Be part of our community of seasoned travel and hospitality industry professionals from all over the world. Economists fear a double dip recession in Japan due to the prolonged closures and restrictions. World News Reuters Updated: May 30, 2022 2:06 pm IST 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. Was less crowded than when I was there before, especially at the airport. Intrepid Travel: Japan - Land of the Rising Sun. Migrants Walk Through Joe Biden's Open Border Loopholes - breitbart.com Is Japan open for internationalindividual travelers? Japan Tourism: The decision means Japan will allow in a limited number of foreign tourists on package tours starting June 10. 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. It aint over till its over.pls see my recent post which I HOPE isnt accurate and just some fake news, but Reuters is pretty accurate. 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. I wish you all the best with your upcoming tripsthanks again for everything. Japan plans to reopen to independent travelers in major shift, report If/when theres another winter resurgence in cases, the reopening can would effectively be kicked down the road for a few more months. The ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party recognizes these problems and realizes it needs to rebuild Japans economy. The Japanese government recently eased its COVID-19 entry restrictions, meaning tourists can now visit without being on a guided tour. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reportedly plans to make a decision as early as the end of this week, according to the news outlets sources. Ill be sticking around for the future updates and travel guides. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. Asia Welcomes Travelers, but Japan Says, Not Yet - The New York Times Weve already returned to Japan, spending about a month in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and elsewhere. That may soon change. Sign up here to get the latest news, updates and special offers delivered directly to your inbox. 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. first infection wave in spring 2020, and some closed again during subsequent waves; however, almost all of them are now open again. 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. Do you or anyone here know if we need this after Oct. 11? Is Japan open to travelers? Some locals not ready to reopen borders - CNBC Crowds not a problem. 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. }(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. First, there is consensus that the daily arrival cap, which is currently set at 50,000, will be eliminated entirely. Updated 7 June 2022. With all of that in mind, we remain cautiously optimistic that individual tourists will be allowed to enter Japan sooner rather than later. 2.Realistic time needed to get a feel for Japan. On the same topic. The key question is: Can it learn to love foreign tourists again? Japan to reinstate ban on foreign visitors, G7 to meet over new Covid One of the last closed-border hold-outs is now allowing entry for Australian tourists, with visitors from the rest of the world to follow on May 1. Sheesh! 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 are eager to revisit our favorite places, see friends in Japan for the first time in over two years, and continue creating this sites wealth of free planning resources. This is the first step in our gradual easing of the [border] restrictions, Kishida has said. despite protests. 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. In today's Face-to-Face interview, Professor Wolfgang Arlt, founder and CEO of the China Outbound . Summary Since October 2022, Japan is fully open, without the requirement for a visa for most visitors. 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. Take a dip in one at the soon-to-open, . Mount Fuji: One of Japan's three sacred mountains and. 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. STAY UPDATED WITH THE LATEST 01:51 . Cases are currently in freefall and will continue decreasing next month before bottoming out sometime between late October and early November. This includes business travelers on short stays, students in study abroad programs, participants in technical internships, both guided & unguided tour groups, spouses or children (and other relatives) of a Japanese national/permanent resident, others with special exceptional circumstances, and those who would provide a public benefit to Japan. Japan border reopening: One of Australia's favourite destinations opens If you want a copy of thistotally freeeBook and Japan reopening updates, all you need to do issubscribe to our newsletter! . This is sad fact, though. Read on to find out more! Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers. In our view, koyo (autumn leaves) season is a good bet, and that takes place from mid-November through December. Kishida says Japan will ease COVID border controls from Oct 11 How to Travel to Japan in 2022 as a Tourist | Tokyo Weekender Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has confirmed "no schedule has been decided" for fully reopening the borders, though members of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party have discussed a potential. As borders are reopening, Japan is finally seeing some improvements in its travel performance, according to the latest update of the Skift Travel Health Index. Japan fully reopened its borders to tourists on October 11, 2022. TEL: 0120-248-668 (Japanese only) . But whatever winter wave occurs (and onewillhappen), thats unlikely to be an obstacle to reopening progress, as was the case last year. Japan has seasonal attractions in fall and winter. =w=)b. A guide to visiting Japan in 2022/23 - Lonely Planet As governor of Tokyo, that would be tomorrow.. Kishidas government has been trying to take advantage of the weak yen and accelerate growth by attracting more foreign visitors. 