It’s a long slow road for skiers and snowboarders waiting to get back to Japan to enjoy the powder. Hope are raising that the 2022/2023 season will be the one, especially after the Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced more changes to border control today.

From September 7 the country will increase the daily tourist arrival cap from 20,000 to 50,000 per day.

But wait, there’s more. While tourists have been allowed into the country recently if on a guided/escorted tour, that too will change. Non-escorted visitors will be allowed in if they purchase a package tour.

Confused? It will all become clear as the government reveals in the next few days what constitutes a package tour or a travel agency within Japan.

The weaker yen means increased tourism opportunities for the Covid impacted country on their path to tourism recovery. This is good news for a country that pre-Covid welcomed 32 million visitors a year.

Prime Minister Kishida revealed that the goal is to continue easing restrictions in line with fellow G7 countries.

The government has not yet come up with details of what constitutes a package tour, but guidelines will be released in the coming days, a government official said.

They did recently announce that pre-arrival PCR tests will not be required from September 7 for travellers who have booster shots, or triple vaccines.

Join the Japan discussion in our Japan Chatter Facebook Group.

READ MORE
16 things to know before your first or fiftieth ski and board trip to Japan