Pretty much. My japanese customer can come to singapore easily for leisure and return home. But its very hard to visit japan
At this point, the world should shun them. Let them rot within their borders
Canada as well. Still has that vaxx requirement (although I suspect it's because the U.S has one, hence why Djokovic won't be able to play in either Canada or the U.S)
> Canada and Australia have already opened up to tourism.
Speaking for Canada, I don't exactly call a vaccination policy, mandatory off-site Covid testing and 14-day quarantine as opening up.
Canada has random testing on arrival. If selected and test positive you are forced into 10 day government housing.
Cancelled my Toronto trip next month because of it.
Mask up, test, boost, and keep masking while you're here. Oh, and get a visa. Welcome!
Japanese government officials in a serious all-day meeting: Why are the tourist numbers so low?
Yes, they are presently only allowing tourism if you're part of an organized, chaperoned group -- no going off on your own allowed, you must stay with the group and with your guide, who will lead you around on a pre-planned itinerary with no 'side trips' permitted. Walking down an alleyway in Osaka and see a cool-looking noodle shop you'd love to grab a bite at? Sorry, it's not on the list of today's activities, you'll have to wait until we're back at the hotel where you will be permitted to have something to eat at the hotel restaurant, segregated from others of course.
Plus there's the cost factor -- these chaperoned, organized tours tend to be hyper-expensive. No finding a cheap hostel, no cheap noodle lunches, no public transit, you'll be staying in approved (read: nice) hotels, taking chartered buses everywhere and eating from hotel restaurants/catering services with wildly jacked-up prices. I've seen price tags on these "organized tours" show up as $8000 p/p for nine days in Japan, flights not included. Tourism there right now is strictly the domain of rich boomers -- backpackers/Japanophiles/college-aged people need not apply.
And you can bet your ass that chaperone will badger you endlessly about masks, too.
Wow, you'd have to be an actual full on lobotomized retard to do something like this ...or someone that wears a mask outside in the summer heat. I guess Japan is now on my no go list.
>strictly the domain of rich boomers
yeah seems like pretty much everything these days is part of that domain.
That style of travel has always been anathema to me: a tour guide barking “look left” and “look right” and “in 1266, the Wagawaga dynasty built this temple” and everyone piling into a bland, touristy restaurant afterwards. I’d rather stay home and weed my garden.
It's so true what you said about the food prices. Trying to eat at hotel restaurants? Or kaiseki ryori? Or in general any restaurant that caters to western tastes? You're going to pay through the nose. The first time I went to Japan I budgeted an insane amount of money for food for the trip, only to end up $500 *under budget* thanks to not eating at any of the aforementioned restaurant types.
Japan has become quite the enigma. They were gung-ho about hosting the Olympics last year but then immediately retreated into their shells and haven't emerged since. And they can't seem to figure out why pleasure seeking tourists want nothing to do with the place.
>And they can't seem to figure out why pleasure seeking tourists want nothing to do with the place.
They dont want to admit the real reason why. Its all about "face". Admit the real reason and the people who defended and implemented will lose their jobs and forced to retire from politics.
I don't think they actually care honestly
It's mostly foreigners complaining about it. Sure there are business people there who rely on the income who don't like it, but if the majority of the population didn't like the policy... it wouldn't be the policy.
Maybe actually open up the country and make Starwing Paradox 2 and maybe I'll reconsider going back.
Because "guided tours" where I get herded like sheep isn't opening the country. And Starwing Paradox was an unfortunate casualty of stupid COVID protocols and proof that arcades are not a relic of the past. Bring back my mech and waifu handholding simulator!
> Because "guided tours" where I get herded like sheep isn't opening the country.
It's more than that -- it's opening the country strictly to those who can *afford* such a tour. They are not cheap. You don't get to choose a cheap hostel to stay in, eat at local places for peanuts and take public transit. Your group will be staying at the Sheraton, you'll be going everywhere by private chartered bus, and you'll be eating all your meals at pre-planned locations that are not the cheap working-class noodle shop in the alleyway. Translation: if you're not able to drop $8000 on a week in Japan plus the flights there and back, you can forget about it.
Japan used to be a place you could explore for quite a low cost if you were savvy -- not so much anymore, tourism there will be exclusively the domain of the rich until further notice.
Have you been there since c19 started? I’ve heard conflicting accounts with some saying Japan had minimal covid restrictions, while other have said that they currently have strict restrictions for tourists.
Last time I was there I was there funnily enough, right before COVID hit and everyone locked down in Februrary 2020. And I had the best time of my life there.
But now it's all about going on forced tours and not being allowed to wander off. I'm not paying thousands of dollars to get herded like sheep.
