If you’ve been waiting to take a trip to Japan, your time may be coming soon — as soon as this month. But there are some conditions for the first wave of visitors.
Japan’s borders have been closed to most foreigners since the early days of the pandemic.
Now the Japan Tourism Agency says small group tours this month will serve as “test cases” for a potential broader re-opening.
First up will be travelers from Australia, Singapore, Thailand and the United States.
Everyone needs two vaccinations, at least one booster, plus medical insurance.
And there will be no independent ambulatory tours of Asakusa, no solo sojourns to Kyoto and no unsupervised meanderings in Miyazaki: all travel will be by package tours.
The Daily Yomiuri reports this will only involve about 10 to 15 tour groups on pre-set itineraries.
The government says the four chosen countries have lower risk of mutant strains of COVID-19 than other locations, and each has been identified as a priority market for Japan.
Up to now, the country has allowed a limited number of travelers — mostly for business or study.
The Tourism Agency said in a statement, “This venture will allow us to verify compliance and emergency responses for infection prevention.”
In other words, let’s allow a few small groups in and see how they behave — before we open the borders to unbridled tourism.