Thank you, for this wonderful site with its very helpful regular updates! Japan has vilified and scapegoated foreigners and had an overly aggressive approach to its borders. . Tourists from all countries or regions can visit Japan on a package tour (including non-guided package tour). Required fields are marked *, Free Money-Saving eBook & Japan Email Updates, https://www.travelcaffeine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/mount-fuji-sunrise-field-autumn-foliage-japan-bricker.jpg, https://www.travelcaffeine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/travel-caffeine-new-logo-2.jpg, Is Japan Open to Tourists? First, theres already the realization that unguided tourslike guided tours before themwill not move the needle on inbound tourism in any meaningful way. Starting November 1, 2022, travelers to Japan may pre-register for airport Immigration, Customs, and Vaccination review, and use "Fast Track" at major airports across Japan using Visit Japan Web. 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. Here is the lowdown on Japan's relaxed travel rules. This is the end weve all be anxiously awaiting for ~2 years! We had a nice little community here, and that was greatly appreciated. For arrivals from most countries from October 11th, 2022, a visa is no longer required to visit Japan. Lets have a look at the measures that are still in place, despite the reopening of borders. It's official: Japan will reopen to tourism on October 11. We offer (genuinely small) Small Group Tours with the worlds best Japan guides, passionate Japanophiles who live in the country, speak the language and will bring the culture to life for you. The country will allow visa-free entry for. We recommend checking with the facilities you want to visit before heading out. Among fellow G7 countries, Japan has had some of the strictest rules it comes to border restrictions. See below for more details. The country has also dropped its daily cap of 50,000 arrivals and its list of permitted countries, with visitors from all countries and regions now being accepted. Did the Visit Japan Web App before arrival and was simple getting through everything at Narita, just had to show them the QR codes, two people traveling, one with the triple vaccination and one just using pre travel PCR test. Kyoto in cherry blossom season: f11 photo / Shutterstock.com. }(document, "script", "aweber-wjs-adqosrqps")); If youre planning a visit to Japan, our recommendation at this point is to target sometime in November at the earliest. Exercise normal precautions in Japan. Then theres the middle ground or base case. More likely, the impact wont be fully felt until next years cherry blossom season. Bon voyage! Its entirely possible that Kishida sees this polling and his sagging approval numbers and realizes that its time to move forward. The endisnear. On September 22, 2022, however, Prime Minister Kishida finally revealed that these restrictions would be scrapped. The reopening to tourism was very slow and gradual, but there are not any constraint anymore and anyone can travel freely to Japan. Quite simply,Japan is inflicting pain on itself by remaining closed. On January 20, Prime Minister Kishida announced that Japan will downgrade Covid to the same category as seasonal influenza on May 8. If you are a citizen of one of those countries, you do not need to apply for a visa in advance; you will be given a 90-day tourist visa upon arrival in Japan (note that there are few exceptions which are listed on the MOFA site). I wish you all the best with your upcoming tripsthanks again for everything. "The Group's Director, Public Relations, Takamoto Yokoyama also said that after the development of the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham Corridor in Varanasi, the number of . You may still need a negative Covid test within 72 hours of flying to Japan (see details below). Thanks for subscribing! Think those will stick around for several months, or are simply theater to shift public opinion? Some independent shops namely those with a more international customer base have notices saying that it is okay to not wear masks, but these places are rare. October 2022, visa-free travel resumed and all arrival caps were removed as well. Speaking of which, check out ourJapan Fall Colors Forecast & Autumn Foliage Viewing Guideto get started on planning your trip to visit Japans popular fall foliage cities, including Kyoto, Tokyo, Mount Fuji, Miyajima, Hiroshima, Himeji, and Nara. I came to your page because this comments section and its provisional community provided something both unique and welcome in a dark time for travellers of Japan. Some 68% of Singaporeans aged 16 to 24 years old indicated they are considering Japan for their "next vacation," compared to 37% of those aged 55 and older, according to research published in. As improbable as it mightve seemed even a week ago, Japan welcoming back international visitors who are not part of tours (guided or unguided) sometime before November is likely. This is where there is disagreement among the major outlets. Easy. We recommend consulting the, The Long-term Expat: How Covid Changed My Life in Tokyo, Traveling Through Japan in the Age of Covid-19: A Personal Encounter, Why Im Glad I Got Stuck in Japan During Covid-19, Lessons in Isolation: How a 10-Day Silent Retreat in Japans Countryside Helped Me Cope With the Covid New Reality, official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Conquering a Fear of the Unknown: The Psychology Behind Covid-19 Anxiety and How to Cope With It, What the Covid-19 Pandemic can Teach Japan about Climate Change. The rules for. Previously, travellers were required to join a tour group to enter Japan for leisure. It also intends to abolish the daily arrival cap, which is currently set at 50,000, the report added. In such a scenario, the borders could almost immediately return to their normal pre-closure status in early October. Thanks for the posts, Tom. Aug 31, 2022. Decreased tourism plus falling exports, an increased consumption tax, reduced consumer spending, weak yen, and growing national debt. Frankly, the miscalculation here by the Kishida administration is thinking that this will have an immediate impact on inbound travel. Due to this and other policies, Japan has lagged behind economically, seeing slower recovery than the United States and other counterparts that have more aggressively reopened. