honeymelonQuick update for those who may not know.
Today, prime minister Kishida announced Japan is opening up to independent travel, similar to pre-covid conditions. Starts Oct 11th. Prior, a guided-tour via a travel agency was needed to enter the country.
This proved to be wildly unpopular considering the appeal of international travel is to explore an unknown country to its fullest. The additional cost is also not worth it for many; every city in Japan has English signage and you can get around comfortably without knowing Japanese at all outside of a few simple phrases. Japan had record low tourism numbers in 2021, with only 250,000 foreigners entering. The economic hurt was felt very hard, with the yen at a current all time low.
You will need to be triple vax'd in order to enter the country or neg covid test. Details are still coming out of requirements. There will be some discounts for travelers through a government program, allegedly.
Full article here: www.japantimes....
So, MFC, how do we feel about this?
I, for one, will be saving all my credit card points towards a trip back to Japan. I'm thinking autumn of next year. I haven't been to Japan since 2018, so I'm definitely overdue for a trip back. I really look forward to seeing more user articles about their trip to Japan. Haven't seen those ever since COVID.
Today, prime minister Kishida announced Japan is opening up to independent travel, similar to pre-covid conditions. Starts Oct 11th. Prior, a guided-tour via a travel agency was needed to enter the country.
This proved to be wildly unpopular considering the appeal of international travel is to explore an unknown country to its fullest. The additional cost is also not worth it for many; every city in Japan has English signage and you can get around comfortably without knowing Japanese at all outside of a few simple phrases. Japan had record low tourism numbers in 2021, with only 250,000 foreigners entering. The economic hurt was felt very hard, with the yen at a current all time low.
You will need to be triple vax'd in order to enter the country or neg covid test. Details are still coming out of requirements. There will be some discounts for travelers through a government program, allegedly.
Full article here: www.japantimes....
So, MFC, how do we feel about this?
I, for one, will be saving all my credit card points towards a trip back to Japan. I'm thinking autumn of next year. I haven't been to Japan since 2018, so I'm definitely overdue for a trip back. I really look forward to seeing more user articles about their trip to Japan. Haven't seen those ever since COVID.
Komentarze54
Yeahhh i have noticed! xp
I don't mind waiting for more years ^^
Been planing to go there for the second time, Since i have my fiance he is coming with me maybe.
Though he isn't vaxx at all and he refused getting tested aswell.. So thats gonna be trouble.
Perhaps the requirements will calm down next year. I wouldn’t count on it though - Japanese government is extremely close-minded and slow with changes…it took them this long to open the country so I wouldn’t be surprised if they have the vax/test requirement for another 1-2 years.
Been planing to go there for the second time, Since i have my fiance he is coming with me maybe.
Though he isn't vaxx at all and he refused getting tested aswell.. So thats gonna be trouble.
My back-info: Was supposed to go on my first ever Japan trip in 2020, got force-canceled and I lost a ton of money. I basically only want to go again if I can be sure there are no things closed/limited, otherwise I rather wait another couple years more for a 'proper' trip there.
It's also good for tourism, and it's a good thing we can go there again if we want as well.
Another plus is the flights would HOPEFULLY mean Air and SAL come back. I will never use SAL again, but having Air open again for smaller items would be great. I'm amazed they didn't announce it already, as October 11th is fairly soon.
I've been following this too and was so excited when I heard the news :)
I already have a trip planned for May 2023. I'm so excited!! Hopefully they don't revert this decision LOL.