Unguided Tours to Japan – Reopening Phase Rules
Japan is further relaxing its border restrictions, including opening to “unguided tour groups” or “non-escorted visitors on package tours.” In this post, we’ll discuss the details of the latest reopening step, info about new guidelines for self-guided groups, and more. (Updated September 5, 2022.)
In this latest step towards fully reopening, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that Japan will allow the entry of self-guided tour groups and raise the daily arrival cap to 50,000 starting September 7, 2022. On that same date, Japan will also no longer require incoming travelers to show a pre-departure negative COVID-19 test, provided they have been vaccinated three times.
This is the country’s most significant move since reopening to guided tours in June, a step that did not move the needle on visitor numbers in a meaningful way. Whether this decision to allow self-guided tourists who book as part of packages actually helps Japan’s battered tourism sector remains to be seen, and is unlikely in our view given the guidelines released by Japan.
Note that this does not mean Japan is reopening to individual, self-guided tourists. If you’re simply looking for an official answer about when Japan will reopen for individuals and not tour groups, we still don’t have that exact date. If you’d like to be notified as soon as an announcement is made by Japan’s government, subscribe to our free email newsletter.
At the press conference announcing the latest rule relaxation, Kishida explained why Japan was making this change. “In countries worldwide, international exchange is growing. To participate in these exchanges and to make sure the benefits of the weak yen are felt, we will raise the daily arrival cap to 50,000 from September 7, as well as allow non-guided tours from all countries to enter,” Kishida said.
“To make the entry of people in line with other Group of Seven nations, we will further ease our border control measures by taking into account the infection situation at home and abroad, the needs (of travelers) and border measures taken by other nations,” Kishida said.
Notably, Kishida has been repeating the line above–almost verbatim–since early May when he gave a press conference in London. Suffice to say, Japan’s reopening process has involved a lot of “careful consideration” and “evaluating the situation.”
The Japan Tourism Agency (part of the government’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport & Tourism) released guidelines (in Japanese) setting out what travel agencies will be required to do in order before, during, and after their clients take trips to Japan.
Under these guidelines, travel agencies will be responsible for “arranging” round trip airfare for unguided tour participants when entering and leaving Japan, as well as all accommodations during their stay.
While use of the word “arranging” might have sufficient ambiguity to allow for the rubber-stamping an existing itinerary, the Japan Tourism Agency closes the door on that.
The guidelines further state that tourists booking their own airfare and accommodations with the travel agency acting only as their entry sponsor is not permitted. This means that our supposedly logical speculation below was inaccurate.
There are a range of other requirements in the 21-page document, many of which are specific to guided tours. Other requirements for the unguided tours are that itineraries be determined in advance, and that the plan take into consideration the prevention of infection. Travel agents are expected to check the infection prevention measures at accommodations, restaurants, etc., and use facilities that have thorough measures.
Travel agents are also expected to contact and explain to participants what measures they will be required to take, what to do if they become infected or are a close contact of an infected person, and obtain consent that travelers will adhere to all protocol and mitigation measures. (While not totally clear from the translation, it appears that travel agents will have some degree of contact with travelers while they’re in Japan.)
The straightforward interpretation of these guidelines would appear to doom the hopes of those, like us, who wanted a ‘do it yourself’ style approach with only paying for a sponsor service. Under any reasonable reading of the rules, that is not permitted.
However, there is still at least one service (being discussed in the comments) that purports to be offering exactly that. Personally, I think this is playing with fire. Japan loves its rules, and attempting to circumvent them or exploit loopholes is risky. It’s entirely possible that Japan won’t have any enforcement mechanism for ensuring guideline compliance. I would not want to spend large sums of money on the sponsor service, airfare, and accommodations to test that theory. To each their own, though.
We’ve contacted over a dozen travel agencies in Japan for specifics about what their packages would require. Most did not respond. That’s sadly understandable, as there is still a degree of ambiguity in the guidelines. It makes sense that agencies would err on the side of caution and not pro-actively publish their policies, which the government may, for some reason, not view as fully compliant.
Of those that did respond, all stated that roundtrip airfare and all hotel accommodations must be booked through the agency in order to be eligible for issuance of the ERFS. They also reiterated the consent and contact requirements, as well as the requirement to quarantine in the event of a positive test. Several also required the purchase of international travel insurance.
Pricing varies widely based on airfare, accommodations and destinations, but we’ve found the lowest starting price to be around $4,000 per person for two weeks before the cost of flights. The sky is the limit on upper pricing; you could easily spend $20,000 per person.
Admittedly, these guidelines are frustrating–especially since they are not internally consistent with Japan’s approach thus far to other foreign visitors (e.g. students, businesspeople, and guided tours). None of those expressly require that the sponsor arrange airfare or accommodations.
