Is Japan Open to Tourists?
Is Japan open for international individual travelers? Are borders open as normal in 2024? What are testing, face mask, and vaccine requirements for visitors? These are questions among those planning trips to Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and this covers the answers.
The good news is that we now have an answer to questions we’ve been asking for nearly two years! First, after reopening to guided tour groups, Japan reopened to individual tourists on October 11, 2022. In the year-plus since, additional changes have occurred to the extent that it’s basically business as usual for visiting Japan in 2024.
We’ve already returned to Japan, spending about a month in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and elsewhere. In various updates here, we’ve been sharing our experiences and what it’s like as a foreign visitor, what has changed, crowd conditions, expenses of visiting Japan with the weaker yen, and much more. The big one for most of you is likely going to be Japan Face Mask Rules v. Reality in 2024.
Those two posts cover essentially everything you need to know about visiting Japan as of 2024. The short version is that it is possible to enter, regardless of whether you’re vaccinated or unvaccinated, albeit with a testing requirement for the latter. There are no quarantine requirements, and travel is visa-free for the vast majority of people reading this.
Please subscribe to our FREE email newsletter and stay tuned if you are curious about how things are on-the-ground for tourists in Japan post-reopening.
In terms of the latest news, the current vaccine and testing policies ended on May 8, 2023. 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.
This is a major policy shift and will relax–if not eliminate entirely–Japan’s intensive COVID-19 countermeasures, including limiting the movements of infected people and their close contacts. Japan’s reclassification of COVID-19 to Class 5 came after a panel of experts under the health ministry agreed on the plan earlier in the day.
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. Essentially, there will be no (legal) basis for the current border protocol effective May 8, 2023. Of course, things could change between now and then, but it’s likely the border will revert to late 2019 status as of that date.
We typically spend a couple of months in Japan each year, and are ecstatic to be returning after nearly 3 years away. We are eager to revisit our favorite places, see friends in Japan for the first time in over two years, and continue creating this site’s wealth of free planning resources. We’re excited about this great (but overdue) news, but also go in knowing that things will be different, in ways both good and bad.
For these two-plus years, we’ve been closely monitoring the situation in Japan, watching several hours of NHK each day and reading multiple Japanese news sources. 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.
What follows is based on that research and fixation with the on-the-ground situation in Japan. We’re preserving this for posterity, but everything that follows is now (thankfully!) obsolete information.
Japan is now allowing foreign nationals to enter Japan for purposes other than tourism so long as they have a sponsor in the country. 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.
With that in mind, let’s 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.”
Kishida has also acknowledged that Japan’s border control measures are the strictest among Group of Seven nations, and expressed a desire/need to bring Japan in line with its counterparts. “This is the first step in our gradual easing of the [border] restrictions,” Kishida has said.
As for why Japan’s border is still closed over a year after most democracies reopened, that can largely be explained by the country’s apprehensiveness of outsiders.
For better or worse, Japan is an insular and culturally conservative country–a characteristic that is often valued by visitors. Not so much in the last couple of years, as this has been reflected in policy-making. Japan has vilified and scapegoated foreigners and had an overly aggressive approach to its borders.
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. Economic benefits of international tourists is one big reason why Japan is expected to reopen its border.
Boosting tourism was core to the late former Prime Minister Abe’s economic revitalization, and both subsequent prime ministers have indicated their intentions to maintain continuity with those plans. 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. Compared with the pre-pandemic level in 2019, it dropped 99.2 percent. That’s the sharpest fall on record according to the Japan Tourism Agency.
Economists fear a “double dip” recession in Japan due to the prolonged closures and restrictions. Decreased tourism plus falling exports, an increased consumption tax, reduced consumer spending, weak yen, and growing national debt. Japan’s economy has serious issues and inbound tourism was previously a bright spot.
In other words, reopening to international visitors will be important to the health of Japan’s consumption-driven economy at some point in the not too distant future. This becomes increasingly true as the yen weakens due to the Bank of Japan continuing to pursue its loose monetary policy while the United States Federal Reserve, European, and other central banks raise interest rates. Quite simply, Japan is inflicting pain on itself by remaining closed.
There are also signs that stringent travel measures, including the border closure, are having a greater impact on Japan’s economy than previously believed. This is despite Japan’s “Go to Travel” campaign that subsidized domestic travel, which was offered at various times during the last two years.
According to data from the Japan Tourism Agency, stays at hotels and other accommodation facilities hit another record low in Japan last year–breaking the previous record set in 2020. The total of guests at hotels and inns was 315.75 million, down 4.8% from 2020 and 47% from 2019. (This number includes hotels used as government quarantine facilities, not just leisure stays.)
The ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party recognizes these problems and realizes it needs to rebuild Japan’s economy. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated that his top priority was formulating new economic measures and implementing these goals. The government will also take measures to stimulate and jump-start the economy.
Despite the aforementioned numbers, Japan is maintaining its goal of attracting 60 million foreign visitors by 2030. Additionally, the Japan National Tourism Organization has set 2024 as its goal for recovering to 2019 international travel levels. Both of these statements are reassuring given the current border closures, and indicate that Japan will unwind its travel ban in months, not years.
Against that economic backdrop, let’s take a look at the latest changes to Japan’s reopening plans…
We have more good news! Multiple media outlets, including NHK, Kyodo, Nikkei, and Fuji TV are all reporting that Japan’s government is planning to further relax restrictions and border measures with an eye to implementing the revisions by the start of October.
The specifics are not consistent among outlets, so let’s start with where they’re in agreeance.
