See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. Kishidas government has been trying to take advantage of the weak yen and accelerate growth by attracting more foreign visitors. Updated August 23 2022 Japan has eased border control measures several times in. Wow, i cant believe it. This is a necessary prerequisite for further reopening and the resumption of more inbound international flights, but this alone was not an obstacle dissuading most international visitors. We can't expect Japanese government to reopen their border on April 2022 due to the emergence of Omicron variant. Your updates were by far the best I could find on the internet and helped lots of us getting through this (dare I say; emotional) rollercoaster the past several years. Is this a here we go again moment looming? (February 2023 Update). 01:51 . In light of the border reopening, Qantas will at last fire up its much-delayed Sydney-Tokyo Haneda service from October 27, with flights from Brisbane also resuming on December 1 and Melbourne primed to join the duo from March 2023.. Qantas International CEO Andrew David says "forward bookings are tracking well, in particular for the upcoming Australian holiday period", which shows how . Also as previously mentioned, recent poll data also shows the public is now far less concerned with COVID than the economy, Unification Church scandal, Abes state funeral, and other issues. Japan reopened its borders to holders of long-term visitor, business or student visas on 1 June 2022, as well as to tourists on authorised package tours. Thanks for all the updates and helpful info during this stressful and hard time, Tom!! First, there is consensus that the daily arrival cap, which is currently set at 50,000, will be eliminated entirely. Will be heading back again in a couple of weeks. Ive missed it so much. By contrast,Fuji TV is treating this as a done deal, using less ambiguous language. Japan Tourism: The decision means Japan will allow in a limited number of foreign tourists on package tours starting June 10. The country eased border controls . The recent lockdowns in Shanghai and Guangdong are unmistakable signs that China will not be backing down from its zero-Covid policy, at least for the rest of 2022. 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. P.s. Sheesh! 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. Zenbo Seinei A new meditation experience centre above the canopies of the Hyogo prefecture next to Kyoto and Osaka, designed by award-winning architect Shigeru Ban. obsolete information. 2.Realistic time needed to get a feel for Japan. 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 another symbolic measure, and coming at a time when an increasing number of international visitors have already moved on to other destinations and pent-up demand has begun fizzling out. Japan finally opened its borders to tourists on Friday, but with strict rules. Who is currently allowed to travel to Japan? Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile. The prime minister, Fumio Kishida, said on Thursday that the. sheeesh still cant believe my trip starting october 22nd might actually happen this time (). Though some things feel different, this nation Ive travelled for the last two months, ing and ing about the forty-seven prefectures as I once did in the 2010s, is certainly the same marvellous place that I fell in love with so long ago. 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. Just open the borders already. InUnguided Tours in Japan Reopening Phase Rules, we cover what this entails and the recently-released guidelines and FAQ for these tours. From the beginning this page was the only place I checked (sometimes daily) for hope. Well, I visited only recently but it was one of the (very few) level-headed sites that discussed this topic. Ive been following since the very beginning and only started actually posting at the very end, but I want you to know how grateful I am that your blog existed as truly the gold standard for Japan-related travel blogs throughout the pandemic. Human behavior and sentiment dont change overnight, even if its economically advantageous and objectively safer to do so. 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. Cant wait! "We will lift the ceiling of the number of entrants. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has reacted with powerful . One wildcard is the downgrade of COVIDs legal status. Visit Japan Web App also let me pre fill out for immigration and customs, and just use the QR codes for those as well. Japan fully reopened its borders to tourists on October 11, 2022. Mount Fuji: One of Japan's three sacred mountains and. May its borders remain open forevermore. Japan eased its border restrictions last week, raising the daily arrival cap from 20,000 to 50,000 and dropping the requirement for pre-arrival PCR testing for vaccinated travelers. TOKYO, Japan - Japan plans to ease COVID 19-related border restrictions by lifting its entry ban for foreign nationals from 106 countries including the United States, Britain and France on . Yuen Bettei Daita ryokan traditional accommodation, illi Shimokitazawa studio apartment rentals and Mustard Hotel affordable (even by the hour) room rates, have made staying in Shimokitazawa more feasible alongside new boutique and food facilities like Bonus Track, Reload, tefu Lounge and Mikan Shimokita. 