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Tourist Visas (as of Sep. 7, 2022)

Japan currently requires all tourism visitors to arrange travel through licensed travel agents and receive a visa good for 90 days. Obtaining a visa for entry to Japan, even as a tourst, requires a multi-step process to satirsfy requirements of both Japan's Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

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  1. For a tourist to travel to Japan, a trip itinerary containing details from departure from your home country to return must be created. The traveler will be required to stick to the itinerary, and may be required to download a tracking app used for confirming locations and recording as well as notifying of cluster outbreaks of Covid-19 if they occur;

  2. A travel visa will be required, which will be issued upon registration of the traveler and itinerary with Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare through a Japanese travel agency or land operator.

  3. No PCR test will be required prior to entry to Japan; however, in order to receive permission to enter Japan, a record of at least three Covid vaccinations (initial shot plus boosters) must be filed with the Ministry of Health, Labor & Welfare, which will issue an Entry, Return and Follow-up System (ERFS) certificate. The turnaround time is usually 24 hours on business days

  4. Once the ERFS certificate is delivered to a customer or their representative overseas travel agent, either the customer or the travel agent can submit the visa application to the Japanese Embassy or consulate nearest to the customer

  5. Visas are valid for only three months from the date of issuance, so it would be better to wait until about one month before departure to apply.
    Note that since only 50,000 entries will be allowed daily to Japan, we encourage the booking of trips as far in advance as possible.

 

Procedures before arrival:

  1. You should download prior to departure the Ministry of Health, Labor & Welfare their MySOS tracking application and follow the prescribed steps to upload all the relevant information onto the app. [Note that your app will be confirmed by officials at your entry airport to Japan]

  2. To further streamline your Immigration and Customs entry procedures to Japan, create an account and enter your information on the Visit Japan Website 

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Alumni-owned travel agency Snow Country Travel LLC can arrange all aspects of travel from wheels up to wheels down from your home country in compliance with Japan's travel requirements. If you are traveling from overseas, you will be put in touch with a Snow Country Travel representative to make travel arrangements.

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