First, there is consensus that the daily arrival cap, which is currently set at 50,000, will be eliminated entirely.
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. 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. Regardless, it’s good to have this removed as it eliminates an element of uncertainty and could have been an issue during peak travel times for the Japanese.
Another possibility is that Japan will allow individual foreign tourists to enter the country and exempt them from visas if they have been vaccinated three times or submit a pre-arrival test result.
This is where there is disagreement among the major outlets. Kyodo, Nikkei, and NHK are reporting that this is to be determined, with government officials still deciding whether to proceed with this plan or start with lifting the daily arrival cap. By contrast, Fuji TV is treating this as a done deal, using less ambiguous language.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reportedly plans to make a decision as early as the end of this week, according to the news outlets’ sources.
These “leaks” came after Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara spoke on Fuji TV over the weekend and stated that Japan will consider easing all three restrictions–the daily arrival cap, ban on individual tourists, and visa requirements. “We will review all three restrictions together. We have to carry it out in the not-so-distant future,” he said.
“Japan has seasonal attractions in fall and winter. We know there are a lot of people overseas who want to come to Japan,” Kihara added. “Amid the weakening yen, inbound travelers will have greatest economic effect…There are many foreign visitors who want to come visit Japan.” Kihara added that eliminating the arrival cap alone was not enough.
Kihara isn’t the only one who has been vocal about fully reopening to tourists recently. During the Bloomberg New Voices panel, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said she would open the country’s doors “tomorrow” if it were her decision. “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.
Koike said that Japan’s borders would fully reopen soon. “The national border is under the management of central government,” Koike said. “As governor of Tokyo, that would be tomorrow.”
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.
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.
Japan also began allowing unguided tours, meaning ones not accompanied by tour conductors. This is specifically for “unguided tour groups” or “non-escorted visitors on package tours” and not individual tourists.
In Unguided Tours in Japan – Reopening Phase Rules, we cover what this entails and the recently-released guidelines and FAQ for these tours. 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 were wrong–the unguided tours offered two steps forward but one step backwards.
We mention this in part to own past mistakes, but also as a cautionary tale. While it certainly sounds like the end is near for the Japan travel ban, it’s premature to have a high degree of confidence.
Kishida’s government has been trying to take advantage of the weak yen and accelerate growth by attracting more foreign visitors. It thus stands to reason that opening to individual tourists necessarily needs to occur–that raising the entry cap will do nothing in furtherance of their stated goal. However, as we have seen time and time again, the patently obvious conclusion often is not the outcome reached by Japan.
Moreover, how this played out with Japan’s last announcement is also instructive.
On August 23, specifics of the September relaxation measures were leaked to the same media outlets. At that time, it was unclear whether unguided tourists would be allowed to enter. On August 31, Kishida made an official announcement encompassing all of the rumored changes, including unguided tourists. (It took a few more days for the guidelines to be released, and the clarifying FAQ is still being updated.)
While presenting the above as a cautionary tale against optimism or over reliance on logic when assessing Japan’s decisions, that’s exactly what I’m going to do. (I’m sorry, I can’t help myself. Like a moth to a flame.)
First, there’s already the realization that unguided tours–like guided tours before them–will not move the needle on inbound tourism in any meaningful way. It’s 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. The number of people anxiously awaiting Japan’s reopening is shrinking, not growing.
Second, there’s awareness within the Kishida administration that the window of opportunity to reopen the border is closing. This is something we’ve pointed out in our best and worst case scenarios in prior updates, but there’s only a limited amount of time between waves.
Over two years into this, the seasonality of COVID transmission is well-established. Cases are currently in freefall and will continue decreasing next month before bottoming out sometime between late October and early November. There will be a winter resurgence. It could start as soon as late November, but is more likely in December.
Reopening to individual tourists in October presents minimal (political) risk and maximum (economic) upside. 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.
Frankly, the miscalculation here by the Kishida administration is thinking that this will have an immediate impact on inbound travel. Those reading regular updates on Japan’s reopening are not representative of international travelers at large. Most people need months of time between booking and traveling; very few plan and take last-minute trips–especially international ones.
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. Autumn is already a lost cause. At best, this helps with winter. More likely, the impact won’t be fully felt until next year’s cherry blossom season.
One wildcard is the downgrade of COVID’s legal status. Several recent updates have centered around Japan’s internal debate over whether to strip COVID-19 of its special status and downgrade it to the same level as the flu in Japan’s infectious disease categories.
It’s been our perspective that this was a necessary prerequisite to welcoming individual tourists as there would no longer be a need for a responsible receiving party to monitor travelers and act as a liaison for infected individuals. Given that none of the recent reports have even mentioned COVID’s status in regard to reopening, it’s possible our perspective was wrong. Or, that this barrier does still exist and Japan will have to create a “solution” for it (travel insurance?) for individual tourists. Either way, that’s something to continue keeping in mind.
Also as previously mentioned, recent poll data also shows the public is now far less concerned with COVID than the economy, Unification Church scandal, Abe’s state funeral, and other issues. It’s entirely possible that Kishida sees this polling and his sagging approval numbers and realizes that it’s time to move forward. That there’s more upside than downside risk in reopening and encouraging more economic activity.
As we’ve stressed repeatedly, Japan’s populace has been among the most cautious in the world with regard to COVID-19. Human behavior and sentiment don’t change overnight, even if it’s economically advantageous and objectively safer to do so. Statements by politicians and medical advisors, gradual border relaxation measures, and other changes could be interpreted as Japan laying the groundwork for a resumption of normalcy and the country’s eventual reopening. It now appears that the time is here–or coming very soon.
