Japan's Covid Travel Restrictions (May 2022)
Japan is planning to open up international visitors by raising the cap from 10k to 20k people per day starting in June. There is also talks of allowing some tourists (currently banned) into the country via tour packages. While Japan is far behind other countries in allowing visitors, at least they are moving in the right direction. However, most visitors probably won’t return in full force until visa challenges and arrival testing requirements are dropped. This seems to be a controversial topic due to Covid safety concerns and balancing tourism/business travel, but at this point the world is going to live with Covid and there is plenty of domestic spread where it’s doubtful that travelers are the issue. With vaccination rates high and the omicron wave waning, maybe we’ll see acceleration towards a more open Japan.
Personally, I think the additional capacity might mean more delays upon arrival to get through the testing procedures, paperwork and processing. We can hope that the arrival testing is dropped soon, especially since we are vaccinated and require a pre-boarding test too. We are told to expect 2 hours of delay or more. But in the grand scheme of things, we’re going to Japan and who are we to complain about a minor inconvenience!
Current process for arriving as a foreigner:
- Meet visa eligibility Travel Restrictions
- Pre and Arrival Testing, vaccinations and process Japanese Border Measures