Japan reopened its doors to tourism on Tuesday after twoandahalf years of tight restrictions due to Covid19, and officials are hoping for an influx of visitors drawn by a cheap yen, which will help keep the economy going.
Tourists from Israel, France and the United Kingdom began to arrive in the early hours of Tuesday.
“It’s a very, very long dream that has come true,” said Adi Bromshtine, a 69yearold retiree who arrived at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport from Israel. “We planned and waited before Covid,” she told AFP.
Itay Galili, a 22yearold student, said he was following the news closely to find out when the borders will reopen.
Redhorse Osaka Wheel in Osaka, Japan
Image: EvergreenPlanet/Getty Images
“As soon as I knew they would reopen on the 11th, I started planning. The tickets were expensive (…) but no price is too high,” he told AFP.
Japan closed its borders early in the pandemic, even barring foreign residents from returning. Visafree entry for visitors from 68 countries and territories has been possible again since Tuesday.
Requirements that remain in place include the requirement to be vaccinated or tested negative for the coronavirus three days prior to travel.
Pedestrians in Tokyo’s Ginza district on June 26: Foreigners gradually returned towards the end of the first half of 2022
Image: PHILIP FONG/AFP
Japan welcomed a record 31.9 million foreign visitors in 2019, but the number fell to 250,000 in 2021.
A first for foreign tourists will be the devaluation of the local currency, the yen, to about 145 to the dollar, a level not seen in two decades.
The government has intervened once before to strengthen the currency, and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida cited the yen’s weakness as a factor he hopes will help attract tourists.