This time its real: Japan to drop final COVID requirements

TOKYO, JAPAN - AUGUST 5, 2018: View of Shibuya shopping street with thousands of people and neon signs during sunset

Japan has finally announced it will remove all its COVID border restrictions from October 11th.

The latest announcement removes the daily entry cap and the requirement for travellers to apply for tourist visas.

The easing of restrictions comes in an attempt to fully open to international tourism in time for the ‘Koyo’ autumn leaf season and to aid a flagging Japanese economy.

InsideJapan, one of the first western tour operators to get travellers back into the country on small group tours, has been organising its self-guided cultural adventures across Japan.

Inside Travel Group and InsideJapan Tours’ co-founder, Simon King said this latest update means Japan will be “fully open” to tourists without the hassle of visas.

“For our customers and agents, this removes the final barrier to travel and any uncertainty around travel allowing them to plan and look forward to their trips,”

The new rules mean travellers from ‘Blue’ countries such as the UK, US and Australia can now enter the country and be given a visa on arrival.

Triple vaccinated travellers do not need to test before they travel, nor on arrival.

Unvaccinated travellers will still need to provide proof of a negative test before they depart.

InsideJapan saw a massive increase in enquiries and bookings after Japan announced in August that non-guided and individual travellers would be allowed to return from 7 September, with tour bookings exceeding the same month in 2019.

Web traffic also saw an impressive 250 per cent increase on August 2019 levels.


Image: iStock/Daniel Machacek

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