Tourists Flock To Japan As COVID Restrictions Are Lifted

Eager to admire colorful foliage, eat sushi and go shopping, droves of tourists from abroad began arriving in Japan on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022, with the end of pandemic-fighting border restrictions that had been in place for more than two years, Yuri Kageyama and Haruka Nuga reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: About 32 million tourists visited Japan in 2019, before COVID-19. Their return is welcome for good reason.

“We got the news that we can finally come. We are really, really happy,” said Nadine Lackmann, a German who was among the crowd of tourists arriving at Tokyo’s Haneda airport.

Travelers like Lackmann are expected to deliver a sorely needed 5 trillion yen ($35 billion) boost to the world’s third-largest economy. And the flood of visitors is expected to keep growing.

About 32 million tourists visited Japan in 2019, before COVID-19. Their return is welcome for good reason. Many will have more spending power because the Japanese yen has declined in recent months in value compared to the US dollar, the euro, and other currencies.

The only protocols left for entry are that you must be fully vaccinated with one booster or have a negative PCR test within 72 hours of departure. Virtually all visitors from the US, the rest of Asia, Europe, and South America who fulfill those requirements won’t have to quarantine.

In August, during the most recent coronavirus surge in Japan, nationwide daily new infections topped 200,000. By now, both case numbers and deaths have dwindled.

Last week, daily deaths averaged eight people nationwide. The government has provided free COVID-19 vaccines, especially encouraging the elderly and the medically vulnerable to get inoculated. Visitors may have to adjust to face masks, worn by most Japanese just about everywhere outside their own homes.

Many stores and restaurants require customers to wear masks and sanitize their hands. Some establishments still close early, or have shuttered completely.

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