After more than two and a half years, Japan reopened its borders to individual travel on October 11, 2022. Three weeks later, I touched down in the Land of the Rising Sun. By Christina Liao

Japan is a destination that has the perfect culture, food and dramatic landscapes

After my first visit to Japan in 2016, I fell completely in love with the country. It’s a destination that has the perfect marriage of culture, food, and dramatic landscapes, and I felt right at home from the moment I landed. After that life-changing trip, I began spending one to three months in Japan every year — until the pandemic hit. I was last in Japan in early February 2020, right before COVID-19 began to rear its head. I was meant to stay longer but had to return to the United States earlier than expected due to a personal matter that came up back home. I thought to myself, that it was okay, I’ll be back soon. Little did I know that it’d be more than two and a half years until my next visit.

Japan started welcoming tourists and travellers from October 11, 2020

Japan held off reopening for a long time. In June, the country began to slightly loosen their restrictions, allowing only escorted tour groups to visit with a daily cap of 20,000 visitors. By September, non-guided travellers on ‘package tours’ could enter the country. But now, as of October 11, 2022, everyone is welcomed into the island nation and can roam around the destination without hindrance. Once I received word, I quickly…