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 18 - Japan is Reopening for Tourism to 4 Countries on May-end On Tuesday, May 17, government officials announced that Japan will accept some tourists from the U.S., Australia, Thailand, and Singapore on a trial basis starting at the end of this month. The Tokyo Olympics briefly saw Japan reopen its borders to the world (a year later than planned) in 2021, amid the onset of the pandemic, but just three months after the closing ceremony Prime Minister Fumio Kishida banned all incoming foreign travellers in a bid to prevent the spread of omicron. Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) looks forward to welcoming individual inbound travellers back to Japan with the long-awaited lifting of entry restrictions. 2023 - Travel Daily. Saturday, 4 March 2023, 15:47 Last update: about 1 hour ago. A guide to all things new in Japan in 2023, Japan in 2023: A bucket-list-worthy adventure, These locations in Japan inspired beloved Studio Ghibli films, AutoFlight achieves worlds longest eVTOL Flight, Accors Mvenpick BalaLand Resort Lake Balatonopens in, AirAsia X resumes services to Shanghai with four weekly. Prior to those guidelines being released, we speculated on how this would work given basic logic and past precedent with prior groups who had been allowed to enter Japan. We also recommend consulting ourUltimate Guide to KyotoandUltimate Guide to Tokyoto plan. 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. It now appears that the time is hereor coming very soon. 2023 will bring the opening of a farm area for agritourism, with a private villa area due to open in 2024. 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. TRAVEL NEWS, JOBS & EVENTS! Explore Japan's lesser-known destinations over 13 adventure-packed days, sipping sake in Takayama and marvelling at the iconic floating torii gate . Japan has resumed its visa exemption scheme for short-stay tourism and business travel. You no longer need a visa to travel to Japan for up to 90 days. Then theres the middle ground or base case. With the relaxed travel measures, Japan is fully prepared to host these events. Like a moth to a flame.). REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon. Currently, citizens of 68 countries and regions will be allowed to . Nov. 18, 2021 10:20 am JST Nov. 26, 2021 . Here are all the details on visa-free travel, vaccination and Covid test requirements. I am so glad that our community died, and that all of us who were trapped in this purgatory for so long have finally been able to resume our travels, adventures and lifestyles. Independent tourists are not yet granted entry, although they can be expected to be allowed back by Autumn 2022. The Japanese government recently eased its COVID-19 entry restrictions, meaning tourists can now visit without being on a guided tour. The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs. If you want a copy of thistotally freeeBook and Japan reopening updates, all you need to do issubscribe to our newsletter! On the same topic. Japan House exhibition running until the end of January 2023, opening 29th Sep, focusing on woodwork in Hida, Takayama. Thanks Tom, and everyone! Can you write one last update about the boarder being opened. Japan has maintained some of the strictest . Given that none of the recent reports have even mentioned COVIDs status in regard to reopening, its possible our perspective was wrong. Not so much in the last couple of years, as this has been reflected in policy-making. Compared with the pre-pandemic level in 2019, it dropped 99.2 percent. From the early days of Covid-19, our team of Japan travel experts has been closely monitoring developments and in constant contact with our network throughout the country. Japan is open to travel. It thus stands to reason that opening to individual tourists necessarily needs to occurthat raising the entry cap will do nothing in furtherance of their stated goal. With this, the visa exemption would be reinstated, making that a non-issue. Multiple media outlets, including NHK, Kyodo, Nikkei, and Fuji TV are all reporting thatJapansgovernment is planning to further relax restrictions and border measures with an eye to implementing the revisions by the start of October. Thats a wild card that could further extend any timeline. It also will see the opening of the TIAD luxury hotel in the buzzy Sakae/Shin-Sakae entertainment districts, after the opening of the art deco hotel The Tower Hotel Nagoya (2020) on the upper levels of Nagoyas TV tower, with the large beams of the tower as a centrepiece within each room. This is the first step in our gradual easing of the [border] restrictions, Kishida has said. These leaks came after Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara spoke on Fuji TV over the weekend and stated thatJapan will consider easing all three restrictionsthe daily