This is thus an almost illusory step forward–more like shuffling in place. Still, it does not come as a huge surprise and Japan has demonstrated time and time again that attempting to apply logic to its decisions–or indecisiveness–is a fool’s errand. And yet, we continue.
While a seemingly odd half-measure, especially after the guided tours proved to be unpopular, there is some degree of internal logic to moving to unguided tours. Currently, every foreign visitor needs a ‘responsible receiving party’ in Japan that can act as a liaison should that individual become infected and need medical attention. This is true for students, businesspeople, relatives of Japanese nationals, and those participating in guided tours.
In a nutshell, this is due to COVID-19’s legal classification; the infectious disease has a special status that obligates the government to devote certain resources and treatment to infected individuals, among other things. Recently, there has been debate over downgrading coronavirus to the same level as the flu in Japan’s infectious disease categories.
This downgrade is another issue that remains under “consideration,” but will likely happen in some fashion as the seventh wave recedes. There are numerous benefits to downgrading the classification of the coronavirus, but also countless challenges. All of those are beyond the scope of this post.
While not the impetus for the downgrade, one almost ancillary outcome would be eliminating many countermeasures currently being undertaken and putting Japan on the path to properly reopening and economic recovery. In short, this downgrade is almost certainly a necessary prerequisite for the country welcoming individual tourists. The downgrade would likely end the need for a responsible receiving party to monitor travelers and act as a liaison for infected individuals.
In the meantime, we can work backwards from the current requirements for responsible receiving parties for other categories of individuals who are currently allowed into Japan to deduce what is likely meant by “unguided tour groups” or “non-escorted visitors on package tours.”
First, it is safe to say that use of the terms “groups” or “package tours” is a bit of a misnomer. For a meaningful distinction to exist between guided and unguided tours, these necessarily must be self-guided or unaccompanied by a guide. This means that they are neither groups nor tours in the traditional senses of the terms.
Second, if we look to what is required or allowed of businesspeople, students, relatives, and other visitors (outside of the guided tour groups), it’s not a whole lot. The sponsors for those individuals are, essentially, just liaisons. They are not required to book certain hotels, flights, or make other travel arrangements.
There have been conflicting reports in the media about this since the announcement, which is likely due to the use of “groups” and “package tours.” For example, Bloomberg stated that participants in the non-guided package tours “would still need to adhere to itineraries set by travel agencies, and individuals won’t be allowed to go off exploring on their own under the relaxed rules.”
We suspect that this is an assumption on the part of the writer for Bloomberg, since official policies have not yet been set out. However, this interpretation would–at least in some ways–make the unguided tours more stringent than the guided ones. Participants on certain guided tours can arrange private guides and create their own itineraries. Moreover, some tours do offer time to explore on their own.
How many or most guided tours work in practice is a different matter, but there is no government policy against allowing free time or visitor-crafted plans. It would make little sense for the unguided tours to have stricter rules.
My expectation (which is also entirely speculative; like Bloomberg, I do not have insider info) is that participants in unguided tours will be able to create their own itineraries, book their own accommodations and flights, and have the ability to explore on their own in theory. Logically, there is no reason that the policies for self-guided tour groups should be any different than those for others arriving as part of other types of sponsored visits.
However, this will likely be difficult in practice. The primary reason for that is because it’s possible–if not probable–that most Japanese travel agencies will not want to offer an itinerary approval service when they can require participants purchase commissionable airfare, accommodations, etc. The latter is much more lucrative, and what these businesses are accustomed to selling.
While that is not a product that appeals to me, personally, it’s difficult to fault the travel agencies for that. Japan’s tourism sector has been decimated in the last two years. If my business were beaten down for 2 years and I could charge ~$200 for an itinerary approval and traveler liaison service or $3,500 for a self-guided package, I’d certainly choose the latter. (As a consumer, the latter is a non-starter for me, whereas the former is very intriguing.)
With this question in mind, we’ve already reached out to several Japanese travel agencies regarding their policies for unguided tour groups. It’s likely we won’t have any definitive answers until the government reveals its own guidelines for self-guided tourists. (This post will be updated accordingly when we do, so stay tuned!)
One potential argument against my more optimistic interpretation is that, if this were the case, Japan would’ve been better off requiring foreign visitors purchase travel insurance. In that case, the insurer could act as a sponsor, of sorts, and offer a wider range of coverage beyond just infection. As travel insurance is a known and understood product, this likely would’ve made more sense than paying a fee to a travel agency for what essentially amounts to itinerary approval and emergency support.