With all of this said, I’ll present my revised best, worst, and base-case scenarios for Japan’s reopening to individual tourists…
Let’s start with the best-case scenario. This assumes that Japan downgrades COVID-19 from its special status to Category 5 literally any day now or that this is not a necessary prerequisite to an individual tourist reopening. (With the possible workaround of travel insurance or some other awkward “fix.”)
Critically, this would eliminate the legal requirement of a responsible receiving party for visitors to Japan. In such a scenario, the borders could almost immediately return to their normal pre-closure status in early October. With this, the visa exemption would be reinstated, making that a non-issue. The arrivals cap would also be eliminated in this scenario.
Then there’s the middle ground or base case. This is now the same as the best-case scenario. In short, the early October reopening is not just our most optimistic view–it’s now what we expect to happen.
To differentiate the two, I’ll also allow for a middle ground possibility of a bifurcated decision with the individual tourist reopening a few weeks after the entry cap elimination. Let’s say that happens in early November.
This is would allow a bit of wiggle room for Japan’s slow and belabored decision-making process that involves a lot of “careful consideration” and “evaluating the situation.” If anything has been well-established during the last two-plus years, it’s that inaction is Japan’s baseline, and anything that does happen occurs gradually and in stages.
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. It’s possible the country views this as sufficient for tourism businesses to stave off bankruptcy or other financial hardship for another few months.
If/when there’s another winter resurgence in cases, the reopening can would effectively be kicked down the road for a few more months. That would mean individual tourists would not be welcomed back to Japan until sometime in the first half of 2023. I’m inclined to say Spring 2023, but it’s easy to envision a worst-case that isn’t until summer.
Our view is that the worst-case scenario is now highly unlikely. Japan relaxed its border measures earlier in September while still being #1 in the world for new cases. This indicates that Japan is finally ready to move forward and sets the precedent for future changes during waves. Who knows–it still may take until early 2023 to fully downgrade the legal status of COVID. But whatever winter wave occurs (and one will happen), that’s unlikely to be an obstacle to reopening progress, as was the case last year.
With all of that in mind, we remain cautiously optimistic that individual tourists will be allowed to enter Japan sooner rather than later. The political and economic appetite for fully relaxation now clearly exists, and there’s a vocal chorus of politicians in Japan–including those who were previously in favor of closed borders–championing reopening. It’s now the popular position being advanced publicly by politicians, not just being advocated by Keidanren or Japan’s business lobby.
Japan fully reopening in full is all but inevitable at this point. It will happen soon. The end is near.
It’s thus our view that Japan reopening in some capacity to individual tourists in October is a very realistic scenario. As improbable as it might’ve seemed even a week ago, Japan welcoming back international visitors who are not part of tours (guided or unguided) sometime before November is likely. It’s pretty clear the government is focused on moving forward. As frustrating as this whole process has been, Japan is not still (completely) stuck in March 2020.
As always, Japan is cautious and conservative, with a slow and belabored decision-making process that often embodies “analysis paralysis” and usually defies logic. That’s a wild card that could further extend any timeline. However, Japan is now joining the rest of the world as people are ready to move on with life.
We’ll keep watching the news and keep you posted if/when there are further developments about Japan reopening and allowing entry to travelers from the United States, Canada, Europe, and beyond. 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 visit to Japan, our recommendation at this point is to target sometime in November at the earliest. In our view, koyo (autumn leaves) season is a good bet, and that takes place from mid-November through December. That’s simply a good time to visit Japan and, hopefully, the country will be open to individual tourists by then.
Speaking of which, check out our Japan Fall Colors Forecast & Autumn Foliage Viewing Guide to get started on planning your trip to visit Japan’s popular fall foliage cities, including Kyoto, Tokyo, Mount Fuji, Miyajima, Hiroshima, Himeji, and Nara. That also offers tips for avoiding crowds and strategy for visiting the best temples, shrines, and evening illuminations.
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
Would you consider visiting Japan later this year, or is international travel out of the question for you anytime soon? How do you view the news about guided tours? Think those will stick around for several months, or are simply theater to shift public opinion? Think the need to adapt and live with the endemic virus will outweigh fear when it comes to Japan’s reopening plans? 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!
JGA updated its page with a little more specifics, I haven’t seen this text before (sorry if it’s old news)
“We provide the materials as below.
a. Letter from travel agency (with their company letterhead) stating names of all visa applicants, contact number, date of travel, duration of stay, name & address of place to stay in Japan; must be signed and stamped with company’s stamp.
b. Details of tour itinerary (daily itinerary including hotel’s name and address) from travel agency printed on the travel company letterhead;
c. The certificate for completion of registration to the Entrants, Returnees Follow-up System (ERFS)”
Anyway, still unclear if the accomodation have to be from them or can be from us.
The most likely case-scenario will still be booking through them with exorbitant prices, turning off most people.
And it seems they increased the cost from 20,000 Yen to 30,000 Yen for this special service. Then again if it can be done the way we wanted it, I am willing to pay personally.
30,000 is as high as I am willing to go. Visa application is going to be another 100 dollars or so.. it does add up
According to a piece in the Japanese media this morning, tour agents will be required to call arrivals to explain coronavirus measures and etiquette. Perhaps that’s the reason for the increased costs. Hopefully there won’t be more!
I talked to a Japanese travel agency in Los Angeles again this morning. Asked them about making travel arrangements for people who plan to stay in their own property when in Japan. The staff had not encountered such a case and didn’t know what to do about it.