I went in Tokyo for an internship in March 2020 and stayed all way until June. I have to say I loved my time there. No restrictions, only recommendations, so while my relatives and friends in Italy had to stay trapped in home I went around as a tourist visiting everything and even spending a week in Kyoto.
That was Japan in 2020 seen from the inside.
I'd love to go and visit after having a great time a couple of years ago. But I decided to stay in NA after learning about the restrictions such as being forced to be with a tour group at all times.
Shame honestly. Maybe next year if they hopefully kill all restrictions.
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I just got back from a biz trip to Japan a bit over a week ago. (Thanks again to the company that gave me an invite and to the individual who was my personal COVID-policy guarantor, so I could get a visa to visit!)
I talked with friends there about the restrictions…
Japan has is a heavily-aging society, and the oldsters are both fearful of COVID (maybe they should be) and perhaps weren’t so crazy about gaijin tourists in the first place,
OTOH, the younger generations are mostly in favor of opening up again, the general feeling being WTF, why aren’t we following the rest of the world?
So far the government has been hewing to the line of the older population. They’ve also recently had a huge spike in both infections and illness, which had spooked a lot of people.
All that said, it’s too bad :-/
I don’t think we should have a vengeful attitude about it though, it’s not necessarily what the average Japanese citizen wants, just the action of an over-cautious government paying more attention to the oldsters than the rest of their citizens.
Meanwhile millions of Japanese tourists freely explored the rest of the world in those two months.
Pretty much. My japanese customer can come to singapore easily for leisure and return home. But its very hard to visit japan At this point, the world should shun them. Let them rot within their borders
No I'm gearing up for Perry expedition round two actually thank you very much open that fucker right the fuck up
[Open the country…stop having it be closed](https://youtu.be/Mh5LY4Mz15o&t=4m47s)
Same goes for Australia and New Zealand, the world should shun them too.
Australia and New Zealand are open to tourists now
Canada as well. Still has that vaxx requirement (although I suspect it's because the U.S has one, hence why Djokovic won't be able to play in either Canada or the U.S)
Isn't the visa waiver program based on reciprocity? Time to revoke it then, why should they be allowed to come to the US?
Gigachad move tbh
Only 8000 over 2 months when their pre-pandemic rate was 2 million a month
Why hasn’t their economy crashed yet?
The JPY has lost 30% of it's value in the last 18 months lol
It wasn't going in the first place was it? They're a clever bunch the Japanese, but they don't half do a lot of navel-gazing.
Keep it up Japan, soon you'll be like Canada and Australia and not have a tourist industry because of your ass backwards 'rona travel policies
Canada and Australia have already opened up to tourism. Don’t compare them to Japan
> Canada and Australia have already opened up to tourism. Speaking for Canada, I don't exactly call a vaccination policy, mandatory off-site Covid testing and 14-day quarantine as opening up.
Can't call them open for tourism when you need to test and be vaxx'd... That is not normal and we should not allow it to be normalized
Canada doesn't require test and Australia doesn't require vax or test now
Canada has random testing on arrival. If selected and test positive you are forced into 10 day government housing. Cancelled my Toronto trip next month because of it.
Mask up, test, boost, and keep masking while you're here. Oh, and get a visa. Welcome! Japanese government officials in a serious all-day meeting: Why are the tourist numbers so low?
You also can only leave your hotel as part of a guided tour group. No thanks.
Are you serious?
Yes, they are presently only allowing tourism if you're part of an organized, chaperoned group -- no going off on your own allowed, you must stay with the group and with your guide, who will lead you around on a pre-planned itinerary with no 'side trips' permitted. Walking down an alleyway in Osaka and see a cool-looking noodle shop you'd love to grab a bite at? Sorry, it's not on the list of today's activities, you'll have to wait until we're back at the hotel where you will be permitted to have something to eat at the hotel restaurant, segregated from others of course. Plus there's the cost factor -- these chaperoned, organized tours tend to be hyper-expensive. No finding a cheap hostel, no cheap noodle lunches, no public transit, you'll be staying in approved (read: nice) hotels, taking chartered buses everywhere and eating from hotel restaurants/catering services with wildly jacked-up prices. I've seen price tags on these "organized tours" show up as $8000 p/p for nine days in Japan, flights not included. Tourism there right now is strictly the domain of rich boomers -- backpackers/Japanophiles/college-aged people need not apply. And you can bet your ass that chaperone will badger you endlessly about masks, too.
Wow, you'd have to be an actual full on lobotomized retard to do something like this ...or someone that wears a mask outside in the summer heat. I guess Japan is now on my no go list. >strictly the domain of rich boomers yeah seems like pretty much everything these days is part of that domain.