arrival cap, ban on individual tourists, and visa requirements. However, as we have seen time and time again, the patently obvious conclusion often is not the outcome reached by Japan. We typically spend a couple of months in Japan each year, and are ecstatic to be returning after nearly 3 years away. With that in mind, lets cover how we got here, why Japan maintains the strictest among the Group of Seven developed nations, and what could cause that to change, Again and again, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said that Japan will continue to consider how the measures should be by taking into account the infection situations at home and abroad, border control measures taken by other nations, and progress in the rollout of vaccine boosters.. I will be in Japan from the second week of Nov. No doubt I will walk past some of you on here at the customs or one of the many beautiful places in Japan . 32 last-minute Valentine's Day 2023 gifts . Fly into one airport and out of another Plan to do 4 nights in Singapore on way back to Australia Take a dip in one at the soon-to-open, . We will review all three restrictions together. Any thoughts or tips of your own to add? It remains unknown when independent travelers will be able to enter the. In our view, koyo (autumn leaves) season is a good bet, and that takes place from mid-November through December. Any questions? These are questions among those planning trips to Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and this covers the answers. Reopening to individual tourists in October presents minimal (political) risk and maximum (economic) upside. The Mana Village A collection of villa properties opening in stages on the wild and rustic southern coastline of Kochi prefecture, on Shikoku island. On October 11, Japan will finally open its doors to independent travel following more than two years of some of the world's toughest border restrictions. Either way, thats something to continue keeping in mind. There will be a winter resurgence. I am incredibly pleased to finally welcome back individual travellers after coping with the pandemic during a wait of two-and-a-half years. Despite a sharp fall in the yen, just 120,400 visitors entered Japan in June, fewer than in May and April when borders were still closed, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization. Those two posts cover essentially everything you need to know about visiting Japan as of 2023. so its confirmed Thanks so much Tom. Visit in Spring or Autumn. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Thursday his country will ease COVID-19 border control requirements next month, a key step in fostering a recovery in Japan's tourism sector, which is eager to take advantage of the yen's slide to a 24-year low. Spending another night in Okinawa for the 55th stay of my ongoing 87-day adventure across Japan, I absent-mindedly typed the letter J into my web browser, only to have this article come up as the first suggestion. and executives subscribed to our daily newsletter. (It took a few more days for the guidelines to be released, and the clarifying FAQ isstillbeing updated. The National Museum of Scotland is currently hosting an exhibition on contemporary Japanese design until 5th March 2023, and Stonehenge will host an exhibition on stone circles and the prehistoric sites of Jomon Japan from 30 Sep 2022 until August 2023. I already moved on to read your other Japan travel posts to get tips which are also so helpful! Was less crowded than when I was there before, especially at the airport. Japan slams the borders shut on Omicron. The Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism, Wada Kouichi . 216. Its pretty clear the government is focused on moving forward. Essentially, there will be no (legal) basis for the current border protocol effective May 8, 2023. Yet despite the wealth of praises I have for Tom, this article and its two-year community, I am so, so glad, perhaps gladder than ever now, that compulsively opening this link in my browser is no longer part of my daily routine. First, after reopening to guided tour groups, Japan reopened to individual tourists on October 11 of last year. With all borders open and international racing officially back on, Asia-Pacific's premier off-road triathlon series is ready to return with some of the best trails on the circuit as local and international age group athletes can finally go head-to-head once again in a season-long race for the title of XTERRA Asia-Pacific Champion. Yokohama 2023 sees the return of the Yokohama Biennale art festival, timed with the reopening of the Yokohama Museum of Art post-renovation. This is now the same as the best-case scenario. Japan relaxed its border measures earlier in September while still being #1 in the world for new cases. Thatll help you prepare for arrival, and potentially save time at the airport. Were preserving this for posterity, but everything that follows is now (thankfully!) In short, the early October reopening is not just our most optimistic viewits now what we expect to happen. Im inclined to say Spring 2023, but its easy to envision a worst-case