It seems I should write to Japan Consul about this.
We have been delaying a planned trip to Japan for the last couple of years. It was supposed to be a graduation gift for my son. Fingers crossed we can make it in May 2023. That’s the plan. I’m curious about Disney Sea and Tokyo Disneyland, which were both part of our planned vacation. It’s all so stressful!!
Not as significant as Go To Travel, but Tokyo is resuming its subsidy program–and it’ll be short lived: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220901_14/
“Travelers will need to have received three shots of a coronavirus vaccine or show a negative PCR test result to benefit from the program.”
Linking some kind of benefit to vaccination or PCR test destroyed the public health perception in the rest of the world… and this may do the same.
But again, considering how “puritan” Koike is, it shouldn’t surprise me.
Just a heads up that I wrote a new post about the unguided tours: https://www.travelcaffeine.com/unguided-tours-japan-reopening-self-guided/
You’re obviously all free to continue discussing that here; just wanted to bring it to your attention.
Has anyone here heard from Japan Guide Agency https://www.j-g-a.org/erfs.html and knows what kind of hoops you have to jump through for itinerary?
Not yet. I’d imagine they are getting slammed with requests, and are perhaps being cautious about responding since it’s not 100% clear that they can even do what they’re purporting. (I think they can, but who knows.)
I had a reply yesterday. They are purposely being very vague, currently. I asked whether they knew if booking our own accommodation and planning our own itinerary was going to be allowed. Their response was basically copied from their home page, and didn’t actually answer either question. Of course, I don’t blame them for being vague, as I’d rather they don’t promise something they can’t deliver, but better to wait for Government clarification before going ahead.
Clearly they are just being entrepreneurial as a small company, and took a risky opportunity to interpret the new rules. Neither JTB or HIS know the details of the unguided tour requirements yet, and they are national travel agencies of Japan (or maybe they do, just deciding on how to design the products to get the most money out of us), so this small company definitely doesn’t.
It could work out for them and some of their customers, but it is just gambling at this stage. At least for Australia, we have to go through local agencies to apply for visa, as there is no online platform for that. So a ERFS not obtained from these local agencies probably won’t be accepted, at least not willingly.
Some Updates from JapanTimes
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/09/01/national/package-tours-restrictions-eased/
“The key is to have a sponsor in Japan, like a travel agency, and that they know the whereabouts of the traveler on a given day,” the official said, who asked not to be named in line with ministry guidelines. “They will also offer information on Japan’s social distancing rules and be the contact person if travelers get sick.” ….
…
…
“With the eased restrictions, the only tourists who won’t be allowed will be those who want to stay in accommodations not offered by travel agencies in their “package tours,” such as private rentals and smaller inns, as well as backpackers who don’t want to book hotels beforehand.”
Let’s wait another day to see if official details will be released.
F*ck, that means airbnb is out, which is what i booked… I like the feeling of supporting regular people with my booking, but apparently the governement doesnt agree
First sentence of the article you linked ends with “…as long as they book flights and accommodation through a travel agency, a government official in charge said Thursday.”
Flights?
Methinks this “government official in charge” isn’t aware of even the current requirements for fully guided tours (which don’t require agency booked flights), so perhaps take whatever he says with a grain of ajinomoto.
The amount of people on here and different forums who seem to be so accepting of this unguided tours policy is actually a little worrying. I’m starting to feel if everyone just accepts this and travels to Japan under these conditions and the government sees it as a success then these rules will become the new norm. I hope I’m wrong.
Then Kono Taro‘s words (https://mobile.twitter.com/konotaromp/status/1562666716991086592) wouldn’t make sense. Plus, I do not see much acceptance for this rules at all.
We’re the true die hards, I wouldn’t say it’s reflective. Look at the twitter, people have been going hard.
People are also running under a lot of assumptions. We don’t have any official details yet. If it turns out you need a strict fixed itinerary, or something else just as asinine, then watch how that acceptance turns into anger.
If it turns out all you need is the ERFS, and you can pretty much do what you want, then you still need to find a tour agency willing to sign that off, and then you need a visa, which for most countries, can be a real pain in the arse. I believe in vast majority of Europe, that still means visiting a Japanese embassy. The embassy in the UK is changing its system this week because their original system has broken due to demand (this was before the recent announcement), and unless its all online based, then I doubt whatever they do is going to be that much less of a burden for those applying.
Agree with dot.
Long term, I would not be ‘accepting’ of this approach. But it doesn’t matter if I am or not, because I don’t think this is viable for Japan’s tourism goals. Most people are not going to jump through these hoops, even those required under the most optimistic/favorable reading of what “unguided tours” might mean.
Selfishly and in the short term, I will absolutely do this if it means paying a $150-$300/person fee but otherwise having complete autonomy over booking and scheduling. I can easily recoup that expense by virtue of lower priced accommodations and airfare (not to mention the current exchange rate) while also enjoying smaller crowds.
It’s obviously not what I want to see in the long-term, but what I want does not really matter. Japan has its own tourism goals, and this is a non-starter for meeting them.
The June 10th tourist restrictions were not far from “North Korea” or “Turkmenistan” style restrictions on tourist visas. Unacceptable to almost everyone. If what is being rumoured is correct (that an agency can essentially rubber-stamp your itinerary for a fee and issue ERFS and visa support), then Japan has moved onto “Russia” or “Iran” style restrictions on getting a tourist visa. In both those countries you have to get an invitation in order to apply for a visa, but you can just buy the invitation from a local agency for ~$30, and use it to apply for a visa at your local embassy. It’s not exactly customer friendly and doesn’t encourage travel.
