EDT Last modified on Tue 11 Oct 2022 07.34 EDT Japan has fully opened its doors to visitors after more than two years of pandemic isolation. The changes were intended to "support smooth international travels, given a low rate of positive test results among entrants", Matsuno said. As weve stressed repeatedly, Japans populace has been among the most cautious in the world with regard to COVID-19. From Tuesday, Japan will reinstate visa-free travel to dozens of countries, ending some of world's strictest border controls to slow the spread of COVID-19 . Thank you so much for this free and respectful space for everyones opinions that has helped us get through these difficult years. It's official: Japan will reopen to tourism on October 11. As for why Japans border is still closed over a year after most democracies reopened, that can largely be explained by the countrys apprehensiveness of outsiders. Its been our perspective that this was a necessary prerequisite towelcoming individual tourists as there would no longer be a need for a responsible receiving party to monitor travelers and act as a liaison for infected individuals. Japan's borders finally reopened to independent travelers in October 2022, and visiting Japan now is virtually as easy as it was before the pandemic. Putting aside how I obviously need to be clearing my web history more often, it all feels so surreal now that is, how religiously I checked this comments section for news on Japan not even half a year prior, a somewhat embarrassing fact that Firefox is keen to remind me of. Japan to ease COVID border controls like G-7 states in June: Kishida Thats simply a good time to visit Japan and, hopefully, the country will be open to individual tourists by then. While I hope to see you around here on future updates, I know that probably wont be the case. More information can be found here . Japan has resumed its visa exemption scheme for short-stay tourism and business travel. Japan border closure: As the rest of the world opens up, Japan remains Airlines will also be allowed to operate direct flights from China to more Japanese airports, Matsuno said. Cases are currently in freefall and will continue decreasing next month before bottoming out sometime between late October and early November. . As COVID-19's Omicron variant surges around the world, advanced democracies are generally responding vigorously but with lower levels of restrictions on social life and travel than in 2020 and 2021. At best, this helps with winter. Well keep watching the news and keep you posted if/when there are further developments about Japan reopening and allowing entry to travelers from the United States, Canada, Europe, and beyond. Regardless, its good to have this removed as it eliminates an element of uncertainty and could have been an issue during peak travel times for the Japanese. Thanks for the posts, Tom. Its borders were shut. Rediscover Japan with its Borders Fully Open Updated August 23 2022 Japan has eased border control measures several times in. The good news is that we now have an answer to questionsweve been asking for nearly two years! 2023 will also see the opening of Yokohamas first high-end Hilton property in a waterfront development that will also house the K-Arena, one of the worlds largest live music venues, as part of the new Music Terrace. Do you or anyone here know if we need this after Oct. 11? The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals. Japan Is Open For Tourism And Had Over 200K Visitors In September Marufukuro Located in the former HQ of pop culture behemoth Nintendo, this Kyoto hotel is a stylishly renovated property opened in 2022, featuring a suite of exclusive rooms in a richly storied building, with a special whiskey bar and library showcasing the works of Nintendo pre-Super Mario and then through the ages until now. This assumes thatJapan downgrades COVID-19 from its special status to Category 5 literally any day now orthat this is not a necessary prerequisite to an individual tourist reopening. I wish you all the best with your upcoming tripsthanks again for everything. The national border is under the management of central government, Koike said. 28 Feb 2023 0. Japan Border Opening | Travel Restrictions Loosening for Tourists in The Government of Japan announced a policy of resuming entry by individual travellers for tourism purposes beginning on October 11. 2022 Reopening Borders Japan Tourists | Japan City Tour It could start as soon as late November, but is more likely in December. First, after reopening to guided tour groups, Japan reopened to individual tourists on October 11 of last year. Then theres the middle ground or base case. This is in the context of the ongoing community-led revitalisation of the little-known Koganecho area which has welcomed the opening of an artist-in-residence programme, galleries, art classes, a book bazaar and new street art installations. Still, Wanping Aw, CEO of the Tokyo-based travel agency Tokudaw said her company saw a large uptick in business after Japan reopened its borders in June with 50% of enquires and bookings . ), While presenting the above as a cautionary tale against optimism or over reliance on logic when assessing Japans decisions, thats exactly what Im going to do. Amid the weakening yen, inbound travelers will have greatest economic effectThere are many foreign visitors who want to come visit Japan. Kihara added that eliminating the arrival cap alone was not enough. May its borders remain open forevermore. However, the number of foreign visitors to Japan dropped to 245,900 last year, the lowest since 1964, as the country enforced tighter border controls. Does that mean it will be as easy to visit now as it was pre-pandemic?