that isnt until summer. Over two years into this, the seasonality of COVID transmission is well-established. Subscribe to our email newsletter for the latest news & instant alerts. Thanks to everyone in here in the comments for that! The ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party recognizes these problems and realizes it needs to rebuild Japans economy. With all of this said, Ill present my revised best, worst, and base-case scenarios for Japans reopening to individual tourists, Lets start with the best-case scenario. I didnt comment here as much as many, but I sure did check this articles comments several times every day for the pastI dont know how long. Even if China begins opening sooner, we forecast China will not fully reopen until at . This is the end weve all be anxiously awaiting for ~2 years! Toranomon-Azabudai A futuristic development project by Heatherwick opening in 2023 in the well-heeled area of south-west Tokyo by the same name, the Toranomon-Azabudai Project will foreground green spaces, a new temple, retail spaces designed by Sou Fujimoto, Japans tallest high-rise building, two Aman properties and the new permanent location for teamLab exhibitions in Tokyo from 2023. May all our trips be everything we dreamt of and more. While there are still some covid-related protocols in place, it's likely that the entire pandemic-era regime of border measures will be done away with my some point in 2023. 2023 Yosemite Firefall Viewing Guide: Best Dates, Reservations Info & Face Masks in Japan: Rules v. Reality (2023), Please subscribe to our FREE email newsletter, Japan Fall Colors Forecast & Autumn Foliage Viewing Guide, Tokyo Disneyland 40th Anniversary 'Dream-Go-Round' Details, New Parade & Japan Reopening Disney Tourist Blog The KKK News. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated that his top priority was formulating new economic measures and implementing these goals. The yen has fallen to a 24-year low of 144 to the dollar, likely contributing to the sense of urgency in the aforementioned interviews. For these two-plus years, weve been closely monitoring the situation in Japan, watching several hours of NHK each day and reading multiple Japanese news sources. If/when theres another winter resurgence in cases, the reopening can would effectively be kicked down the road for a few more months. As frustrating as this whole process has been, Japan is not still (completely) stuck in March 2020. On Tuesday, the country. People attending the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2023, sing the national anthem during the opening session, at the National Harbor, in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, March 2, 2023. Both of these statements are reassuring given the current border closures, and indicate that Japan will unwind its travel ban in months, not years. Finally, the worst-case scenario is that Japan instead opts to revive its Go to Travel campaign just in time for fall colors season, and uses that to buoy the tourism sector through December. By Lilit Marcus, CNN Published 9:20 PM EDT, Sun July 31, 2022 Link Copied! KONO Taro (@konotaromp) September 22, 2022 "Finally, Japan will reopen the border,". Thank you, for this wonderful site with its very helpful regular updates! 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. Japan reopened its borders to independent foreign travelers and reintroduced visa-free entry from October 11, 2022. . [1/2]Passengers on a plane from Chinas capital Beijing arrive at Narita international airport in Narita, east of Tokyo, Japan January 8, 2023. All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. 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. Public opinion polls show that most voters have already moved on from COVID to assorted scandals; the minority who still care will see no immediate increase in cases correlating with the border reopening. Along with revelling in the many ways to take in the allures across Japan, now is a time when international visitors can take advantage of shopping opportunities. Japans economy has serious issues and inbound tourism was previously a bright spot. It has been well over two years since coronavirus initially shut down global travel. For better or worse, Japan is an insular and culturally conservative countrya characteristic that is often valued by visitors. With all of that in mind, we remain cautiously optimistic that individual tourists will be allowed to enter Japan sooner rather than later. Is Japan open for internationalindividual travelers? [1/2] Passengers on a plane from China's capital Beijing arrive at Narita international airport in Narita, east of Tokyo, Japan January 8, 2023.REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon Koike said that Japans borders would fully reopen soon. New Zealand is finally open for business. Japan is Likely to Reopen to Foreign Travelers in Spring 2022 if COVID-19 numbers remain low, according to industry estimates, although the government hasn't set a hard date yet. Or, that this barrier does still exist and Japan will have to create a solution for it (travel