Japan should really be aiming higher than this, and I hope they are.
@Gav loved your comment lol
Going from NK/Turkmenistan to Russia/Iran…
Letting clear the insanity of what our beloved Japan is doing.
We have a trip booked for December (after our April 2020 trip was cancelled).
Even if we can get an agency to sponsor our already self-booked trip and get us an ERFS, Australians still have to get a VISA- I just looked at my closest consulate and the next available appointment is 2 weeks before out trip (mid-November). So unless things change, I guess this will be another cancelled trip and we will go where it is much easier to travel to (almost anywhere besides Japan at the moment).
Which one is your closet consulate? For the Melbourne consulate servicing Vic, SA and Tas, they have outsourced visa application to a few agencies. It will probably be faster if you can somehow go through one ‘pretending’ you are from one of these states somehow?
I’m in Sydney so probably can’t do that one. Hoping they will just go to open travel beforehand.
AS, have you checked with JTB or H.I.S Travel in Sydney? They’re authorised visa agents and can process your visa application immediately (apparently they have a daily time slot with the consulate to submit applications). It’ll cost you $132 per application, but they say they can get your visa back within 5 working days
Gav, your comment gets the point. It is frustrating that Japan is aligned with the countries you mentioned. This is primarily sad and self-damaging for Japan itself, which does not deserve this. All the alleged “difficulties” that even some users on this forum continually repeat, if they were real, would perhaps be justifiable only in a developing country. It is in no way justifiable that every other country in the world has long since returned to full normalcy while only Japan is still struggling with all these useless complications (but only in regard to foreigners of course!!!). All of this, clearly, has nothing to do with covid risk nor, frankly, is the usual response of those who say that Japan is “different” and that what happens in other countries “doesn’t concern us” acceptable.
Considering the facts that I no longer need to be vaccinated, or a pre-flight test, or a test on arrival, or quarantine, and I am STILL not allowed to enter Japan, it is impossible to avoid thinking that Japan’s border closure has, in fact, nothing to do with Covid and all all to do with pure hardcore xenophobia that just happened to get a good excuse.
Because you Gaijins only bring problems to Jaban, You guys not following social rules, making a mess in our count-ry, not wearing the sacred mask. We Jabanese people proved we can make our count-ry better once before in 1980s, we can show you Gaijin once again, the land of the liseing sun!
Honestly, I believe it’s just sclerotic risk aversion manifesting as xenophobia (for a limited number of people).
Steven, not sure where you heard it, but if you’re not vaccinated then you do need a preflight test before coming to Japan
I think it is (also) because the daily cap still needs to be removed.
It makes me laugh when I read the populace in Japan has ” a fear of cultural outsiders’, which smells of Edo period thinking. But they will happily take the money from ‘cultural outsiders’ with a tight fist and a smile. What also amuses me is that Japan allegedly has fears of foreign tourists spreading Covid. Heck, WE should be fearful of going to Japan and getting Covid because they, the Govt, has failed at containment and are still testing some drugs used for Covid when there are a myriad of meds available. This whole Covid problem lies on the Government’s shoulders but do they admit it….nope. So they make a huge distraction that ‘ we must keep foreigners out so to protect ourselves from Covid’. Just noise, they should figure out how to protect the Japanese from themselves, because they are infecting each other at record rates. Months ago one of my Japanese friends got scared because the Gov’t. warned that tourism would bring in more MonkeyPox. More noise. They will say and do anything to keep the failure off themselves. I have cancelled my October trip and just might go to Korea and Singapore in November instead of Japan. This was the 6th trip cancelled (I was an optimist about this country), I will give it one more try in May, after that….sayonara Japan.
https://www.j-g-a.org/
check this one, I have had contact them, seems like you can just tell them your schedule, they will manage it for you to stay your own hotel, with 20,000 Yen per person. Im not 100% sure if you guys interesting please contact them.
Do they also accept it when I don’t want to stay at a hotel but at my Japanese partner‘s/family‘s house as my accommodation?
Also wondering if you can stay at your partners house.
Tom and everybody, I don’t know the answer, you need to contact them, I don’t even know are they scam or not…
I sent an email to them as well.
They must have received quite a lot of mails given their rather unbelievable price.
It’s contraditory that the media says accomodation and air tickets must be bought by the agency and what we find on the internet are agencies saying those are not included.
I also went one step ahead and sent an email to the consulate here.
Not sure if they know more details as well but I would love some clarification.
My main point of concern is getting the ERFS + supposed itinerary through those agencies but they refuse the visa because I am the one who bought everything else.
A friend of mine said that “they could be sponsoring you as a business traveller and nothing wrong with that”, but just a guess as well.
I know somebody who has booked with them. She is arriving in October, so I could report back then if that’s of any use to any of you, but until now she seems very happy with JGA.
@ Japan Tourism Business Owner,
Yes, please tell us how your friend goes in October with JGA agency.
My family has booked our flights and all accommodation for our Jan/Feb trip. I don’t want to rebook any hotels with an agency because places like Inside Japan Tours are charging 2-3 times more than the hotels I have secured, with a similar star rating. That’s not affordable.
Please keep us updated!
If anyone else has updates, we would really appreciate it too!
Thanks
20,000 Yen = €143 for a piece of paper that’s not even a visa but MAY enable me to get a visa? No. Thank. You. Very. Much.
Another Japanese friend in Japan is calling for me with questions. Ill share the answers when I get them.
