The endisnear. Can you write one last update about the boarder being opened. Ive missed it so much. 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. You will receive a link to download the eBook and periodic emails when there's news to share. (See above 'Latest News') Short-term travelers to Japan will be allowed to enter Japan without a visa. Over two years into this, the seasonality of COVID transmission is well-established. 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. 2022. From October 11th 2022, Japan removed visa requirements and arrival caps, returning to pre-pandemic travel arrangements. Another possibility is that Japan will allow individual foreign tourists to enter the country andexempt them from visas if they have been vaccinated three times or submit a pre-arrival test result. Then, on September 7th, independent travel became possible, but still needed to be booked through a government-authorised agency and required a visa. Thatll help you prepare for arrival, and potentially save time at the airport. Asia Welcomes Travelers, but Japan Says, Not Yet Countries across region are reopening borders to tourists, but Japan continues to turn them away. Get planning with our guide to Japans 15 best hotels. As we are seeing a surge, nobody is talking about relaxing the entry restrictions now. if (d.getElementById(id)) return; Japan is finally open! With this, the visa exemption would be reinstated, making that a non-issue. 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. even if theyre off for a jog or on a bicycle. Thanks Tom, and everyone! Against that economic backdrop, lets take a look at the latest changes to Japans reopening plans. If you want to travel to Japan for work: check the true nature of the work offered; get the correct visa before arriving in Japan; get legal advice before signing any contract A key challenge will be to make the country more responsible and open-minded to foreigners. Not so much in the last couple of years, as this has been reflected in policy-making. These are questions among those planning trips to Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and this covers the answers. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.By subscribing, you can help us get the story right. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. We uncover the best of the city and put it all in an email for you. Read on to find out about the current atmosphere in the country. Entering Japan Kiyomizu-dera Temple with cherries in full bloom: Japan Airlines planes at Narita International Airport: Guide to the Visit Japan Web app and Japan Entry Procedures, Kansai International Airport (for Osaka and Kyoto), Kyoto Walking Tour 1: Nanzen-ji Temple to Yoshida-jinja Shrine, Kyoto Walking Tour 2: Tofuku-ji Temple to Fushimi-Inari Taisha Shrine, Kyoto Walking Tour 3: Classic Southern Higashiyama, A Guide to the Visit Japan Web app and Japan Entry Procedures, Kyoto Itineraries for Families with Children, Kyoto One-Day Off-the-Beaten-Track Cherry Blossom Itinerary, The Most Romantic Hotels and Ryokan in Kyoto. See our. Ill never forget this amazing, special blog and the unlikely community of shared pain that flourished here for as long as I live. You will be free to make your own choices where masks are not advised we wouldnt recommend choosing not to wear one where they are advised. 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. 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. Compared with the pre-pandemic level in 2019, it dropped 99.2 percent. 10 minutes. In our view, koyo (autumn leaves) season is a good bet, and that takes place from mid-November through December. To enjoy our content, please include The Japan Times on your ad-blocker's list of approved sites. New Galleries In Naoshima (March 12th, 2022) 4. Re: Will Japan will re-open fully to tourists before October? Would you consider visiting Japan later this year, or is international travel out of the question for you anytime soon? Before the pandemic, Japan's tourism industry was booming. Japan has maintained fairly strict border control since the pandemic began however as of October 11th, 2022, all COVID restrictions and border controls have been lifted. (February 2023 Update). We will update this page as information changes. I assume well hear from AndyO soon, admitting he was wrong, like he demanded from so many of us. Given that none of the recent reports have even mentioned COVIDs status in regard to reopening, its possible our perspective was wrong. Kishida has also acknowledged that Japans border control measures are the strictest among Group of Seven nations, and expressed a desire/need to bring Japan in line with its counterparts. Since October 11th, 2022, people who travel from countries with a former visa-waiver agreement with Japan have been able to travel to Japan freely again! I just got back from my first post re-opening trip to Japan, and am open to answering questions. Travel restrictions such as visa requirements and arrival caps were removed on October 11th, and Japan is fully open for tourism. 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. Want to receive free updates on when Japan will reopen for travel? Here is the lowdown on Japan's relaxed travel rules. Critically, this would eliminate the legal requirement of a responsible receiving party for visitors to Japan. The Jomon Prehistoric Sites collectively form a Cultural Heritage Site, at which you'll learn about the culture of the indigenous Jmon people across 17 archaeological areas.. Bullet Trains. 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. Try another? Japan's struggling tourism sector sees a light at the end of the tunnel as "self-guided" tours make way for full travel. What were those, you ask? Here's a quick breakdown of the details: Only tourists on packaged tours are allowed from June 10 Entry limit updated from 10,000 to 20,000 people per day mean getting rid of the mask. These are all our latest exclusive holiday, vacation and tour offers brought to you from InsideJapan Tours. Fully independent, visa-free travel to Japan is now possible from October 11th onwards. So, youll be able to have the place mostly to yourself and everything will seem positively cheap! Japan has some of the biggest, boldest and most exciting cities in the world, frozen-in-time samurai towns, remote alpine villages, tiny islands brimming with contemporary art, and mountaintop temple communities unchanged for centuries. While the stares have eased, and it is okay to take off the mask at the table, make sure to wear it if you need to use the toilet or even to speak to a waiter. 