Covid-19: Japan reopens to tourists - but with strict rules

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Neasa Ronayne will be going to Japan for the first time.

Under the country's Covid-19 restrictions she is not allowed to roam around on her own.

Ms Ronayne is from the UK and still wants to go.

I will be going to Japan and Asia for the first time. I can't wait to see it. She said that she had been watching Terrace House to learn some phrases.

She's not the only one. Although the country's strict regulations are keeping some visitors away, several travel agencies are seeing a rise in inquiries about holidays to Japan.

Some of the world's toughest Covid-19 restrictions have closed Japan to foreign visitors. As it opens its borders to tourists from nearly 100 countries and regions on Friday, it has put new restrictions in place.

Travelers are required to be part of a package tour. They need to purchase medical insurance and wear masks in public.

Tourists will have to avoid crowded places and close contact settings under the rules.

Tour leaders need to accompany visitors from entry to departure and remind them of Covid requirements, according to the Japan Tourism Agency.

Tour guides should remind tour participants of the need to wear and remove masks at each stage of the tour, according to the guidelines.

In situations where people are conversing in close proximity, masks should be worn even outdoors.

Travel agencies say that interest in visiting the country has gone up.

As many as 30 people are included in the 50 tour groups that Chan Brothers Travel has received bookings for.

Since Japan reopened, inquiries have been streaming in, according to its spokesman.

"To make up for the time lost in the past two years or more, travellers have no fear going on their long-awaited holidays."

He isn't sure when the company's first post-pandemic tour to Japan will be able to go ahead, due to the requirement for tourist visa application.

There was a lot of demand to visit Japan, according to the managing director of the company.

She hopes to restart her tours in August. The Japanese authorities are still in the process of approving it.

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In order to slow the spread of Covid-19, Japan has barred most foreign visitors for the past two years. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics were delayed last year.

Foreign residents and business travelers were allowed to travel in the country earlier this year.

The daily limit for foreign arrivals was doubled last month.

The Japanese economy is the third largest in the world and will not benefit from this reopening strategy.

The government's response has taken longer than expected. Mr Koyama said that the elderly Japanese population is more afraid of infections than other countries.

The number of foreign visitors to Japan hit a record 31.9 million in 2019. There were less than a quarter of a million people last year.

The tourism industry of this once popular Asian destination has some way to go to recover.

According to the report, she has dropped her plans to go to Japan because of the restrictions.

She said that they are not interested in package tours.

TokudAw, a boutique travel agency that focuses on Japan, has not secured any bookings despite getting two to three inquires a day, according to WanpingAw.

No one is willing to make a commitment so we don't have any finalized bookings.

"'We don't want to be guinea pigs' is a phrase I hear a lot," she said.

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