Travel agents assist tourists at the HIS flagship location at the Ala Moana mall. A negative PCR test or proof of vaccine and booster will still be required to go to Japan.
Travel agents assist tourists at the HIS flagship location at the Ala Moana mall. A negative PCR test or proof of vaccine and booster will still be required to go to Japan.
Two weeks from today, Japan will drop almost all its COVID-19 restrictions as the nation reopens to travelers.
HONOLULU (KITV4) -- Japan will drop almost all its COVID-19 restrictions as the nation reopens to travelers Oct. 11.
Jase from Honolulu went to the travel agency HIS Hawaii to make sure he was up on the latest travel requirements. He will go on a family visa to see his kids, but his mom is in a different situation.
"If she goes as a tourist, she has to sign up with a tourist group which means she wouldn't be able to go and do her own thing. She would have to stick with the tourist group the whole time," Jase told KITV4.
But not anymore. If the trip is two weeks from now after Oct. 11, Jase's mother will be able to come along without restrictions.
Non-vaccinated travelers will be able to travel to Japan, provided they submit a negative PCR test 72 hours before departure. Those who are vaccinated with one booster are exempt from having to take the PCR test.
What's more, the dollar is currently the strongest it has been against the yen since 1998.
"The yen rate is really weak right now...140-144 yen per dollar. I think you can get the worth of it if you travel to Japan," HIS Branch Manager Mori Arasaki said.
HIS has had a steady stream of travelers at its Ala Moana flagship location.
"It's a good time to travel because Japan made it possible. So now that they've made it possible, we have family there so we're going," Joe told KITV4.
His wife Denise added, "Yeah, we'd figure we'd jump on it in case anything else happens and it shuts down, we're going now."
Joe and Denise say they have been waiting for the restrictions to expire for some time now.
"Our son lives in Toyama so we have not been able to visit him because of the pandemic two and a half years now," they added.
Costs are higher for Japanese coming to Hawaii due to the exchange rate. A fuel surcharge for flights also has tickets to Japan at a higher price point than before COVID. But travel agents emphasize that because of the dollar's favorable exchange rate, there are still deals to be had.
Do you have a story idea? Email news tips to news@kitv.com
The Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) turned its COVID-19 reporting data on its head, now including re-infections in its weekly data report.
Jeremy Lee joined KITV after over a decade & a half in broadcast news from coast to coast on the mainland. Jeremy most recently traveled the country documenting protests & civil unrest.
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