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As part of its ongoing COVID-19 response, InsideJapan Tours — the award-winning operator and industry expert on travel to Japan — has added a collection of new resources to its website to provide real-time advice for travel to Japan.

The new additions focus on the in-country travel landscape, the latest entry guidelines, and current aviation regulations and policies. These new pages join the tour operator’s existing multi-pronged ‘Coronavirus Japan News’ portal, which was launched in early February 2020 to communicate the latest developments and travel updates as the pandemic spread across the globe. Since its inception earlier this year, the dedicated Covid-19 channel has been instrumental in communicating factual information to the operator’s clients, travel advisors, and the general public.

The three new, travel-centric resource pages include:
  • Japan Travel in Covid Times: a guide to what travel in Japan will look like now and in the short-term, including the main experiences and activities that form a part of any trip in Japan, from visiting restaurants and bars to traveling on the bullet train.
  • Latest Japan Travel Updates: an up-to-date web page providing details on travel entry status, including advisories and restrictions for travelers from various countries.
  • Flying to Japan: a roundup of the latest information regarding flights and airline policies.
These comprehensive new resources join the existing Japan Coronavirus News page, which has been tracking the latest developments of the coronavirus in Japan since the start of the pandemic. The resource pages are updated regularly with the latest information and perspectives, including updates from the Japanese press and official Japanese sources that have been translated into English. The pages also include first-hand information from InsideJapan Tours’ on-the-ground Insiders stationed throughout the country.
“With Japan being the most popular travel destination searched in North America for 2021 (according to Google statistics), we are gearing up for a major recovery,” said Jeff Krevitt, Vice President of Marketing for North America. “Even though North American travelers can’t currently travel to Japan, it is our responsibility to provide the same level of service, communication, and care we’re known for, whether on-the-ground during peak travel season or from a distance during a pandemic.”

In addition to these real-time resources, InsideJapan Tours continues to distribute its Stay Inside Japan series of email newsletters, which were launched in April to fill the gap between the pandemic and travel to the destination. “We started the series as a way of providing our audiences with interesting, inspirational, and entertaining content about Japan,” explained Krevitt. “Rather than showing ‘armchair travel,’ we wanted to provide our audience with a more in-depth view of Japan through information on the destination’s history, culture, traditions, food, religion, everyday life, and more – the things that make Japan such a special place.”

The Stay Inside Japan newsletter content was researched and curated by the operator’s team on the ground, along with contributions from the group’s many partners in Japan. Top highlights include a video by Tour Leader Robert Kodama explaining Japan’s very own period of ‘social distancing,’ the country’s 220-year period of isolation enacted by the Tokugawa shogunate; as well as a video with Tour Leader Thomas Siebert giving insight into why the Japanese are so good at keeping calm. The newsletters have also included stories on how people under lockdown can experience Japanese culture in their own homes, such as deep dives into the art of origami, recipes, suggested reading lists, and an array of articles, including one on the healing power of nature with lessons from both the Shinto belief system and Buddhism.

To sign up for InsideJapan Tours’ latest newsletter and more information, visit www.insidejapantours.com.

For information about exploring InsideAsia Tours’ destinations in Southeast Asia, visit www.insideasiatours.com.