That’s a fair point. If Japan were to go this route, the country would undoubtedly see a bigger boost in tourist numbers than will arrive even under the most charitable reading of “unguided tour groups” or “non-escorted visitors on package tours.” My guess is that insurers could not be expected to provide itinerary monitoring/approval, or that Japanese bureaucracy never even considered this possibility, instead remaining in the rubric of ‘tour groups’ when determining its next step.
Ultimately, it will be interesting to see what the official definition ends up being for “unguided tour groups” or “non-escorted visitors on package tours.” With this policy taking effect in less than a week, the government will need to release guidelines in the coming days that provide clarity about what is and is not permissible. After that, travel agencies will determine how to implement those policies–or not.
If my admittedly optimistic interpretation is correct, this is huge. While there will still be hurdles, a tedious process, and the costs of itinerary approval, it’ll arguably be worth it. Those who jump through some hoops and pay fees will be rewarded with fewer tourists and lower prices. I’d even hazard a guess that the lower prices–since most people won’t travel during this phase of reopening–will more than offset the costs of itinerary approval.
Ultimately, under the guidelines that Japan has now released for unguided tour groups, this amounts to yet another symbolic step that makes it look like Japan is making strides towards putting itself in line with the Group of Seven, but not much more. While undoubtedly appealing to some, self-guided tours that are materially the same as current packages (minus the guide) are not going to move the needle at all. Japan will continue to languish, seeing <20,000 foreign tourists per month through the end of the year.
What really needs to happen is the restoration of individual tourist entry along with visa waivers for arrivals from countries of origin previously eligible for visa-free entry. Absent that, even with the most favorable interpretation of this new relaxation, Japan is still going to struggle to attract foreign visitors.
In any case, we’ll keep monitoring the situation and providing regular updates in When Will Japan Reopen for Individual Self-Guided Tourists? Here’s hoping for some news about an actual resumption of tourism to Japan in the not-too-distant future. Again, if you’d like to be notified as soon as more details are released or rumored, subscribe to our free email newsletter for ongoing updates and alerts:
If you’re planning a trip to the Japan, check out our other posts about Japan for ideas on other things to do! We also recommend consulting our Ultimate Guide to Kyoto and Ultimate Guide to Tokyo to plan.
Your Thoughts
What do you think of the announcement that Japan will welcome “unguided tour groups” or “non-escorted visitors on package tours” starting September 7, 2022? What about the newly-released guidelines? Does this rule relaxation strike you as reasonable or unreasonable? Would you consider visiting Japan this fall or winter as part of an unguided tour group? Or is that a hard pass for you? When do you expect a proper reopening to individual tourists? Any thoughts or tips of your own to add? If you’re planning your trip to Japan, what do you think about these itineraries? Any questions? Hearing your feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts or questions below in the comments!
Ugh. I’d almost be willing to accept most of it, as long as 1) I could still, within reason, name where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do to the travel agency, and 2) the extra cost added on by the travel agency wasn’t too high. The part that is an absolute dealbreaker for me though is having to have the travel agency book my flight. I booked a flight (fully refundable) for my planned upcoming trip using airline miles. Having to cancel that and pay cash for one booked by the travel agency instead would add too much cost.
What a huge step backward. They weren’t making people on the previous package group tours book their flights through the travel agents, were they? I have no interest at all in group tours, but I did look through the info on several of them out of curiosity and didn’t see anything mentioned about flights in any of them.
Yeah like, that’s the most nonsensical bit.
Vast majority of travel agencies don’t offer flights at all, excluding very specific ones like All Japan Tours, and only departing from the US.
Many like Rediscover Tours explicitly say on their FAQ that they DO NOT include air tickets like wtf are we supposed to do then Lmao.
This is a big mess created by JP government that they have no clue what they are doing, neither have prepared the travel agencies properly for it.
I live in Japan and have a slightly different perspective on what’s happening vis-a-vis tourism. Prime Minister Kishida is walking a tightrope between maintaining the LDP status quo and appeasing merchants who would benefit from re-opening to tourists. The LDP is in deep trouble regarding affiliation with the Unification Church (UC) and it is the one issue that may finally topple the LDP’s stronghold on Japanese politics. While investigating the UC, another perfect storm is brewing: turns out Japan’s bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games was fraught with one financial scandal after another (surprise – not), and head’s are rolling. Another problem is that Kishida plans to host a state funeral for Abe later this month at taxpayer’s expense and there is mounting social criticism about doing so due to Abe’s own scandal-clad reign as Prime Minister. So, truly opening Japan to tourists is not an option due to the fact that the LDP has steadfastly taught constituents that foreigners would increase chances of Covid spinning out of control. One measure Kishida recently tried (and failed) to implement was suggesting that municipalities need not report Covid cases. Only four of forty-seven prefectures went along with that, and none of the major hubs agreed. The only thing left is developing a vaccine that will finally bring Covid under control. It could be this next iteration but we won’t know for awhile yet.