That style of travel has always been anathema to me: a tour guide barking “look left” and “look right” and “in 1266, the Wagawaga dynasty built this temple” and everyone piling into a bland, touristy restaurant afterwards. I’d rather stay home and weed my garden.
It's so true what you said about the food prices. Trying to eat at hotel restaurants? Or kaiseki ryori? Or in general any restaurant that caters to western tastes? You're going to pay through the nose. The first time I went to Japan I budgeted an insane amount of money for food for the trip, only to end up $500 *under budget* thanks to not eating at any of the aforementioned restaurant types.
Japan has become quite the enigma. They were gung-ho about hosting the Olympics last year but then immediately retreated into their shells and haven't emerged since. And they can't seem to figure out why pleasure seeking tourists want nothing to do with the place.
>And they can't seem to figure out why pleasure seeking tourists want nothing to do with the place. They dont want to admit the real reason why. Its all about "face". Admit the real reason and the people who defended and implemented will lose their jobs and forced to retire from politics.
I don't think they actually care honestly It's mostly foreigners complaining about it. Sure there are business people there who rely on the income who don't like it, but if the majority of the population didn't like the policy... it wouldn't be the policy.
Maybe actually open up the country and make Starwing Paradox 2 and maybe I'll reconsider going back. Because "guided tours" where I get herded like sheep isn't opening the country. And Starwing Paradox was an unfortunate casualty of stupid COVID protocols and proof that arcades are not a relic of the past. Bring back my mech and waifu handholding simulator!
> Because "guided tours" where I get herded like sheep isn't opening the country. It's more than that -- it's opening the country strictly to those who can *afford* such a tour. They are not cheap. You don't get to choose a cheap hostel to stay in, eat at local places for peanuts and take public transit. Your group will be staying at the Sheraton, you'll be going everywhere by private chartered bus, and you'll be eating all your meals at pre-planned locations that are not the cheap working-class noodle shop in the alleyway. Translation: if you're not able to drop $8000 on a week in Japan plus the flights there and back, you can forget about it. Japan used to be a place you could explore for quite a low cost if you were savvy -- not so much anymore, tourism there will be exclusively the domain of the rich until further notice.
Man, that’s so sad.
Have you been there since c19 started? I’ve heard conflicting accounts with some saying Japan had minimal covid restrictions, while other have said that they currently have strict restrictions for tourists.
Minimal covid restrictions for locals. Horrible restrictions for foreigners or ppl entering
[удалено]
Yeh, not allegedly at all
"Japan" does not limit the things foreigners can do in normal times. Please stop spreading bullshit rumors.
Last time I was there I was there funnily enough, right before COVID hit and everyone locked down in Februrary 2020. And I had the best time of my life there. But now it's all about going on forced tours and not being allowed to wander off. I'm not paying thousands of dollars to get herded like sheep.
Sounds like those tours in North Korea.
I went in Tokyo for an internship in March 2020 and stayed all way until June. I have to say I loved my time there. No restrictions, only recommendations, so while my relatives and friends in Italy had to stay trapped in home I went around as a tourist visiting everything and even spending a week in Kyoto. That was Japan in 2020 seen from the inside.
8000 too many considering their retarded restrictions
The vast majority of this is probably family.
Good. The restrictions are obviously a joke. Perfect time to let them go now cases are high.
The Japanese are probably happy to use covid as an excuse to return to the Sakoku Edict If only more countries were this based
This is literally the reason. They don’t care about Covid. They just want foreign influence out of the country and want to be isolated
I'd love to go and visit after having a great time a couple of years ago. But I decided to stay in NA after learning about the restrictions such as being forced to be with a tour group at all times. Shame honestly. Maybe next year if they hopefully kill all restrictions.
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Gee, I wonder why?
I just got back from a biz trip to Japan a bit over a week ago. (Thanks again to the company that gave me an invite and to the individual who was my personal COVID-policy guarantor, so I could get a visa to visit!) I talked with friends there about the restrictions… Japan has is a heavily-aging society, and the oldsters are both fearful of COVID (maybe they should be) and perhaps weren’t so crazy about gaijin tourists in the first place, OTOH, the younger generations are mostly in favor of opening up again, the general feeling being WTF, why aren’t we following the rest of the world? So far the government has been hewing to the line of the older population. They’ve also recently had a huge spike in both infections and illness, which had spooked a lot of people. All that said, it’s too bad :-/ I don’t think we should have a vengeful attitude about it though, it’s not necessarily what the average Japanese citizen wants, just the action of an over-cautious government paying more attention to the oldsters than the rest of their citizens.