A question I have been asked a lot is if I can see Japan opening its borders for international travel?
While no one knows what is going to happen, my opinion at this current time is “no”.
Right now, Japan is doing what it can to play things safe in making sure the numbers go even lower until the Olympics. To make sure things are working for its own population and that numbers remain low as places start to slowly open.
With that being said, many places are opening but things are limited i.e. TeamLabs Borderless, Planets, etc.
Baseball has started with no one in the audience.
Tokyo Game Show in September was canceled. Many music festivals canceled or are going to do something online instead.
Tokyo just reported 57 new cases, yesterday the most popular maid cafe in Akihabara just announced three employees were infected.
In terms of the travel, the company I work with to travel to Japan, H.I.S. (one of Japan’s largest travel agencies) just announced they are closing a third of their outlets in Japan. In addition, in the press conference, H.I.S. Chairman Hideo Sawada said “it is difficult to see demand for overseas trips recovering before next year due to the impact of the virus”.
I personally can’t see things opening in the next few months and there is a lot in stake, not just for travel and the economy but how much was invested for the Olympics.
Opening soon to travelers, if infections going up, can potentially ruin the nearly five years invested in preparation for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
BUT with that being said, Japan (esp. the government) is putting their hopes in FujiFilm Holdings anti-viral drug, Favipriavir (aka Avigan). As for the 30-year-old drug, India will be putting that to the test.
You can wait it out until a vaccine is available but while many of us to travel, if you were able to, I can see the appeal of visiting touristy areas that are not as crowded (like Asakusa). But waiting in line because of seating arrangements and keeping to social distancing, that’s tough.
Because of the need for social distancing, I can’t see Halloween in Shibuya or Kawasaki-City in Kanagawa, Omotesando Halloween Pumpkin Fes or the Ikebukuro Cosplay Halloween fes in October happening, I can’t even see certain illumination sites that bring in large crowds happening for November/December.
Can you imagine restaurants that had lines to begin with and waiting in line for over an hour or more?
If baseball were to partially open their doors with a few audiences, that wouldn’t be as exciting to me. I was watching a WWE match the other day and watched as a few people were in the audience and the lack of the usual loud screams, the cheers, limited to a few people. It’s just not the same.
But Japan knows the countdown has begun for the Olympics/Paralympics in 2021. I doubt we will see them jeopardize that.
But truth be told, no one knows what’s going to happen.
For me, personally, I will return back to traveling once a vaccine is readily available.
And with COVID-19 getting worse and worse worldwide, especially in the United States, even if Japan was to open its borders, would they let travelers from America visit with the current COVID-19 situation?