“So, truly opening Japan to tourists is not an option due to the fact that the LDP has steadfastly taught constituents that foreigners would increase chances of Covid spinning out of control.”
The ironic part being that Japan is doing just fine at spinning Covid out of control without any tourists. Given where the current Covid numbers already are, how could tourists make it any worse?
Forgot to mention that the Japanese Government heretofore has sowed the seeds of vaccination distrust. Of course, those most adversely affected by this are seniors, who, willing to believe the rhetoric, have died for the cause. The belief continues, so as long as seniors are dropping like flies, Japan will be closed to foreigners. Yes, ironic.
There are two ways to interpret the recent shift in headlines. First, is yours–that Kishida does not have the political capital to make any missteps or unpopular decisions due to the aforementioned scandals.
Second, is that the public no longer cares about COVID to the same extent. It has been overshadowed by myriad other topics, which presents an opportunity to move on and attempt to revive the country’s economy (not just the tourism industry) without much dissent–and far more upside than risk.
As for only 4 of 47 prefectures stopping the reporting requirement, my understanding is that they had to submit applications to drop reporting, and those are the only prefectures that did so. That’s in large part because the system is going to change nationwide mid-month and many other prefectures want that–but didn’t want to make the decision themselves. I wouldn’t necessarily call that a “failure.”
Hm. A Google search shows Japan as being at 81.6% of its population fully vaccinated, which is higher than the US (68%) and a lot of Europe (Germany 76.2%, France 78.7%, Italy 80.5%, etc.). I know there was some vaccination distrust in Japan early on, but those numbers (if accurate) would seem to indicate that they’ve managed to get past that.
Of course part of the problem right now is that most countries (including Japan) are still vaccinating for the original virus, when it is essentially gone and replaced by new variants that are more easily able to break through it. We just started getting the bivalent boosters that cover BA.4 and BA.5 in the US this weekend, it’ll be interesting to see what effect that has on the numbers (and how long it takes for some new variant to break through it…).
Finally someone who clearly admits that closing the borders has nothing to do with the virus but is merely a matter of domestic politics and scandals. Not exactly a good image of the country.
Tom, in your post today on the unguided tour scheme, I think you intended to delete the long section that’s lined out . . . soo ja nai? David
David, that’s done to indicate “here’s what we thought originally” and is referenced in the article as being his early thoughts, which he then says were not accurate. But it gives a fuller picture of the issue this way.
Another option for eVisa applicants since jga is swamped (no longer answering emails). erfsjapan.com offers the same thing. not sure of the pricing- probably cheaper
JapanDeluxeTours offers it as well
https://www.japancitytour.com/info/japan-travel-tips/japan-tour-erfs-visa.html
and another one. Seems this is going to be fine y’all. see you in Nippon!
The japanese guidlines clearly state that the travel agency has to arrange flights and accomodation. Not sure if that’s just a recommendation or mandatory. Those websites are very sketchy.
Any relevant information on whether the rules apply for family visiting military personnel would be appreciated!
Here’s the problem with Japan. If you’d like to go back, which I presume anybody reading this and trying to find a way in does, it’s not worth skirting the rules because they will deny your visa/entry in the future.
the hotels are going to rat you out since they know you didn’t buy with a tour package. watch and see. Japan 101.
More likely hotels will take a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy when it comes to checking in tourists. It’s in their interest to have customers spending money in their hotel vs going elsewhere
Again, how the hotel would know that?
I imagine that when the agency does it, they have to input your information anyway for the check-in so, once you arrive and your information is correct they will proceed as usual. Not the hotel fault if the entire agency + visa process allowed you in in the first place.
The hotels know exactly who booked the room and when. Secondly, you don’t think the other travel agencies are going to start making some noise? Either the rules will be clarified/relaxed, or the loophole will be closed/negated. Given that this is Japan, I wouldn’t bet on getting a reward for gaming the system.
I believe it’s highly doubtful that hotels will “rat you out” – what incentive would they have to do so? They NEED our dollars. I work with one hotel exclusively for all my trips and trust me, they are VERY eager to see my return.
Has anyone used the JSA website recently. Entered all my details and credit card and it didn’t go through.
Do not want to scare people but the company is suspicious. They do not even have an office location in Shizuoka. They changed name in 2018, the predecessor company was located at a residential building.
They have a legit business registry, and a legit tour agency license valid for all of Japan (this is actually very valuable and not so easy to get).
But their address is indeed a bit odd, such that it is potentially even impossible, unless maybe its a PO box?
(on a map, the numbers in the address 2-67-3 don’t correspond with any physical location, since the city area it is supposed to be in simply isn’t numbered like that. They’re suppose to be in block 67, but the area only has 6 blocks. Even when reversed, block 3 doesn’t have anywhere near 67 buildings. Again, could be a PO box).