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name In fact, you should act fast: the crowds are going to return, but it will take several months before we get back to the jam-packed conditions of 2019. P.s. Do you or anyone here know if we need this after Oct. 11? Traveling in Japan without constraint as a tourist is possible from October 11, 2022. If you cant respect another countrys Covid policies you shouldnt visit and be an entitled tourist. Was great being here. Here are 7 of the new tourist attractions that are opening in Japan in 2022! Now that borders are open you can visit a new UNESCO site in northern Japan, open since May 2021. Borders were reopening, but visitor numbers were capped at 50,000 per day, movement was severely restricted, and travelers required a visa and health insurance to visit. Naoko Kutty. Naturally, if you want to make the most out of your trip and have a truly unforgettable experience you can book an amazing independent itinerary or small group tour through us, with the added benefit of our decades of expertise, 24/7 support and tried-and-tested safety protocols in the unlikely event of Covid-related travel disruptions during your trip. This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software. Its thus our view that Japan reopening in some capacity to individual tourists in October is a very realistic scenario. InUnguided Tours in Japan Reopening Phase Rules, we cover what this entails and the recently-released guidelines and FAQ for these tours. And thank you for providing this space for all of us. Updated overall advisory level after periodic review. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. in the Profile section of your subscriber account page. You will receive a link to download the eBook and periodic emails when there's news to share. There are only a few rules to keep in mind. As we are seeing a surge, nobody is talking about relaxing the entry restrictions now. Ill be sticking around for the future updates and travel guides. Please subscribe to our FREE email newsletterand stay tuned if you are curious about how things are on-the-ground for tourists in Japan post-reopening. 1. Thank you so much for this free and respectful space for everyones opinions that has helped us get through these difficult years. June 23, 2022 Tourists with U.S. passports can stay in Japan visa-free for up to three months. Against that economic backdrop, lets take a look at the latest changes to Japans reopening plans. Subscribe to our email newsletter for the latest news & instant alerts. The number of people anxiously awaiting Japans reopening is shrinking, not growing. Moreover, how this played out with Japans last announcement is also instructive. On Tuesday, the country. To enjoy our content, please include The Japan Times on your ad-blocker's list of approved sites. Yes! Lets say that happens in early November. Japansreclassification of COVID-19 to Class 5 came after a panel of experts under the health ministry agreed on the plan earlier in the day. Even just seeing the site suggestion come up, I could feel my heart reflexively sink into my chest in dread, as though it were already anticipating nothing today, either. Some facilities such as museums, aquariums and theme parks require prior booking or a ticket purchase. As the Japan experts, weve sought all the requirement information directly from Japanese government sources and broken them down into easy-to-understand sections. Japan will resume accepting some foreign tourists in June at the earliest, a government source said Friday, likely reversing a ban on their entry introduced during the coronavirus pandemic. Single entry visa and multiple entry visa issued by Embassies, Consulate-Generals, and Consulates of Japan in all countries/regions whose validity had been temporary suspended resumed on October 11, 2022. Wow, i cant believe it. (This number includes hotels used as government quarantine facilities, not just leisure stays.). Travelers from most countries can now enter Japan without applying for a visa in advance. Ahead of the highly anticipated move that would boost the country's struggling tourism industry, the government may accept a limited number According to data from the Japan Tourism Agency, stays athotels and other accommodation facilities hit another record low in Japan last yearbreaking the previous record set in 2020. All you have to do is pick one of our artfully made Tours and your desired departure date. Sponsored contents planned and edited by JT Media Enterprise Division. Japan relaxed its border measures earlier in September while still being #1 in the world for new cases. Several recent updates have centered around Japans internal debate over whether tostrip COVID-19 of its special status and downgrade it to the same level as the flu in Japans infectious disease categories. Here are all the details on visa-free travel, vaccination and Covid test requirements. It now appears that the time is hereor coming very soon. The ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party recognizes these problems and realizes it needs to rebuild Japans economy. First, after reopening to guided tour groups, Japan reopened to individual tourists on October 11 of last year. Japan's struggling tourism sector sees a light at the end of the tunnel as "self-guided" tours make way for full travel. All others must show such proof. The rest of 2022 offers a rare chance to experience Japan before the crowds return in 2023. Find inspiration for your Japan holiday plans by exploring our latest brochure. To differentiate the two, Ill also allow for a middle ground possibility of a bifurcated decision with the individual tourist reopening a few weeks after the entry cap elimination. On 10 June 2022, Japan finally started allowing international tourists into the country for the first time in . There are no quarantine requirements, and travel is visa-free for the vast majority of people reading this. of course the opposition (not all of it, from what I read) is against this. To enter Japan, travelers will only need to provide proof of a third vaccination (which must be a Japan-approved vaccine), or a negative Covid test result. Jul 18, 2022, 1:40 PM. Children under the age of 18 do not need to have vaccination certificates and nor will they need have negative Covid test certificates if they are travelling with parents or guardians who have been vaccinated and have vaccination certificate. Im happy that I soon wont be needing to lurk this site on a daily basis as I have for the last countless months, but will always look back on this unexpected place of community fondly. It could start as soon as late November, but is more likely in December. 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. See details here. Then, on September 7th, independent travel became possible, but still needed to be booked through a government-authorised agency and required a visa. Fully independent, visa-free travel to Japan is now possible from October 11, Sort of, hence the confusion! Japan eases foreign tourism ban and allows guided package tours. Why Japan is Unlikely to Reopen Borders Until 2022 July 7, 20210 When Will Japan Reopen Its Borders for International Visitors (and not just Olympic athletes and coaches)? However, if youve received any fewerjabs than three, youll need to show a negative test taken within 72 hours of departure for Japan. Borders are open you can visit Japan from most countries can now enter Japan without constraint as tourist... 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