Japan reopens international travel from June 10; What you need to know before tour planning

Incredible news for the individuals who long to venture out to Japan; beginning June 10, Japan will additionally open its boundaries to international travelers from 98 provinces and locales. Nonetheless, tourist visas will be conceded exclusively to the people who partake in package tours supported by Japanese travel services. This implies individual travelers should stand by somewhat longer before they can investigate the country at their own pace.

Without precedent for over two years, travelers are getting back to Japan as the public authority there starts to facilitate a portion of the world’s strictest line measures amid a drop in Covid-19 cases.

From June 10, Japan will permit a set number of foreign guests on package tours. Last week a couple of “test tours” – chiefly of abroad travel agents – started arriving up, closely monitored and subject to tight hygiene measures.

For a large portion of the pandemic, Japan has barred all tourists, allowing entry to only citizens and foreign residents, although even the latter have periodically been shut out.

Three hued categories- blue, yellow, and red – have been assigned across very nearly 100 countries in light of their infection rates: blue means low and red high. Travelers from the blue countries and regions are absolved from on-arrival testing and quarantine, paying little heed to inoculation status. As per the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, every one of China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan is in the blue category, while Macau is evaluated as yellow.

After implementing what the BBC calls ‘one of the world’s toughest virus control regimes’ and closing its border shortly after the COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020, Japan finally eased its border control to allow the entry of foreign residents, business travelers, and foreign students from March 1, 2022. This May had seen the government relaxing travel restrictions: it planned to double the current entry cap to 20,000 visitors per day, starting from June 1.

In any case, not every person is energetic about the news. nikkei Asia reports despite the fact that authorities will begin handling visas for the gathering visits from June 10, it will take some time before the primary clump of tourist groups arrives in Japan under this new program. The newspaper likewise imagines that the policy may not be attractive enough to Chinese tourists due to China’s stringent quarantine rules which would be enforced upon visitors returning home.

China accounted for the bulk of Japan’s inbound tourists before the pandemic. According to Nippon.com, 9.6 million Chinese citizens visited Japan in 2019, spending 1.8 trillion yen (9.5 billion RMB) 2019. However, the number of Chinese visitors plummeted to 1.1 million in 2020.

Whether you’re eager to be the main bunch of tourists to visit Japan or not, basically there’s currently another choice out there.

Here is the lowdown on Japan’s relaxed travel rules:

Which tourists will be qualified to enter Japan?

From June 1 Japan will twofold its cap on everyday arrivals to 20,000.

Starting June 10 it will permit in people on tours with fixed schedules and guides from a low-risk “blue” list of 98 countries and regions representing the lowest risk of Covid-19 infection.

These include the United States, Britain, mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Australia, and most members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The list is subject to review at any time.

While watching out for infection rates, Japan will gradually accept more tourists to the level of arrivals before the pandemic, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said a week ago.

“Free and active exchange of people is the foundation of economy and society, as well as that of Asia’s development,” he said.

Nonetheless, it will require some time before foreign visitors can enter Japan for individual tourism, said Makoto Shimoaraiso, a cabinet official responsible for pandemic measures.

Japan welcomed a record 31.9 million foreign visitors in 2019 and is expected to arrive at its goal of 40 million in 2020 preceding the pandemic hit.

Are there any arrival rules?

All visitors must test negative for Covid-19 preceding going to Japan.

Both vaccinated and unvaccinated people from the lowest risk “blue group” countries can go to the country, with no quarantine or an on-arrival test required, yet they will be asked to take precautionary steps, such as wearing masks.

Individuals from the 99 countries and regions in the middle-risk “yellow” bunch likewise don’t need to go through testing or a three-day quarantine, as long as they have proof they have been vaccinated.

Those from “yellow” countries without inoculation confirmation and individuals showing up from the four most elevated risk “red” nations – Albania, Fiji, Pakistan, and Sierra Leone – won’t be exempt from testing and quarantine.

Is mask-wearing mandatory?

Yes. Tour groups are expected to take responsibility for ensuring visitors respect Japan’s near-universal mask-wearing and other measures that have helped keep the toll from Covid-19 comparatively low.

The government will also ask tour operators to tell visitors to abide by the instructions and persuade companies, schools, and other entities accepting foreign citizens to do likewise.

As indicated by individuals who were essential for the test tours that started on May 24, neighborhood tours staff checked their temperatures and wellbeing status every morning. Each time they got on their bus, somebody was at the door to spray their hands with sanitizer.

They were likewise approached to keep their covers on however much as could be expected, cease eating on the transport, and downplay talking in eateries.

“It’s a ton of work just to arrive,” said Sonya Miyashiro, who works for Regal Travel in Honolulu. “You must go through 2 1/2 hours of more stuff at the air terminal. So at last we got to our room, it was like, ‘Let me kiss the ground. I’m here.'”

Do all Japanese airports accept tourists?

Right now, international flights are restricted to five airports – Haneda, Narita, Kansai, Chubu, and Fukuoka. Yet, Prime Minister Kishida said he plans to allow more regional airports to accept overseas visitors.

“We will enable regional airports such as Sendai (in northeastern Japan) to resume accepting international flights, in consultation with local governments,” he said.

Naha and New Chitose air airports, entryways to famous places of interest in Okinawa and Hokkaido, separately, are set to resume accepting international flights by the end of June.

On June 7 the government will also unveil guidelines on Covid-era inbound tourism for the travel industry, Kishida added.

What’s the response from the tourism sector?

Japan’s travel industry, hit hard by border controls, is eager for foreign tourism to resume but not everyone is upbeat.

Hotel operator Resol Holdings Co Ltd opened four new locations in the run-up to the Tokyo Olympics, expecting a massive influx of foreign tourists. It was a waste of time, said operations manager Hideaki Kageyama.

“You can’t pay the bills, the rent, the labour without inbound tourism,” he said, adding that allowing in more visitors now will not be enough to quickly revive the industry.

The number of lodgings that shut for the good cross country last year was the most noteworthy in five years, and in obligation, levels have dramatically increased starting around 2019, as per monetary examination firm Teikoku Databank Ltd.

Cart pullers in Tokyo’s Asakusa sanctuary locale have made due by giving rides to homegrown sightseers rather than the crowds of Chinese who used to come.

“I maintain that the outsiders should return,” said Yui Oikawa of rising Up Tokyo Rickshaw. “It was more energetic that way, with individuals from everywhere coming to Asakusa to ask or have a beverage.”

It may not simply be the facilitating of boundary controls that captivate them back. With the yen at its most fragile level in 20 years, Japan is a less expensive objective than it was.

“The resumption of inbound the travel industry conveys extraordinary importance in that the advantages of the frail yen can be felt,” Kishida said.

More flights coming your way

With Japan returning for tourism, more airports will be permitted to continue international flights. There are at present five airports in Japan open to overseas travelers: Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu Centrair, and Fukuoka. Toward the finish of June, the New Chitose Airport in Sapporo and Naha Airport in Okinawa will also be an option for foreign tour groups.