A phone number isn’t listed on the website (?), but on a local business registry it lists a cell phone (searching the number only shows a couple hits for a now defunct tour company called Sense of Wonder)
I would not say they are specifically suspicious, but definitely a small company (maybe just a couple employees). But any company with an all-Japan tour license should know risk management with tourist issues (which is why being so loose with the guideline requirements seems sketchy). I’ve heard that to get such a license requires a hefty test and even more hefty licensing retainer fee, something like US$50k given to the government to hold as a security deposit during the span of the license in case of bankruptcy or insolvency.
I sent them an email yesterday (Sept. 3) asking to confirm that for ¥30,000 they will handle all the paperwork if I supply them with my airline my hotel and my detailed itinerary. Haven’t heard back yet
@mightyvinyl I sent them 2 emails actually asking more or less the same question, none of them were returned.
I’m the ERFS site and the evisa site with no issues. It’s part of the government. We made a mistake on our visa application and the embassy in la called us to tell us
. It’s legit
They are also definitely checking. Saying that, you may dodge a bullet
Thanks for the info! Are you still waiting for visa approval?
I’m personally still feeling cautious about using them until I know more. We have a bit of time to wait and see since we’re in the US and can use eVisa and all our bookings are fully refundable until late October but I greatly appreciate you sharing your experience. Would love to hear updates as you get them!
It looks like by what I’m seeing is that, if you are from a visa waiver country, like the US, UK, Australia and others, JGA scheme is safe and works.
But if you are from the likes of Brazil, Philippines and others that always required a visa before the pandemic, the JGA scheme is risky and can result in a visa denied.
Just my two cents here I know nothing official.
Interesting, thanks for sharing! I’m definitely going to look more into this. If we hadn’t booked our whole trip already I don’t think I would be putting in this much effort but I’d definitely be willing to pay the JGA fee to go on our trip how we planned it!
We had to book 2 of our accommodations through Japan Guest Houses website (shirakawago and a ryokan in Okuhida). I’m trying to figure out if they could also do something similar to JGA since we’ve booked through them and they are affiliated with a registered agency (Rediscover Tours) Who knows but I’m willing to try. Definitely keeping my expectations in check though :/
@Claire you most likely wont get a definite YES from a company for what you are looking for. They are vague on purpose.
Has anyone using JGA asked them, or been told by them, “What happens if I catch Civid while in Japan?” I’ve seen here and elsewhere nobody mentioning this. The whole purpose of this package tour and ERFS madness is to mitigate that potential situation.
And an important part of the mitigation process is payment of medical and related costs for any Covid stuff (including quarantine and special transport) which is actually paid by the Japanese government for now (while Covid is still classified as “emergency”). But within the new Japanese guidelines for unguided tours it explicitly states that the sponsoring tour agent would become responsible for these covering costs, and therefore should be sure to have their clients get appropriate insurance(the Japanese government does not legally require travel insurance for entry).
As Tom mentions in the article, most of those 21 pages of guidelines is about Covid and how sponsors are to inform, manage, and take responsibility for a load of things with their clients. It’s one thing to take a risk on not actually booking clients’ flights/hotels, but the lack of insurance thing is pretty sketchy.
@AndyO
They offer emergency support for you on the ground. Most people if they get covid don’t need to go to hospital and rack up bills in reality.
T, does “emergency support” mean they will actually insure you and cover any potential Covid fees without you needing to pay? (or does it mean they’ll just act as a translator on the phone)?
I understand Covid hospitalization is unlikely, but what really happens and what might happen are different. Insurance is for what might happen, whether for travel, health, home, car, or business. In reality, most houses never burn down, but fire insurance is still required because they might and the financial ramifications could be immense.
And even though hospital stay might not be needed, quarantine in a special hotel and all associated costs probably would be, and according to the guidelines, the agency is responsible to cover any Covid fees.
I would imagine the agency would then need to get reimbursement from the client and/or client’s insurance, but did JGA have any fine print on this? Was there even a contract agreement? I mean, a client could very easily rack up bills and depart the country (as they are literally expected to do) and leave the agency with a huge burden, hence why I noted that it seemed sketchy they don’t require insurance (it sounds like there is a bigger legal agreement necessary just to sign up for a g-mail account than to be physically and financially sponsored by this company for the multi-week sojourns of un-guided travel of someone who has no legal recourse once they step out of Japan).
So regardless of whether they require it, it’d probably still be wise to have insurance which would cover non-medical fees like quarantine, just in case.