I also messaged them with a loose itinerary and request. The business is legit with reviews on trip advisor going back to spring 2019. What I only wonder is if they are being overly vague up front to collect non refundable ERFS Visa fees. I guess we are all waiting for an email back.
They were doing something similar before these latest measures. You were required to book a tour with them, albeit a small one, otherwise they would revoke your ERFS. As in they would actually issue it, you would get your visa, THEN they asked you to book a tour. I got this information second hand, so take it with a pinch of salt.
I would wait until the Government confirm how this is all going to work before going ahead with them. I’m they have good intentions, but they currently don’t have any more info than the rest of us (I emailed yesterday). If it turns out you need a strict fixed itinerary, or something similar, they may well have to either revoke your ERFS or make you book something you don’t want to do. Hopefully that won’t be the case!
Yeah if I just have to book a small tour with them after paying ERFS fee to get into the country and have the rest of the time that I wouldn’t mind. Looking towards an email response but they’ll be slow. Can’t be tempted now by a 20000¥ charge that could get me nowhere
@Lin, your trip is in Jan/Feb. The rules will probably change at least twice between now and then. I wouldn’t worry about it yet. It’s highly unlikely you’ll need to follow the same procedures as someone visiting in Sept/Oct. I’m also hoping to visit in Jan/Feb (only flights are booked so far), and I’m not going to start seriously considering entry procedures until late November or early to mid December.
Hello. A friend of mine in Japan who works for a travel agency told me her agency will charge $1000 per week for planning and sponsoring for an “unguided tour’. My 6 of 7 visits to Japan in 5 years have always been self guided. The agency picks the hotels THEY want and tourists pay. That’s above the $1000 per week. My stays go from 3-6 weeks. This year’s October trip is planned for 5 weeks. I am already paying $4000 for lodging alone but can’t use my own, only the agencies picks ( I am SURE they will shop for best prices.LOL). This is the government’s scheme to help the beat up tourist sector. Good luck with this scheme. I am taking what my friend said as truth for now. I will see what happens when more of this fiasco unfolds. If anyone hears anything else please let us all know. thanks
You know what pisses me off the most?
In November (like this August) we will have to deal with stupid NHK articles and media asking themselves “wHY tHe TOurISts aREn’t REturnINg?”
LOOK IT’S AUTUMN SEASON AND THE TOURIST ATTRACTIONS REMAIN EMPTY HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE???? THE GOVERNMENT HAS EASED SO MUCH, WHYYYYYYY
God damn it.
Very frustrating. We’d be willing to rebook accommodations (ours are all fully refundable) with a travel agency if it wasn’t an astronomical increase in price, but based on my interactions with insidejapan tours the price difference is just not acceptable. I meticulously planned our 25 day trip for this November. We booked flights in January and accommodations in April. We’re willing to pay a bit more for an agency to rebook and we’re flexible with our itinerary as long as it’s still the trip we want but the takeaway I got is the travel agency is taking advantage of the situation to upcharge (they explicitly said the demand is high and it’s “peak season” so prices will be higher) lol like we don’t know what’s going on.
I’m still going to try to make our trip work for November but not for double the price. I was also offended that they called our itinerary “bare bones” without even knowing the extent to which I have planned things…as if travel agencies are the only ones capable of planning an adequate itinerary. Unfortunately we might have to cancel if they we can’t find an agency willing to work with us or if independent tourism isn’t an option by our flight date (Oct.31)
“This is the government’s scheme to help the beat up tourist sector.”
Yeah Frank, I don’t expect to see much of an increase in our business at all from this government plan. We’re still operating at near-zero, and the stupid guided tours offered us roughly nothing. This won’t be much different and is a stupid plan. Tourism will return when people don’t have to get a visa in advance and can do what they want, it’s really that simple.
@Japan Tourism Small Business Owner – Thanks for that feedback. The fact that she’s currently happy is reassuring. I’m working on putting together a list of companies that will offer this service, and so far this is the only one.
I’ve contacted them and 7 other travel agencies and haven’t heard back from any yet. Not a huge surprise given the circumstances–I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve been slammed by inquiries today and aren’t quite sure themselves how this will work!
For the upcoming unguided or individual tourism, will I be forced to book a hotel? Or will my Japanese partner‘s home be accepted as an accommodation to get a visa?
According to Japan Times, Bloomberg, NHK, the agency picks the hotels as your “sponsor”.
Oh man, what a discrimination for people like us.
Will that sponsor mandate be in place forever now? >_<
Who knows Tom. I hope not! I want to visit Japan but have my partners or plenty of friends houses I could stay at for free so I don’t want to spend money on accommodation.
Part of a response from Inside Japan tours after inquiring if they would work with our established itinerary for this November:
What we can’t do is just give you a visa for a trip you’ve already booked. We also can’t “convert” a trip you’ve booked already by using the same hotels, etc. that you picked out. We use our expertise and local connections to work with suppliers we have the best relationships with.
There are other tour companies that may be able to just help with the visa process if you want to keep everything how you’ve booked it/have a very bare bones trip with no guiding or excursions. We know we’re not the best fit for everyone and don’t want to mislead anyone if we’re not what you’re looking for.
Thanks for sharing that! I’ve reached out to a few services but have yet to hear anything back yet (presumably due to time zones).
If anyone else wants to share their experiences contacting or working with travel agencies in Japan, it would be greatly appreciated.
I currently have flight tickets with United Airlines for late December with a party of 4…
Claire and Tom, would you mind updating this thread if you find any more information on tour agencies that might be able to accommodate my party? We have no hotels or plans yet, just the tickets, so it’s looking like we can at least bet that we can go on one of these “unguided” tours, at least. If you find a tour agency that has less strict requirements for booking, it would be immensely appreciated. Thanks!
