With [tourism restrictions being eased](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/09/01/national/package-tours-restrictions-eased/) to allow unguided tours in Japan, the mods are opening a thread as a place to discuss upcoming travel plans and ask questions.
Because of the overwhelming response to the first version of this thread, we are going to be making a new one weekly. For the previous thread, please [click here](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/x3f3fv/japan_travel_and_tourism_discussion_thread/).
**Some general information and notes:**
* For up-to-date information, news, and FAQs, please refer to [our monthly megathread](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/x3ejwh/japan_travel_covid19_and_you_tourism_information/).
* Unguided tourism still needs to be arranged through a registered travel agency, and it still requires an ERFS certificate and visa. **Independent travel without an ERFS or visa is not allowed at this date.**
* For more information about ERFS certificates and visa requirements, please [click here](https://www.mofa.go.jp/ca/fna/page22e_000921.html).
* For information about visas, please [click here](https://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/index.html). Note that while residents of the US and Canada can apply for an [eVISA](https://www.evisa.mofa.go.jp/index) in some circumstances, visas often still need to be obtained through your local consulate.
* [These are the latest guidelines](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/content/001510138.pdf) (in Japanese) that travelers and agencies have to go by when it comes to guided and unguided tours. [This Q&A](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/content/001510889.pdf) (in Japanese) was released on Sept. 6 to help clarify the guidelines. You will need to contact specific agencies to see what they are offering in order to comply with the guidelines.
*(This post has been set up by the moderators of r/JapanTravel. Please stay civil, abide by the rules, keep it PG-13 rated, and be helpful. Absolutely no self-promotion will be allowed. While this discussion thread is more casual, remember that standalone posts in /r/JapanTravel must still adhere to the rules. This includes no discussion of border policy or how to get visas outside of this thread.)*
4 comments
The Q&A we were promised about the guidelines was [just released](https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/content/001510889.pdf) by the MLIT, so I imagine we will start seeing some translations of relevant sections appearing in English. I linked this in the body of the post as well.
I guess the most important thing would be:
Page 9:
Q5 Can the foreign tourist arrange his/her own round-trip ticket for entry and exit?<Package tours without an accompanying tour operator>.A travel agent or travel service arranger who arranges return air travel for the tour participant to and from the country of entry and departure and all accommodation for the duration of the stay is permitted. It is not permitted for the tour participant to make his/her own arrangements and for the travel agent or travel service provider to assume sole responsibility for receiving the tour participant.
Aswell as
Q6What does ‘arrangements’ mean in relation to the requirement for package tours not accompanied by an escort to ‘arrange round-trip airline tickets for the tour participant’s entry and departure and all accommodation for the duration of the stay’?
Where an overseas travel agent, etc. makes a reservation of round-trip airline tickets and accommodation facilities at the request of a tour participant, and where the overseas travel agent, etc. and the travel agency or travel service provider share the reservation information of the said tour participant’s round-trip airline tickets and accommodation facilities in writing or otherwise, both parties can grasp the reservation details and both parties are considered to form a tour in an integrated manner In the case where it is considered that the tour is formed in an integrated manner (except in the case where the overseas travel agency, etc. makes all the reservations for the round trip airline tickets and accommodation).
I think it’s important to note this :
The tourist visa is the same visa that people receive for people visiting family in Japan, people arriving for business meetings, people arriving as an artist to play show or partake in conference or exhibition etc. They are all the same.
Only the application is different. The issued visa sticker in your passport is exactly the same.
In June of 2022 there were 171,000 visitors. Only a few hundred came in as “tourists”.
It seemed there was a bit of panic on here for the last few months / days that police would randomly come up to you and check your visa status, want to see your tour itineraries or that immigration would grill you about where you were going having the account for every minute of the day.
There are tens of thousands of foreigners arriving each day. Once you are issued a visa, you are allowed and welcomed into the country. You will not stand out. Police will not ask to see your hotel bookings . No one is going to ask to see your itinerary, you do not need to show your visa to enter any place, book trains or make restaurant reservations etc.
You are just one of the many people who arrive to Japan daily. I think it’s important to keep that in mind. No one is looking to “get you” 🤓
Fwiw, I was in Japan for two weeks in July/August as a tourist with friends who were on artists, business and family visas. I did a few short, half-day custom tours to meet the requirements then. I am heading back in the fall as “unguided” paying a small fee to get that necessary travel support and paperwork to obtain a new ERFS
Booked flights and my first hostel, got it approved by JGA, and applied for my evisa today. So i will see if I get approved within the 5 days