@AndyO
You’re not wrong man- if agencies are liable for travelers costs then I agree, but I didn’t have to put a guarantor for my visa application so I’m not sure that they are actually liable for costs? It most likely means they will help you translate and find help. There is no contract or requirement to buy insurance at this time that I am aware of. As a traveler you probably want to buy some insurance for your trip anyways.
T, yeah, better to have some travel insurance nowadays. You’ll probably be fine, since its the agency who seems to be most at risk.
I checked the guidelines again, and this is the part about medical costs:
・旅行業者又は旅行サービス手配業者は、ツアー参加者が陽性者となった場合の入院医療費については、自治体 から当該陽性者に対し、加入している民間医療保険の補償額の範囲内で自己負担を求められる旨、ツアー参加者 に対して説明すること。
（※）旅行業者又は旅行サービス手配業者は、ツアー参加者が陽性者や濃厚接触者となった場合に発生する諸費 用を補償範囲に含む保険へ加入することが望ましい。
Its worded weird (as most Japanese legal stuff usually is) but its says that with the sponsored tourists, any Covid medical fees (which would normally be covered by the government) would become the sponsoring agency’s responsibility to cover, so they should be sure to have the client’s personal insurance in line to do so instead.
It then notes that the sponsoring travel agency should (yet isn’t required to) have their own extra insurance to cover such client Covid fees as well (I imagine this would be in case the client insurance refuses to pay or the client simply skips the bill, but it does say this).
Has anyone used the ESRF service on this site https://www.j-g-a.org/ ?
Can anyone confirm if it’s legit? I’m so close to using them but I can’t find any information about them.
JGA has been discussed and many people have contacted them but there have been no updates from anyone via the comments on their legitimacy yet. I would hold off on giving them any money until there is more clarity surrounding what they are offering as it doesn’t seem to fit with the current travel guidelines.
I’m using them right now. Already got erfs. Waiting for visa results. Everything seems fine.
@T did you bought accomodation and flight tickets by yourself?
And about the itinerary? Did you buy any of their packages?
I’ve seen one or two people saying they used them and it was fine but it’s not clear if said people also bought their tours in which case it explains the success.
They always sold their tours but what we are all asking and in doubt is their ERFS only thing where you supposedly send them your itinerary and with those alone you could enter Japan, that’s what most of us are finding scammy/weird cuz it goes against the latest guidelines.
Booked all my own stuff, yes.
May be slightly against the latest guidelines but who is going to check?
Seems like a grey zone that cant be enforced. How can they know who is booking stuff?
Please keep us updated on your visa situation! When are you scheduled to travel, if you don’t mind me asking?
Late October! Ill let you know once the visa is approved. should be a couple days from now.
Yes, please do! My trip is also scheduled for late October. I hope everything goes smoothly with your visa!
I’m using them with no issues. It’s part of the government. We made a mistake on our visa application and the embassy in la called us to tell us. It’s legit
I think we should stop being afraid to call a spade a spade by trying to be unnecessarily politically correct. “Xenophobia” (whose etymology comes from Ancient Greek) means “fear of the foreigner,” and that is exactly what is happening in Japan at this sad time. “Fear” absolutely does not mean “hatred” but precisely “worry” about what concerns foreigners (risk of covid infection, language, management of the infected and sick, compliance with domestic rules etc.) And in fact for Japanese citizens all these difficulties are not contemplated and they are free to live and travel domestically and abroad exactly as before the pandemic. I believe that the majority of Japanese on the contrary genuinely sympathize with foreigners but precisely are timorous and distrustful of them let’s say. Anyway, for the sake of clarity the current government policy in this regard is obviously unacceptable and precisely xenophobic.
Japan sure is unique. I didn’t think it was possible the “relaxing” of rules somehow ended up being worse in many ways than even guided tours? Wow.
In practice, I think JGA or other smaller agencies will continue to sell ERFS on the sly as it is very likely to work. Because Japan won’t be enforcing these requirements. Like how you can just open the sealed taxfree bags and use the consumable goods and there is rarely any consequences. Actually I’m reading online that some local agencies have been doing this even when only guided tours were allowed. Essentially just selling you their sponsorship and let you do whatever yourself. Japan will always turn a blind eye because they don’t have a rule book to deal with it.
Yes, I believe as well, grey areas, tepical of Japan. Just like the law says, no prostitute, but turn out to you can do anything except put your dxxk into that thing. At this moment, ERFS is the just like the key words of 本番, as long as you did that, everything else will be fine. This is Japan! However the problem is they rule out the rule like 本番禁止, but they not know that people outside Japan don’t understand the way of Japanese people thinking. They keep thinking hey you western guys, it’s just 本番禁止, but you can do anything else, why you guys don’t want to do it? What you guys wating for? Come on, let’s start it. I’m already start to taking of my clo………
Yeah ok but how do you find those smaller agencies? JGA looks very dodgy, you have to prepay by credit card without any refunds. There is no way to check if it’s even legit.