@Tom, HIS in Australia got back to me and told me they are still waiting on the details of this new measure. But they said they “doubt” the government will allow agencies to just put a stamp on your own itinerary and call it a package tour. They don’t expect booking flights from them to be necessary as even visas for guided tours don’t require that. But hotel bookings via agency is probably the minimum.
According to NHK….Kishida added that more changes are in the works. “We plan to further relax restrictions to make entry procedures as smooth as they are in other Group of Seven countries.”
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/backstories/2087/
He’s been saying that since May. The reality is different, at least for now.
There are two possibilities here. One is that, despite the failure of guided tours, the government still believes this will increase tourism numbers in a meaningful way. Personally, I doubt that. Then again, I still think that the guided tours were a symbolic step to change public perception and no reasonable person ever thought they’d move the needle much.
The alternative is that there needs to be a responsible receiving party until COVID is legally downgraded. That would be the travel agency in this case, acting as a liaison in case someone gets infected and needs treatment, etc. Why that couldn’t instead be a travel insurance company (paying that fee makes infinitely more sense and would be attractive to more travelers IMO) is beyond me.
If the first is true, another 3 months after this for individual travelers makes sense. It’ll give them time to see that this is another failure and adjust accordingly. If the second is true, the legal downgrade should almost immediately trigger the resumption of individual travel. That could be weeks away or months away.
I know others have mentioned the next session of Diet, but based on what he’s said before, it sure sounds to me like Kishida has unilateral authority to make the decision. (I won’t pretend to know Japanese administrative law, though.) With cases and hospitalizations both coming down quickly, that window of opportunity is going to open sometime in September. I really hope Kishida makes his move before it closes prior to the winter wave.
Both are reasonable scenarios.
Unfortunately, I have add, the “opposition” to this stupid ban on English SNS is doing no favor to foreigners. I can understand the frustration (my next window of opportunity is next summer!) but calling for worldwide ban of Japanese tourists, calling Japan the land of xenophobia, making North Korean comparisons isn’t going to help at all…
3rd possibility: such tours create a responsible receiving party even after COVID is legally downgraded. Just because Covid will not be a legal “emergency”, the government, hotel owners/staff, and hospitals/clinics will still fret over managing any sick foreigners until things finally smooth out and feel “normal” again. After 2.5 years of gov-induced hyperbole, the one-day-to-the-next downgrade will not immediately create widespread acceptance and procedural normalization. Also, insurance companies are not language translation and interpreter companies which can arrange quarantine, treatment, and transport.
4th possibility: regardless of downgrade, these agency bookings are a way to prevent foreign tourists from utilizing the planned resumption of Go To discounts.
5th possibility: booking through agents allows hotels to not-so-obviously deny bookings to foreigners, because despite the potential for extra revenue, they still despise the evil gaijin !!! (that’s both punctuation and a salutation)
Andy, the vaguery of your third point makes it unlikely. When exactly do they start letting in regular tourists under that scenario? When is normal? There has been some opposition in many countries, and which would no doubt continue indefinitely, to some degree, if not for Government intervention. Some recent polling is now in favour of reopening, with the majority (I believe around 50%) favouring the Government’s slower approach, and around a quarter wanting them to open quickly or immediately.
The “issue” with the language barrier has been solved in almost every country on Earth. I have no doubts that Japan would be capable of solving it themselves, should they choose to go down that route.
AndyO: Of course, there’s also the sixth possibility of a meteor hitting Japan and killing everyone…except that the probability of such an event is extremely small.
Everytime someone brings up a likely scenario, you come up with some sort of special pleading (which, I add, is an informal fallacy).
Again, let me ask directly: do you want the borders open or not? Because it’s difficult to understand your position.
One measure Kishida is not going to take is to suddenly and unilaterally announce convoluted changes to the Infectious Disease law even before current measures have been given a chance to work because cases may increase in Oct, whether he technically has the authority or not (which I doubt).
@zazza Andy doesn’t want the borders to reopen. His 3rd possibility speaks for itself.
Why you think he only appears here to take into negative views and make pessimistic remarks on everything?
@Lizz No, October will be very low in cases. In fact both October and November will be very calm in terms of cases simply because that’s how Covid works everywhere else. Peak, stable, down, stable, up, peak, stable, down and so on…
AndyO has the freedom to express his opinions. As annoying as his doom and gloom is, we need to remind ourselves whatever we say, positive or negative, won’t affect Japan’s border policies. So best to just ignore him.
@Shinn – Agreed…until the last sentence. I may not always care for his tone (etc.), but Andy has been correct multiple times and shared valuable insights.
Ultimately, neither he nor anyone here has any actual influence on Japan’s border policies, so I couldn’t care less what preferences or motivations anyone commenting might have. Beyond that, substance matters and tone does not, so I can easily overlook the latter if the former is useful or insightful.
@Tom, while that is true but we can argue that if you stick to a negative view on everything, it is easy to be right a few times in this ever evolving situation.
Shinn, go ahead and believe that being realistic of the actual situation and considering all the factors in play is pessimistic.
While Tom tries to give a ray of hope with his postings (it must be getting ever more taxing by now), if you had only believed in the eternal optimism made for the past 6 months by him and other commenters here, which was often based on assumptions, comparisons to other countries, and tunnel-vision without considering the wide variety of factors at hand…. and you had booked your trip according the best-case or even most-likely-case scenarios presented, then you would have needed to change your plans multiple times by now, with still no specific end in sight.
