Experience from recent 7 day trip to Japan (August-Sept 2022)

I have had the great opportunity to spend quite a lot of time in Japan prior to COVID but, like most, I have been waiting several years for the opportunity to return both for work and sightseeing purposes. Earlier this year several coworkers and I began planning for a business trip to Japan and I just returned from this trip and wanted to share my experience, as foreign entry to Japan is still quite uncommon.

**Entry Requirements**

Since I traveled for work, the ERFS process was slightly different. I submitted travel itinerary and passport scan to our offices in Japan, who prepared the ERFS certificate for us. Once this was in hand, I scheduled a Visa appointment with my nearest Japan Consulate office. One coworker who lives incredibly far from the nearest Consulate office mailed their forms in. Both approaches were relatively straight-forward, and Visas were returned within 1 week.

The booking process was also very different for business travel. We were able to contact the hotels and airlines directly and book the travel ourselves without the use of a travel agency.

During my trip a COVID test was required but this requirement seems to be getting lifted with the latest updates to travel to Japan. I used the mySOS app and followed the steps and received a “Blue” screen prior to my arrival.

**Arrival**

I flew through Delta, which has changed their primary entry point to Tokyo from Narita to Haneda. The approach into Haneda is quite different, being so much closer to the city center. It was amazing to see the amount of heavy industry in and around the port there, so close to Tokyo.

After exiting the plane, I was met with the longest airport walk of my entire life. I thought the International Arrivals and transfer at Incheon was absurd but the COVID arrival validation process at HND, depending on arrival gate, [has you walk over 2km (1.25 miles)](https://i.imgur.com/mOI4eud.jpeg) before even getting to the customs arrival area. During this walk there are no resting areas and I observed several older/out of shape individuals struggling after their long flight. The COVID screening process was fairly easy with the mySOS showing Blue. The customs process was also very simple, basically the same as pre-COVID.

**What’s changed in Japan**

Day-to-day in Japan is, generally speaking, pretty similar to pre-COVID Japan. That said, there were some things that were definitely noticeable as different from past trips I’ve made.

Many of my favorite small restaurants did not survive through COVID. Like many countries, Japan’s local food industry was decimated by COVID and lots of restaurants (even many which had been in operations decades) wound up closing due to lack of customers and rising costs. I would recommend looking up any of the places you plan to eat before your trip to avoid a disappointment upon arrival. Some of my favorites still exist, but changed locations in the 2 years since last visiting, so I’d also recommend a visit to the restaurant’s web or Facebook page to check if there’s a new location.

Next, at restaurants with serving available to customers (like buffets and hot-pot), [hand gloves](https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/9d334d4d-208a-43d3-9f95-7d44b59c9107_1.da80ca73cddfbd43d52e79ae716cb298.jpeg) are now required. These seemed to be used occasionally at places like this pre-COVID but they are now used at almost all of these restaurants. In addition, most restaurants are still limiting the number of customers so expect longer waits at busy places than pre-COVID.

Masks are still ubiquitous almost everywhere, even outside. While outdoor masking isn’t required, I found it rare that people would take their masks off.

The biggest difference I observed was the lower number of non-Japanese, even in incredibly touristy areas. One of the members of our group had never visited Japan previously, so I spent one day on tour guide duty. During this, we visit some of the most touristy places in Tokyo on a Saturday and I jotted down how many non-Japanese people I observed

* Tokyo Station: ~20-30 (I stopped counting 20)
* Sensō-ji: 12
* Shinjuku Station: ~20-30 (I stopped counting at 20)
* Tokyo Metro Building Observation Towers: 2
* Shibuya Station/Crossing: 18

For anyone who has visited any of these locations, you’ll understand how absurd these numbers are.

**Final Impressions**

Overall, I was very pleased with the experience of getting back to Japan. The administrative burden was minor for business travel and in many ways the requirements for tourists upcoming in September seem significantly more challenging so I’m apprehensive about an upcoming trip planned with my family.