Besides, it’s no fun to go to Japan when you are essentially forced to wear a mask even if there is no legal requirement.
“Besides, it’s no fun to go to Japan when you are essentially forced to wear a mask even if there is no legal requirement.”
Huh? Wearing a mask IMHO isn’t a big deal. I don’t see why doing so would take the fun out of a trip to Tokyo, is it really that much of a hindrance? Maybe I’m missing something, but just like the discussion of paying ¥30,000 to an agency if that’s what’s needed, it seems to be a small inconvenience with a huge upside benefit.
@mightyvinyl
In Europe nobody is wearing a mask anymore outside of public transport or hospitals. It’s a psychological and physical hinderance.
Why would I want to go back to 2 years ago? It’s hot, smelly and annoying. When I travel I want to smell the local smells, it’s part of the experience.
So basically, for us, who booked flights in April, have no chance of our trip in Mid October. At least this should be enough for our airline to issue vouchers for the cost of the flights, as they’re going to have extremely empty planes, or cancel flights all together.
I feel sorry for the smaller accommodation operators. We had 5 booked all through less touristy areas of Japan and were hoping to support the ones that need it.
Is this an “official” report or just a teaser for the official announcement to come?
I have booked our family for a trip in late Feb / early March and am hoping things will be more normal by then. Fingers crossed!
Is it still possible to book a guided tour and keep own flights? Or is booking your own flights now completely off the table?
It seems from the guidelines released the travel agency has to book the flights. Not entirely clear how they would enforce this or if you can find an agency willing to work with your flights. I wouldn’t expect to be able to book your own flights at this point. Some other comments clarify why the government would insist on an agency booking the flights.
https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/page03_000076.html
Within that link here they have another link which is a PDF that gives the guidelines for tour agencies (its all in Japanese).
https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/content/001510138.pdf
In Part 2 it explains the new system for “Package tours without a conductor”
it reads:
第２章 添乗員の同行を伴わないパッケージツアー
１．感染拡大防止のために各観光関係者が留意すべき事項
（１）添乗員なしツアーの造成、販売、実施等の前提（共通事項）
・各観光関係者は、本年９月７日より受入れが認められるツアーは以下の要件を満たすものに限られることを十分に理解し、これを前提として、ツアーの造成、販売、実施等を行うこと。
①旅行業法（昭和 27 年法律第 239 号）の登録を受けた旅行業者又は旅行サービス手配業者が、ツアー参加者の受入責任者となること。
②旅行業者又は旅行サービス手配業者が、ツアー参加者の入出国時の往復航空券及び滞在期間中の全ての宿泊施設の手配を行うこと。
（※）ツアー参加者の自己手配で、旅行業者又は旅行サービス手配業者が受入責任者のみを引き受けることは認められない。
The basic Google translation, but accurate enough
Chapter 2 Package tours without a tour conductor
1. Matters to be noted by each tourism-related person to prevent the spread of infection
(1) Premises for creation, sales, implementation, etc. of tours without a tour conductor (common items)
・Each tourism-related person fully understands that the tours that are accepted from September 7th this year are limited to those that meet the following requirements.
① A travel agency or travel service arrangement agency registered under the Travel Agency Act (Act No. 239 of 1952) shall be responsible for accepting tour participants.
② A travel agency or travel service arrangement agency arranges round-trip air tickets for tour participants when entering and leaving Japan and all accommodation facilities during their stay.
(*) It is not permitted for a travel agency or travel service arrangement agency to accept only the person in charge of receiving tours by the tour participants’ own arrangements.”
***Notice sub-item ②?!!
I swear, whenever this country takes one step forward, it then somehow manages to take two steps back…
Wow, thanks for the translation. I feel like this is the last nail in the coffin for my planned trip in November. I don’t understand why they’re insisting on the flights being booked by the agency when that wasn’t even a requirement for guided tours. The agency I heard from that has been doing guided tours this summer doesn’t even offer to book your flights.
Actually, the final sentence there would be better translated as:
(*) Situations where tourists book their own accommodations with the travel agency acting only as their entry sponsor are not permitted.
I think the logic behind requiring flights booked now too is this:
With the previous guided tours (which will still be happening in the future) the flight booking were not required since the guide would meet the tourists at the airport on arrival, be with them the whole time, then escort them back to the airport for departure to the point of seeing them go through exit immigration.