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. Thatll help you prepare for arrival, and potentially save time at the airport. Is this a here we go again moment looming? We were wrongthe unguided tours offered two steps forward but one step backwards. 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. 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. What is required to travel to Japan and what about visas? So you can do more than take in Japans captivating culture, history, nature, and cuisine, we are also working hard on projects for sustainable tourism, adventure travel, and luxury travel. March 2023 Japan is finally open! And indeed, there was nothing today, either, or even this year so far because at last the Japan we loved, the Japan that rejected us against sense, science and reason, has finally provided a sensible, responsible option for people like us to enter the country, which was all we ever asked for in the first place. Reopening to individual tourists in October presents minimal (political) risk and maximum (economic) upside. In other words, reopening to international visitors will be important to the health of Japans consumption-driven economy at some point in the not too distant future. Its borders were shut. "We will lift the ceiling of the number of entrants. The Polynesian island country of Samoa will open its international borders in August, although again . Currently, citizens of 68 countries and regions will be allowed to . Japan has been busy over the past two-and-a-half years with preparations to welcome back everyone. Japan reopened its borders to overseas visitors on package tours Friday in a move that will potentially boost the economy over time, though the initial spending impact is likely to be limited. var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; The endisnear. Travelers from most countries can now enter Japan without applying for a visa in advance. If youre planning a trip to the Japan, check outour other posts about Japanfor ideas on other things to do! All of this in the hope for some clarity as to when the country will fully reopen and Japan will begin allowing international tourists to enter once again. Most people need months of time between booking and traveling; very few plan and take last-minute tripsespecially international ones. Thank you Tom and to everyone for all the insights, info, and updates. This is because Japan has formally decided to downgrade the legal status of the novel coronavirus on May 8, 2023 to the same category as common infectious diseases, such as seasonal influenza, thereby easing COVID-19 prevention rules. The arrivals cap would also be eliminated in this scenario. Japan has resumed its visa exemption scheme for short-stay tourism and business travel. 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. Sapporo 2023 will see the return of the Snow Festival for the first time in person in 3 years, and comes as the Susukino nightlife district grows with a new OMO3 property (2022) aimed at more adventurous travellers and a new Tokyu complex (2023) on the iconic Susukino crossing, including entertainment spaces and a new hotel. This is. Think the need to adapt and live with the endemic virus will outweigh fear when it comes to Japans reopening plans? Copyright - Sarah & Tom Bricker, Travel Caffeine. This . 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. Thanks again for all the work you put into this. Thanks, [] to individual tourists for the duration of the festivities. Our view is that the worst-case scenario is nowhighlyunlikely. Can I Travel to Japan Now? Again, if youd like to be notified as soon as more details are released or rumored, subscribe to ourfree email newsletter for ongoing updates and alerts: (function(d, s, id) { Both of these statements are reassuring given the current border closures, and indicate that Japan will unwind its travel ban in months, not years. Japan House exhibition running until the end of January 2023, opening 29th Sep, focusing on woodwork in Hida, Takayama. Does that mean it will be as easy to visit now as it was pre-pandemic? Sep 12, 2022 SHARE The government is planning to allow independent tourists to come to Japan and exempt them from visas if they have been vaccinated three times or submit a pre-arrival test. This was a great place to keep up to date on the happenings. Thank you so much for this free and respectful space for everyones opinions that has helped us get through these difficult years. 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. Trump promises GOP will never again be led by 'freaks, neocons Given that none of the recent reports have even mentioned COVIDs status in regard to reopening, its possible our perspective was wrong. This is the end weve all be anxiously awaiting for ~2 years! Ive missed it so much. The good news is that we now have an answer to questionsweve been asking for nearly two years! Which brings us to a threshold issue:when will Japan reopen?This week, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is in New York to deliver an address at the U.N. General [], Your email address will not be published. We will review all three restrictions together. Hi Tom, Japan: A deep-fried pork . The country sealed its borders to most foreign travelers early in the pandemic and has only recently begun to allow a slow drip of students and business people to return a sharp contrast to. The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs. Shimokitazawa An ongoing redevelopment around a suburban railway line stretching across three stations (Senrogai), cementing the districts place as a youth culture hub. 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.