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. The ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party recognizes these problems and realizes it needs to rebuild Japans economy. The next step for Japan, I think, is Corona downgrade and mask usage. For now, however. I was there for 11 days, mostly in Tokyo, and also to the bullet train to Sanjo (near Niigata) for a couple of days, and also a day trip to Mount Fuji with a driver/guide. Tour groups from 98 countries, including Australia, can now visit the country - but only if they wear masks, have . 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. The Japanese government has been working on a borders reopening schedule since April 27 to help revive the economy. Thank you Tom and to everyone for all the insights, info, and updates. For more than two years, Japan's borders remained closed to tourists. By September 14, 2022 Credit: Depositphotos Advertisement After. Read the country information page for additional information on travel to Japan. Its pretty clear the government is focused on moving forward. Subscribers also receive a totally free copy of ourJapan on a BudgeteBook. The arrivals cap would also be eliminated in this scenario. See below for more details. We recommend consulting the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Plus:youll soon be able to spend six weeks in Thailand, visa-free. We recommend checking with the facilities you want to visit before heading out. We typically spend a couple of months in Japan each year, and are ecstatic to be returning after nearly 3 years away. That theres more upside than downside risk in reopening and encouraging more economic activity. It kind of fell like a little community in here, like I know from Discord groups. If you're not sure how to activate it, please refer to this site. Autumn is already a lost cause. Im inclined to say Spring 2023, but its easy to envision a worst-case that isnt until summer. With the ever-changing rules, it's hard to keep up with which countries are open for study, work, and tourism. If there are no screens, you may be expected to practice social distancing by sitting a table or two away from other customers. Or, that this barrier does still exist and Japan will have to create a solution for it (travel insurance?) Do you or anyone here know if we need this after Oct. 11? Impediments to international travel to Japan also come from measures imposed by the tourists' own countries. Moreover, how this played out with Japans last announcement is also instructive. This is a major policy shift and will relaxif not eliminate entirelyJapans intensive COVID-19 countermeasures, including limiting the movements of infected people and their close contacts. Visa-free, independent travel is now possible for most nationalities. Visa-free travel is possible for all countries that originally had this arrangement with Japan, which includes countries like Australia, New Zealand, the UK, most of Europe, the US and Canada. Basically, travelling with a guide either as part of a group or a private guide just for you and your travel companion(s). 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. At the time of writing, Japan has been experiencing around 36,000 new cases a day new cases a day. This was a great place to keep up to date on the happenings. Thanks for the updates Tom and thank you to everyone who shared their thoughts and opinions over the past 2 years. Validity of visas issued under "Business Track" / "Residence Track" or "New border measures (4)" is suspended for the time being. "We will lift the ceiling of the number of entrants into Japan, lift the ban on. While Japan is keeping in place its quarantine system for arrivals from a list of at-risk countries, no countries are actually currently on that list. But were over the moon to announce that travel to Japan has now returned to something that looks a lot like the old normal. From the beginning this page was the only place I checked (sometimes daily) for hope. If they are accompanied by a guardian such as a parent who has a valid vaccination certificate and who will supervise the children, they will be regarded as holders of valid vaccination certificates, the test certificate will be exempt as their guardian. This is where there is disagreement among the major outlets. 11 helpful votes. One wildcard is the downgrade of COVIDs legal status. 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. Save. Of course you can! Slowly but surely, foreign visitors are returning to Japan. tomthanks for ALL the help.I was told I need the MYSOS app to enter now, but there is mixed information on JapanWeb. Given that Japan is now open, its time to start planning a trip. Kyoto in cherry blossom season: f11 photo / Shutterstock.com. SHARE. js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; Hi Tom and THANK YOU for everything this platform had AND still has to offer! I wish you all the best with your upcoming tripsthanks again for everything. Copyright - Sarah & Tom Bricker, Travel Caffeine. 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. . (This number includes hotels used as government quarantine facilities, not just leisure stays.). If/when theres another winter resurgence in cases, the reopening can would effectively be kicked down the road for a few more months. InUnguided Tours in Japan Reopening Phase Rules, we cover what this entails and the recently-released guidelines and FAQ for these tours. Hardly a week goes by when we don't get this question from a TravelSort Client. Is Japan open for internationalindividual travelers? Traveling in Japan without constraint as a tourist is possible from October 11, 2022. We know there are a lot of people overseas who want to come to Japan, Kihara added. 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. Tourism is a big industry in Tokyo, as well as in all Japan, so this is the time to greet more foreign tourists by using this advantage of the depreciation of the yen, she said. In May, 2022, a highly anticipated announcement by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida led many to despair. Learn about the current situation, checklist for tourists, entry restrictions and safety measures before you travel. Im heading to Tokyo for the first time in 3.5 years on October 23rd and I cant wait! 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