So by all means ignore what I say, yet do so at your own peril. But killing the messenger will not open the border any sooner.
AndyO, I’m assuming good faith in what you post, but stop sidestepping the question. Do you want the borders open? Yes or no? It’s a simple answer.
It doesn’t matter that what you do or say has zero impact on Japan’s policy. I cannot honestly understand what your point is, sometimes.
That’s why I’m asking.
Being that you are the first and only one to directly ask this, I would wonder how I’m sidestepping a question. But since you feel I’m ambiguous, then I suppose I’ve succeeded in trying not to be too biased and to be objective with explaining how I and/or people in Japan perceive things (despite how this obviously infuriates people).
And its pretty sad that in order to be acceptable here, one needs to show outrage, anger, or make sweeping speculations about racism and discrimination.
That said, yes, I want the borders not to just re-open fully and completely, but to do so in a way equal to the pre-Covid era which does not include ERFS docs, eVisas, MySOS tracking apps, pre-flight tests, vaccine requirements, travel insurance, or any other bureaucratic barrier or pseudo-dystopian conveyance.
However, I worry that that world ended in January 2020, so trying to henceforth make sense of what is yet to come based on the current realities of a place which was in many ways already broken is much more logical than to flippantly complain about it. (whether Japan or elsewhere, I’ve always felt that any major crisis shows the cracks in a system).
Yes, positive changes will also happen too, and while it’s not my desire to be Debbie-downer here, visitors often see Japan through rose-tinted glasses and do not realize many of the obstacles (that do not exist elsewhere) which impede the country.
But at least its been announced that not only is the Japanese government finally moving away from its reliance on fax machines, they are also trying to do away with floppy disks too:
https://newsonjapan.com/html/newsdesk/article/135465.php
(so my point is, if they are still wrangling with ejecting their floppies, you shouldn’t expect immediate Covid policy reversals)
What rough date do you think Japan will open to individual tourists then, Andy? Last time I asked, at the beginning of the latest wave, you said late November at the very earliest.
If I make a prediction that is not optimistic, I’ll be attacked for being full of doom and gloom.
If I make a prediction that turns out to be accurate, I’ll be attacked as just being lucky.
If I make a prediction that isn’t accurate, I’ll be attacked to no end (though, compared to what many others here have predicted, my previous failures have been minimal).
If I make no prediction, I’m attacked for being vague or lacking conviction.
And if I’m “sincerely” asked something, somehow I’ll still be attacked for being as honest or factual as possible.
But to give some odds as of today (before any official explanation about the most recent self-guided tour details): Sept 0%, Oct 1%, Nov 10%, Dec 40%, January or after 49%.
So for now, its 51 vs 49 in favor of sometime in 2022, or essential a coin toss.
Was thinking December myself.
Andy, I’ve defended you more than once, however, over the past couple of months, you’ve become rather passive aggressive in your comments and responses. I value your opinion, but I understand why someone would disregard what you say just because of the way you say it. You either post here because you care about those wishing to come to Japan, or because you only care about feeling superior, which is how you’ve been coming across. I choose to believe the former, and think you would have more success if you wrote things with a more empathetic tone. I think people questioning whether you actually want Japan to reopen is evidence of that.
“.” I appreciate your candid consideration.
Happy travels to you (and whoever else still reading) if/when Japan’s opening requirements become agreeable to your situation.
Latest update from Bloomberg:
“…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.”
Ughhhhh!??
what kind of schrodingers guided tour is that?! so its non guided except you cant make your own choices or travel on your own
I can’t escape the feeling that the Japanese government knows this will not be a popular way of travel for most. Having said that, I am sure tourism to Japan will increase (slightly / moderately) supporting the slow and measured approach.
Once the Japanese public is used to more tourist, or the amount of incoming tourists is not as high as was “hoped” this paves the way for further relaxation measures.
Bloomberg is incorrect. At least, in part.
As noted elsewhere, even now certain travel agencies allow their clients to dictate the itinerary. Certainly that will remain true with some, but perhaps not all, agencies under the unguided tours.
I’ve booked two weeks independent travel around Japan from November 27th.
I am desperate for japan to open up to independent travellers. 🤞🤞🤞
Surely independent travellers are next.
I just wish Kishida would stop repeating the broken record of “monitoring domestic and overseas situation”. It’s pretty clear it’s a lie.
The only thing Kishida monitors is his approval rating.
Oh, I’m sure they’re monitoring it, just in case they need to close up shop again!
I’m being facetious, I do actually believe the Government possibly wanted to relax things further, if it wasn’t for the current wave, but I’m still pissed off, despite knowing this was going to happen.
calum: Considering his approval rating is nosediving…
what kind of “oversea situation’ is he monitoring since the whole world is open bar China Taiwan ( which is going to open) and Japan?🤡
Im so pissed off at such a lame arrangement.. Am I suppose to inform my travel agency where I ate and where I pissed too??
I have a pending trip in late September then early November .. Argh
That’s like saying Japan would have been fully open if it werent for COVID
Another lost Koyo season. Even if we agreed to put up with stupid unguided tours good luck securing visa appointment. Now we have to hope there is no nasty Winter variant so that hopefully fingers crossed they will move to reinstate visa waiver sometime in December
It really sucks but hopefully we are only a few months off the news we have all been waiting for.
If you live in the US, you can apply with EVisa and get it back in 2-4 business days. (I did this). And it’s free. A slight pain, but not exactly insurmountable. And if that’s all that’s required to enter the country based on this mornings announcement it’s pretty negligible.