Small steps but this one’s important. The last thing we want are people not following rules and setting the opening back further
[deleted]
“and be accompanied by a tour guide “from entry to departure”
This alone would be enough to make me so for a refund.
Might as well take a trip to north Korea of you want these kinds of restrictions
Wow. I used to travel to Japan either by myself or with my family never been on a tourist group.
Look like I won’t be visiting Japan for a while until they fully open up.
<Japan finally takes baby steps to returning to normal tourism>
“This is stupid!”
Meh? You want to reverse course? We could do that…
Can I just become a tour guide for my mother’s one person tour? Ha.
imagine the hate America would get if they did this shit to foreign tourists.
So basically North Korea kind of shit. That’s insane, even according to Japanese standards.
lol. All this stupid nonsense just to keep the mask game up. Ridiculous.
Whats really dissapointing is the take of the media. It is widely reported as “Japan opening up” – even in overseas media.
I would have loved to read something like “Japan implements guided tours after North Korean example” in some major newspapers…
Get ready for news headlines like “Foreign tourist escapes from hotel – explores Tokyo alone”
Genuinely, do we think this is all just an act for the elections vote still, or is this seriously going to be implimented in the medium-term, ie for the next year or so?
​
I love Japan, I’ve been working hard studying the language for years, spent time there, and hearing this kind of news makes me lose the passion for visiting or for even studying the language. Why would I want to speak the language if I am followed by a chaperone and forced to sit in a foreigner seat? The conversation clearly wouldn’t be genuine anyways.
​
But that’s not the fault of the general population. I don’t want to just disregard the country because of silly rules made by just a few ignorant people in charge.
What’s the opposite of “soft power”?
Japan : “we want to attract rich tourists that spend a lot”
Also Japan : ..
I won’t be going back to Japan until next year anyway, hope things get better by then.
how are not more people calling them out on this? can other countries also confine japanese people to these ridiculous tours and give them a taste of their own medicine?
I was hoping to visit by year’s end but not doing it with a chaperone. Lol sounds wack
I get it the world isn’t ready yet to fully open but we have to COVID screen before we even board the plane (in Canada) to depart, COVID test on arrival, isn’t that enough.
I’m not interested in chaperones so I guess I’ll have to keep waiting but I can’t help but feel saying we need chaperones is a bit rediculess. My country took COVID very seriously, triple vaxxed, masks for 2+ years, etc.
The part in this article saying you must avoid closed spaces and crowded areas… That’s like all of Tokyo…
This virus has just been the worst for creating divides among people and destroying trust.
This isn’t Japan this is more like North Korea. They are absolutely ridiculous with these COVID restrictions.
Those politicians are idiots. Complete idiots. I’d like to visit Japan soon, but I refuse to have to follow a “chaperone”. I’ve been there by myself, and I don’t need anyone.
When they really re-open to tourism, I will visit. For the moment, I’ll go on vacation and spend my money somewhere else.
When does the first tour to kabukicho start?
Man. I booked a holiday there optimistically for September at the start of the year.
I don’t mind wearing masks 24/7. But this chaperone rule better be gone by then 😅
I would love to take another long trip to Japan and spend a wild amount of money seeing the sights and doing touristy things like I did a few years back.
But as long as there’s the slightest chance that I’ll be forced to be led around by the hand by a government official enforcing that no enjoyment is experienced, I’m not even going to entertain the thought. These restrictions are so severe as to be infantilizing.
can’t wait until all this nonsense becomes a thing of the past.
Despite what people on this sub say whatever here, all tours got sold out super quickly. Honestly dunno why this sub consists of people who don’t live here.
I really hate Kishida.
Truly a meme at this point.
I’m just done following this story and will be flying my friends in instead of waiting for Japan to stop LARPing like North Korea.
Every story that comes out of there on this just makes the Japanese public seem somewhere between incompetent and weak. Obviously, there are Japanese people who disagree with these policies, but I’d be embarrassed as a JP citizen at this point. On current trajectory, who know when the place will truly open. I was betting on August-ish, but how cartoonishly authoritarian this seems has me second guessing that.
These tourist aren’t visiting the DPRK! Over exaggeration. Covid is everywhere. Get over it and let people roam freely so long as they respect masking rules and are vaccinated.
Politicians will continue to cost the Japanese economy dealer.
I’m fine with masking ( being Singaporean and all, one of the countries in the initial trial) but tour groups and chaperones are just silly season.
Sorry Japan, had great memories over the decades but I’m not heading back until we’re free to go about our own way.
From entry to departure you say….. going to the bathroom while visiting japan just got a whole lot weirder
Let me tell you one thing. If Europe and US would impose the same sort of crazy BS to Japanese traveling to those locations, the Japanese government would stop this shit. This is crazy shit plain and simple. And Japan gets again a free pass because our governments are somehow Asians ass kissers. Japanese have the complete freedom to travel inside Europe between countries without basically any restrictions. But somehow anyone coming to Japan has to be treated as a moving threat to the locals and be almost humiliated with this silly policing. I am honestly starting to be quite annoyed with these monkeys called leaders in Japan.
Masks outdoors are akin to being required to wearing a crash helmet while walking on footpaths. It’s nothing to do with risk – all theatre.
I spent time in North Korea and this literally sounds like one of the tours available there.
I though Wtf when I first heard this but then I remembered what Australian and American tourist can be like. Not all speak basic Japanese, not all follow proper protocol.
Saying that, some smaller tour groups haven’t a clue either.
I guess they just want low numbers until they work out how handle high numbers.
