Best Alternative to Japan?

Well that sounds great, I’ll be sure to check out that place, thanks!

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Thanks for sharing this info! The history of Japanese people in the US is very interesting and extraordinarily fucked up (re: internment camps).

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I believe we’re only talking about a short-term holiday. :slightly_smiling_face:

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I can understand your frustration, but don’t give up completely!

Now that tourism is starting to get back on it’s feet, we could be looking at Japan being open within the next year. There’s already some good exceptions to the solo traveler rule in place as well. Anyone with a relative in Japan (perm resident, temp resident, as long as they are residing in the country) can visit without a group if they go through the right channels- and some people have been successful in getting “friends who are basically family” into the country as well.

With the tour groups in addition to this, Japan yen should see a bit of an increases, which it desperately needs. The tourism industry in a regular year is a huge boon for Japan and there’s many calls for tourism to open completely from businesses in this sector.

I know it’s frustrating, but you won’t get the same in depth experience anywhere but Japan, and so I truly think it’s worth waiting! Even if you do another trip in the meantime, please don’t give up! :slight_smile:

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Weirdly, the most Japanese place I have been to outside of Japan in Cairns in Northern Australia. They get so many Japanese tourists there that all the signs are written in Japanese and English, there are Japanese language tourist activities and the hotels all provide a Japanese breakfast (but not a very good one). I went there with my mum and found a surprising opportunity to read things in Japanese and talk with Japanese people.

Conversely, I found Niseko to be the least Japanese place in Japan. Everything is written in English, Aussies everywhere, and vegemite for sale in the convenience stores. Weirded me out!

If you’ve got the cash, just book a few weeks in a language school and get a visa that way. On the weekends you can travel a bit. This is what I was in the process of doing but put on hold while I watch what’s happening with the covid surge.

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Can you give an example of how this manifests itself?

I guess I can imagine, but I’m still curious.

+1 for Hawaii, specifically Honolulu. It was our nearly-Japan substitute when we were itching to go last year but couldn’t. I feel like any place with a Don Quixote can be safely said to have a thriving Japanese community.

We also went to Vancouver, B.C. this summer and while the JP community there is not as large as the one in Oahu, for some reason we couldn’t walk the street without hearing someone speaking in Japanese. AMAZING Japanese food and shops, too.

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Last I checked, they were only allowing first degree relatives (parents or children) and on the application, there was a promise that it’s not for tourism purposes. I’ve heard the non family members being allowed are for people who can somehow prove they need assistance, such as help with a disability, mental health, or childcare.

I agree with your concluding sentiment, but I think citing a special visa that people are already abusing for tourism is not a good alternative to waiting.

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“How long is it from Tokyo to Beijing by shinkansen”

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Hi. Are you going to the Japanese street festival this weekend?

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I’m just sharing information on the current state of tourism in Japan and how it’s currently working in practice. :slight_smile: It’s not a suggestion by any means, more going off the idea that based on the current trends, Japan is likely to more carefully be considering opening tourism beyond it’s current tour group status.

I will correct my statement a bit though- the current forms people have been using do actually say spouse/child/relative/acquintance, so it is a bit broader than I originally recalled (Thought it was only relatives, but it’s been expanded to acquintances).

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I will be attending, eagerly, yes! I’ll be the man in the bright shirt trying to eavesdrop on Japanese strangers to see how much I understand out of context.

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I agree, if you want a taste of Japanese culture, going all the way there is a bad idea. However, if you are around there, I guess it might be interresting to go there.
I also visited the book stores there but it was so crowded that I couldn´t ask the staff and it felt like a mess for me. Nippon doesn´t have Manga but there is also another book store that has some manga, don´t remember the name though.

I hope that they change this by May, 2023. I just bought a ticket today. I mostly used miles but still… If you are based in the US, I would suggest Hawaii, in particular, Honolulu. The two times I visited it, I was under the impression that Japan had won WWII.

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Sounds like you’re already in one of the best places you can be outside of Japan.

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