Hello, world! It’s been a long time coming, but Japan is finally ready to reopen its borders fully on October 11. This means that quarantine protocols will be lifted and only those who show symptoms of Covid-19 will have to undergo a test upon arrival. Better yet, Japan is resuming its visa-free travel scheme, so globetrotters can plan their trips on their own terms without having to make arrangements via travel agencies.
Some of you have been waiting to book your flights to Japan for over two years now and we’re thrilled to welcome you back. A lot has changed over the course of the pandemic. A number of city redevelopment projects were implemented in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympics and better multilingual support was put in place in anticipation of more visitors from abroad. We saw a few long-established attractions close to make way for a ton of cool new venues. As if you needed any more convincing, we’ve compiled a list of reasons why the next three months are the prime time to visit Japan.
Guide to Japan’s reopening for tourism: visa-free travel, valid vaccines, PCR tests and more
Personally, we’re not too excited about the yen falling to a 24-year low. Nevertheless, there’s a window of opportunity here for tourists to splurge on their dream vacation for an unusually affordable rate.
Perhaps it’s been a while since you’ve gone on a holiday overseas and you’re not quite as confident about navigating a foreign country as you were pre-pandemic. Well, never fear because Japan is consistently ranked as one of the safest places in the world, which makes it an excellent place to be a carefree (and solo) tourist.
We’ve been counting down the days to the launch of the world’s first Ghibli Park and, from what we’ve seen so far, the theme park is looking to be everything we dreamed of and more. While the park is set to open in stages, this soft opening promises plenty to see in sections like the Hill of Youth, the Dondoko Forest and Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse.
In August, we bid farewell to teamLab’s first permanent digital art museum in Tokyo’s Odaiba district (don’t panic, it’s coming back next year). Before the teamLab Borderless museum closed, however, the art collective opened a new permanent nighttime exhibition at a botanical garden in Osaka, with multiple interactive installations that evolve with the changing seasons. There's also the sensational teamLab forest in the historical Mifuneyama Rakuen Park in Saga prefecture, complete with digital monoliths in an abondoned bathhouse.
Japan is bigger than you might think it is, and with so many unique prefectures to visit, you’ll want to plan for a few journeys on the bullet train to get the most out of your stay. Shinkansen fares can look a little steep at first glance, but most of the major train companies offer fantastic discounts and multi-journey passes for foreign passport holders.
Every season has its own appeal in Japan, but if we had to pick a favourite, we'd say autumn. Why? Well, this is when everything here well and truly flourishes. Red momiji (Japanese maple) and bright yellow ginkgo leaves make for breathtaking landscapes. Plus, the cool, crisp weather creates the perfect conditions for a dip in the onsen hot springs.
Autumn in Japan even overlaps with the beginning of ski and snowboarding season – and we’ve got some of the best snowy mountain resorts in the world. While ski lifts in popular villages like Hakuba or Nozawa Onsen in Nagano start running in early-December (weather pending), the season opens sooner the farther north you go. In Hokkaido, for instance, ski resorts open as early as November.
Some of Japan’s biggest contemporary art festivals are only scheduled to occur once every two or three years. Due to the pandemic, however, a number of these events were forced to cancel or postpone their festival, which is why so many of them are happening now. Festivals worth seeing include the Echigo Tsumari Art Field (ends November 13; pictured above), where you'll find over 200 permanent installations by artists such as Yayoi Kusama and Leandro Erlich, as well as the Setouchi Triennale (ends November 6) on Japan's 'art islands' including Naoshima.
Opened in spring of 2021, USJ’s new Super Nintendo World lets you step into a video game in real life with side quests to complete, points to unlock, and yellow blocks to ‘punch’ as Mario and Luigi would.
Okay, so we’ve seen the statistics and we’re still unsure about this claim, but whether or not you believe in soulmates or that Tokyo is the place to find yours, one thing we can confirm is that Japan is indisputably great for single travellers. From capsule hotels to solo-sized karaoke booths to yakiniku joints with one-person barbecue grills, everything here is designed so that single people don't miss out on any fun.
The truth is, the list of fun new things Japan has to offer right now is endless. For manga and anime lovers, we’ve got jaw-dropping attractions like a life-sized Gundam robot that moves, a Sailor Moon Museum and an entire island resort dedicated to Hello Kitty.
Beyond budget-friendly omakase sushi and Michelin-approved ramen, our ever-evolving food scene boasts indoor yokocho halls, modern omakase meals and neo izakaya. Even the hotels here are attractions in their own right, with guest rooms that also double as art installations (like the Shiroiya Hotel, pictured above), receptions that are managed by robots and icy igloos. Take it from us – don’t wait on booking those flights.
Now that Japan is fully reopening to independent tourists, what more are you waiting for?
Aside from culture and tradition, Japan also offers some of the world's most spectacular landscapes. Here's your Japan bucket list
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