32 comments
Small steps but this one’s important. The last thing we want are people not following rules and setting the opening back further
[deleted]
“and be accompanied by a tour guide “from entry to departure”
This alone would be enough to make me so for a refund.
Might as well take a trip to north Korea of you want these kinds of restrictions
Wow. I used to travel to Japan either by myself or with my family never been on a tourist group.
Look like I won’t be visiting Japan for a while until they fully open up.
<Japan finally takes baby steps to returning to normal tourism>
“This is stupid!”
Meh? You want to reverse course? We could do that…
Can I just become a tour guide for my mother’s one person tour? Ha.
imagine the hate America would get if they did this shit to foreign tourists.
So basically North Korea kind of shit. That’s insane, even according to Japanese standards.
lol. All this stupid nonsense just to keep the mask game up. Ridiculous.
Whats really dissapointing is the take of the media. It is widely reported as “Japan opening up” – even in overseas media.
I would have loved to read something like “Japan implements guided tours after North Korean example” in some major newspapers…
Get ready for news headlines like “Foreign tourist escapes from hotel – explores Tokyo alone”
Genuinely, do we think this is all just an act for the elections vote still, or is this seriously going to be implimented in the medium-term, ie for the next year or so?
​
I love Japan, I’ve been working hard studying the language for years, spent time there, and hearing this kind of news makes me lose the passion for visiting or for even studying the language. Why would I want to speak the language if I am followed by a chaperone and forced to sit in a foreigner seat? The conversation clearly wouldn’t be genuine anyways.
​
But that’s not the fault of the general population. I don’t want to just disregard the country because of silly rules made by just a few ignorant people in charge.
What’s the opposite of “soft power”?
Japan : “we want to attract rich tourists that spend a lot”
Also Japan : ..
I won’t be going back to Japan until next year anyway, hope things get better by then.
how are not more people calling them out on this? can other countries also confine japanese people to these ridiculous tours and give them a taste of their own medicine?
I was hoping to visit by year’s end but not doing it with a chaperone. Lol sounds wack
I get it the world isn’t ready yet to fully open but we have to COVID screen before we even board the plane (in Canada) to depart, COVID test on arrival, isn’t that enough.
I’m not interested in chaperones so I guess I’ll have to keep waiting but I can’t help but feel saying we need chaperones is a bit rediculess. My country took COVID very seriously, triple vaxxed, masks for 2+ years, etc.
The part in this article saying you must avoid closed spaces and crowded areas… That’s like all of Tokyo…
This virus has just been the worst for creating divides among people and destroying trust.
This isn’t Japan this is more like North Korea. They are absolutely ridiculous with these COVID restrictions.
Those politicians are idiots. Complete idiots. I’d like to visit Japan soon, but I refuse to have to follow a “chaperone”. I’ve been there by myself, and I don’t need anyone.
When they really re-open to tourism, I will visit. For the moment, I’ll go on vacation and spend my money somewhere else.
When does the first tour to kabukicho start?
Man. I booked a holiday there optimistically for September at the start of the year.
I don’t mind wearing masks 24/7. But this chaperone rule better be gone by then 😅
I would love to take another long trip to Japan and spend a wild amount of money seeing the sights and doing touristy things like I did a few years back.
But as long as there’s the slightest chance that I’ll be forced to be led around by the hand by a government official enforcing that no enjoyment is experienced, I’m not even going to entertain the thought. These restrictions are so severe as to be infantilizing.
can’t wait until all this nonsense becomes a thing of the past.
Despite what people on this sub say whatever here, all tours got sold out super quickly. Honestly dunno why this sub consists of people who don’t live here.
I really hate Kishida.
Truly a meme at this point.
I’m just done following this story and will be flying my friends in instead of waiting for Japan to stop LARPing like North Korea.
Every story that comes out of there on this just makes the Japanese public seem somewhere between incompetent and weak. Obviously, there are Japanese people who disagree with these policies, but I’d be embarrassed as a JP citizen at this point. On current trajectory, who know when the place will truly open. I was betting on August-ish, but how cartoonishly authoritarian this seems has me second guessing that.
These tourist aren’t visiting the DPRK! Over exaggeration. Covid is everywhere. Get over it and let people roam freely so long as they respect masking rules and are vaccinated.
Politicians will continue to cost the Japanese economy dealer.
I’m fine with masking ( being Singaporean and all, one of the countries in the initial trial) but tour groups and chaperones are just silly season.
Sorry Japan, had great memories over the decades but I’m not heading back until we’re free to go about our own way.
From entry to departure you say….. going to the bathroom while visiting japan just got a whole lot weirder
Let me tell you one thing. If Europe and US would impose the same sort of crazy BS to Japanese traveling to those locations, the Japanese government would stop this shit. This is crazy shit plain and simple. And Japan gets again a free pass because our governments are somehow Asians ass kissers. Japanese have the complete freedom to travel inside Europe between countries without basically any restrictions. But somehow anyone coming to Japan has to be treated as a moving threat to the locals and be almost humiliated with this silly policing. I am honestly starting to be quite annoyed with these monkeys called leaders in Japan.
Masks outdoors are akin to being required to wearing a crash helmet while walking on footpaths. It’s nothing to do with risk – all theatre.
I spent time in North Korea and this literally sounds like one of the tours available there.
I though Wtf when I first heard this but then I remembered what Australian and American tourist can be like. Not all speak basic Japanese, not all follow proper protocol.
Saying that, some smaller tour groups haven’t a clue either.
I guess they just want low numbers until they work out how handle high numbers.