Prime Minister Kishida made a big announcement on August 24, 2022 that Japan will no longer require inbound tourists to join a group package tour. The Japanese government’s original June 10th group package tour strategy failed as only 8,000 foreign tourists total came in the two months of June and July. The Prime Minister has also changed the number of daily entries into Japan from 20,000 to 50,000 per day which at this point does not really matter since there are so few tourists coming into Japan. Nothing is clear yet, but it sounds like foreign tourists will be able to come on “self-guided” tours that are planned with Japanese tour agencies. Foreign tourists will still have to apply for a tourist visa at their Japanese consulate or embassy. How much different is this new September 7th Self-guided package “light” tour strategy compared to the June 10th group package tour plan? In this video, Mike shares his take on what he thinks about the new tourist entry plan.
Sources: NHK evening news, Japan Times, Japan Today, Nikkei Asia, Mainichi Shimbun.
Other videos of interest:
“Breaking News from Japan! – September 7th, BUT…
“I know why Japan is still closed!”
100,000 Foreign Visitors to Japan in July??? (WTF!)
https://studio.youtube.com/video/F3YLhdNSh48/edit
Where are the group package tours in Japan?
What happened to the Foreign Group Tourists’ entry into Japan? (started June 10, 2022)
Best Rice in the World: https://youtu.be/QFyfOB6vyMs
Japan Bath: https://youtu.be/tPyJliDAm4Q
Japanese curry: https://youtu.be/FFseCI802R4
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Mike’s website: https://www.goglobal.me/.
19 Comments
I'll return when all restrictions are lifted.
Thank you for the update. Nice venue also! The SHIN !!!!!!!
By the time Japan fully open, a lot of people already used their Japan travel money to travel to other less restricted countries.
Why can’t the gov’t put some effort in setting up a guided “tour” for transit passengers to travel between Haneda and Narita airports so that we can use our JAL tickets that require us to fly through Japan! 😒
Will not considered until they drop this travel agency thing.
You nailed it in your previous video and this one too. It all comes down to the healthcare system which seems it MAY be headed in the right direction. Fingers crossed as this border situation is ridiculous and unnecessary.
Good news reporting!
Must have been a hot day 🤣🔥
thanks so much for your updates; i would almost consider coming in these self guided tours if there was no visa requirements for me as a french citizen and no covid hasttle, maybe just a vaccination 3 doses proof to show on departure from home country and arrival in tokyo; my guess is still for spring 2023 for full reopening hopefully
thanks! yes, they're announcing this and saying that they'll implement it next week but the thing is no one and no travel agent will be prepared for that on such short notice!
鎖国言葉を教えてくれてありがとうございます。一昨日ユーチューブで外国人にインタービューを観たんですが。the foreign guy who was interviewed said: "i am here because i finally got a visa to be able to visit my girlfriend and her family" (so they are not married). That surprised me a lot, I searched online but visa informations at this point are really confusing me up. Have you ever heard of such an option? To be honest, it is something that I would very much like to know. まつのさん、相変わらず有り難いです。
A good start, but still not enough.
No more travel agency requirements.
No more maximum number of tourists per month.
Time to open up.
Thanks for the clarification /explanation of these self-guided tours, “light” version, lol. Very enlightening video, Mike.
More Smoke and Mirrors.
great content – thank you
U are spot on, Mike… Thanks for all thr information. Nothing really changed…
Though I’d love to go and see my relatives again I just can’t be bothered with all of these rules and steps.
Japan open finally open the door ? Really ? They change their mind so often and suddenly….. So ?
🤔😂😅😷🤒😓ha,ha….
Thanks, Mike…
unfortunately I`ve already booked a flight via Lufthansa and the airline directly… can I still arrange hotels and stuff via a JApanese travel agency then and enter????????????????? aaaaah I`m starting to get tired of ever visiting again. and you know what, I`m not a first-time visitor, but have lived in Japan for 6 years. If Japan wants to keep foreigners away who might not abide to the hygiene etc…. this current policy is not a good way, as it keeps people like me away who actually know about culture etc. and invites people who have never seen Japan.