But with non-guided tours, they want to somehow keep tabs on people for concerns about them catching Covid at all times, which may be understandable why they want the agency to do the accommodation bookings. (so its understood how much they fret over Covid, the vast majority of that translated document was about how agencies must deal with Covid situations, from prevention to managing a sick tourist)
But in theory, on a non-guided tour, someone doing their own flights could (for example) book a 7 night trip trough an agency, and simply say (or even physically show) that their departure flight was on day 8, but they could then (even while in Japan on the tour) change their departure ticket (or just throw it away and just get a new one) and then extend their trip for more days or even weeks, and during this extra time they would be without any Covid management oversight or agency responsibility.
I really can not stress enough that Japanese are crazy with caution in managing any possible contingencies. Don’t attempt to compare with elsewhere. It’s futile.
@AndyO
Thanks heaps for the translation and insights into the Japanese psyche.
This is all too hard and ridiculous and might drag into 2023.
Our flights and accommodation are fully refundable, so I would cancel and go to South Korea instead, except they still want a PCR test on arrival. As such, we will wait a bit longer.
Travel is meant to be fun and relaxing – our family has decided it’s not worth the stress and excessive paperwork. For us, it’s either full individual travel, no visa and no COVID tests, or cancel the trip. South Korea can wait too until they get rid of all COVID tests.
@Tom – thanks for this blog, really helps us make an informed decision.
@AndyO
As expected from Japan. Their bureaucracy is ridiclous, I have experienced it myself when I lived there a couple years ago.
I somehow have the feeling they do this to help their travel agencies make money. They think with fully opening most tourists will book individually and thus a lot of money is lost for travel agents… With these individual tours, visitors are forced to pay a travel agency.
Even if you book everything through an agent, they can’t surveil you when it’s an unguided tour. So the argument that it’s to prevent tourists from catching covid is absolute bullshit.
Translating another section of that…
“Travel agents should check the infection prevention measures at accommodation facilities, tourist facilities, restaurants, etc., and use facilities that have thorough measures.”
Hold on… restaurants? Does that mean that the travel agency has to pre-plan all of my meals and choose my restaurants for me? Because nope, that is definitely heading into the realm of *way* too intrusive.
They want the travel agencies to book my hotels, fine, as long as they book good ones. But I will not have where and what (possibly even when?) I eat dictated to me in advance.
Hi Tom, I really appreciate your post. I’m really hoping that we can book our own accomodations, airfare, and iteneraries, and pay a reasonable fee to the travel agencies that will act as a liason or approval service. If that’s really the case, then I’m going to Japan for sure in a heartbeat. Fingers crossed I hope to god that’s the case, but I also agree with you it’s hard to implement, nobody likes to work for free or for small wages, I think very few travel agencies will offer that service if the guidelines were really what we’re hoping for.
Tom, Thank you for your insightful, informative and logical reply, even though ‘logic’ doesn’t always apply to Japan Govt. decisions. I wonder how the company mentioned by someone here, https://www.j-g-a.org/, is doing what they purport to do. They are issuing the pre-Visa document, I forget the acronym, EFSR or something, to individuals, or so it seems. Maybe they know something no one else does. thanks again
Also curious about this. It seems like they are actually selling visas without flights or accomodations for $215!! Is it too good to be true? Can anyone confirm?
@Allen
That’s quite expensive though. They just have to enter some data in an online form. Maybe they operate in a legal grey zone.
$215 just to enter Japan is a drop in the bucket. Just like tom mentioned in the article, I can easily make that up by finding food airfare and taking advantage of the cheap yen.
Very interesting development! I wonder if (very optimistically) this is the way of reopening unrestricted travel, without appearing to have done so to the voters. If so, then it would move it toward a box-ticking exercise.
Ridiculous decision to allow this before allowing couples and friends to be reunited after almost three years.
The current change is merely replacing a North Korea style tour with a ransomware style tour. This is just extortion. I hope it fails as miserably as the guided tours in order to bring about a true reopening, with visa waiver and no restrictions.
For me, it depends on the cost of the ‘ransomware.’
If it’s $150-$300, I can easily recoup that by visiting early and saving on accommodations, airfare, etc–and taking advantage of an unprecedented exchange rate.
if they want 500 quid to let me in id be fine with it, waiting, rebooking and changing plans is just more painful to me. But i cant imagine that its gonna be that “cheap”, i expect a lot of restrictions in regards to accommodation, travel and a very steep price…
Hi Tom, thanks for the post, we were planning to go as a party of 4 people in mid November and have our flights booked. Looking very closely what the Japanese government will do. It’s our 3rd time in Japan and a travel agency arranged itinerary (or accommodation/transport markups) is a no go for us, especially that for a more experienced traveller it is super easy to arrange it yourself. We are also counting on your first thought, that we can find an agency who will just charge a “sponsorship and liaison” fee and leave us be to explore as we wish. I will be checking this website/post so if you find out something, please let us know. Thanks again