insurance?) Critically, this would eliminate the legal requirement of a responsible receiving party for visitors to Japan. That's a hardship for the many. This is despite Japans Go to Travel campaign that subsidized domestic travel, which was offered at various times during the last two years. Morgan Stanley Research analysts expect China to broadly reopen in the second half of 2022 and move away from the Zero-COVID policy by the end of this year. JNTO President SEINO Satoshi commented: The Japanese government has, at last, announced the resumption of individual travel for tourism purposes, visa waivers, and the elimination of the daily arrival cap. Im very glad its dead but am also appreciative of what existed while it did. tomthanks for ALL the help.I was told I need the MYSOS app to enter now, but there is mixed information on JapanWeb. For more than two years, the nation was effectively impossible visit Japan. Quite simply,Japan is inflicting pain on itself by remaining closed. Japan opening borders 2022 for tourists. Im so excited and happy for everyone! Starting Tuesday October 11, Japan will drop its 50,000 entry cap and will allow independent tourists to visit Japan visa-free. Finally, there has been some good news about the state of the Japanese border closure for almost all tourists. Japan has been busy over the past two-and-a-half years with preparations to welcome back everyone. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. I wish you all the best with your upcoming tripsthanks again for everything. Hi Tom and THANK YOU for everything this platform had AND still has to offer! Im heading to Tokyo for the first time in 3.5 years on October 23rd and I cant wait! Would you consider visiting Japan later this year, or is international travel out of the question for you anytime soon? Thanks to so many of you regular readers and commenters who made the last couple of years easier, shared articles, optimistic/pessimistic updates, and so much more. This is sad fact, though. Yes, Japan's borders are now open to all international tourist travel.. Japan has completely removed the entry cap on daily foreign arrivals.. Additionally, all visa exemptions have now been reinstated.This means that citizens of around 70 countries, including the United States and all European Union nations, can once again visit Japan for 90 days without a visa . Japan will further ease in June border controls implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and bring them on par with other Group of Seven nations, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday. TEL: 0120-248-668 (Japanese only) . fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); There are also signs that stringent travel measures, including the border closure, are having a greater impact on Japans economy than previously believed. This will save you significant money on accommodations, attractions, temples, groceries, transportation, and even Michelin-rated restaurants! The country is also about to increase the daily cap of tourists allowed to enter Japan from 20,000 to 50,000. However, Japan is now joining the rest of the world as people are ready to move on with life. The provisional measures from March 1, 2023. . While the daily number of arrivals was higher pre-closure, we assumed that 50,000 is the level at which this cap becomes immaterial with China still sidelined. Sort of. 23/02/2023. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government launched a multilingual call center on COVID-19 for foreign residents. That also offers tips for avoiding crowds and strategy for visiting the best temples, shrines, and evening illuminations. Weve already returned to Japan, spending about a month in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and elsewhere. Flooding in southern Malaysia forces 40,000 people to flee homes, Hong Kong court convicts 3 members of Tiananmen vigil group for security offence, Reporting by Kantaro Komiya and Eimi Yamamitsu; Editing by Himani Sarkar, Robert Birsel, China says should advance 'peaceful reunification' with Taiwan, Philippines says Chinese navy ship spotted near disputed island, North Korea says US causing international arms control collapse, China plans 7.2% defence spending rise this year, faster than GDP target, Hong Kong women's rights protest cancelled after police cite risk of violence, Cameroonian businessman charged with complicity in torture after journalist's murder, Ecuador assembly backs report calling for Lasso impeachment process, UK to unveil new law to stop Channel migrants on Tuesday - paper, China to promote vaccine development, new medicines, Exclusive news, data and analytics for financial market professionals. 7:09. More information can be found here . -. Nov. Dec. Then Covid hit. ), 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. Economic migrants are sending more teenagers and children into the United States via a much-traveled loophole in President Joe Biden's much-touted border curbs. China retaliated by suspending the issuing of short-term visas in South Korea and Japan. Thats the sharpest fall on record according to the Japan Tourism Agency.
