Move to Japan in October during Covid

I thought I would share my experience of traveling to Japan during the COVID pandemic.

I am a holder of a Japanese spouse visa. On October 16th, I traveled to Japan from San Francisco. The current post describes my trip's main points related to traveling to Japan during the COVID pandemic.

PRE-FLIGHT

Obtaining COVID PCR test results: as per current regulations, you have to take a COVID PCR test 72 hours before the flight to Japan departs. Then, the following template https://www.mofa.go.jp/files/100078393.docx (from https://www.mofa.go.jp/ca/fna/page25e_000334.html) has to be filled out with the test results by a doctor.

I decided to do two PCR tests on the same day, shortly after the 72-hour deadline clock started ticking. Why two? The generic response that I often heard about the processing times was "between two and seven days, depending on how busy the processing lab(s) are." so none of this was very reassuring to me. Therefore, to hedge my chances to get back the results on time within 72 hours before the flight, I decided on two different locations.

The two places were Stanford Hospital Palo Alto and the OneMedical chain clinic testing site (they forward the test samples to LabCorp for processing). I got back the negative results from Stanford after 20 hours, while LabCorp's negative results came back after 48 hours. The Stanford processing times gave me enough time to quickly see my doctor fill out the MOFA template mentioned above.

During the check-in at the airport, the airline staff checked the MOFA template carefully and thoroughly.

ON THE FLIGHT

I flew with Japan Airlines. All passengers on the plane (both Japanese and non-Japanese) were given a questionnaire by the Ministry of Health, Labour & Welfare (Œú�¶˜J“­�È), which was both in Japanese and English. The questionnaire asked a few basic questions: where you are coming from, where are you going to stay in Japan, your final destination, contact details in Japan, etc.

The flight attendants all wore disposable gloves when serving you something and face masks. Some wore 3M protective glasses/goggles.

POST-FLIGHT

After we landed, we got told to stay on the plane as per instructions from the quarantine department. First, the connecting flight passengers got off the plane. Then, based on the ticket class priority, everyone else was invited to proceed and get off the plane.

The Narita quarantine intake process involves going through several booths/kiosks one by one, where they inquire about how you are feeling, inspect & collect your questionnaire and MOFA template with COVID results. Along the way, you will do a COVID saliva test and wait for the results in the designated area. If test results are negative, you get a stamped red note (red for foreigners, while a green one for Japanese?) that the COVID virus was not present. Keep this note, as you may need to show it to a hotel shuttle driver or/and hotel staff (none of them asked me to see it). Then, you can continue with the standard immigration process and proceed to pick up your luggage.

To cut a long story short, I spent slightly over four hours from the time we landed and until the time when I exited the airport with my suitcases. This time involved the aforementioned, plus issuing a zairyu card.

A couple of things to keep in mind:
1. While in Narita, everyone has to go through the same quarantine intake process, even families with young/little kids. I.e.: There is no fast track for families.

2. As you navigate from booth to booth in Narita, the nearby toilets that you may see along the way will be closed. So, make sure to do all your business on the plane. (or perhaps there is a designated toilet which is open specifically for people that are processed, but I did not ask)

thank you a lot for sharing your experience! very useful!

may i also ask you what happened afterwards leaving airport? i assume your spouse fetched you and then you had to stay at her home for the next 14 days? did anyone come during this time to check if you are staying in place?

or did you go to a hotel? (how did you get a driver, i thought it is not allowed to use public transport including taxis?)
* if yes, what was procedure of quarantine there?
** (or did you had none at all, since your tests were negative?)

@Glimpigumpi , I am glad you found this useful and i hope my experience can shed some light for people about the process.

Regarding your assumption, I am sorry to "disappoint" you, it is not accurate :) Let me try to elaborate:

1. My spouse is not from Tokyo prefecture, but that aside, I wanted to do my due diligence and quarantine for 14 days before I see her and her elderly mama, just to be on a safe side. So, although all my tests were negative (btw, i forgot to mention, I was flying and wearing a face shield, in addition to a mask while traveling and while at Narita, this is just a personal preference), I still wanted to quarantine to reduce any potential risks.

2. After I collected my luggage at the airport, I took the free hotel/bus shuttle (I am not sure, but I think it is provided by Narita Airport?) from bus stop#21. The shuttle driver did not ask me to show my red stamped note

3. We booked a hotel in Narita city for me, that's where I am now. Before booking, my wife called them to confirm if they are quarantine-friendly for arrivals from overseas.

4. The hotel check-in process was very straight forward and no different to any other check-in process that I experienced in various hotels even before COVID. There was nothing COVID/quarantine specific. The hotel employees also did not ask me to show my red stamped note saying that COVID virus was not found.

5. There is no "procedure of quarantine" here. What I am trying to say is that no one is watching you nor checking on you, what you do and where you go. It is an honour system where you are expected to do the right thing. Btw, having said that, of course in the hotel here there are general COVID safety & hygiene practices that guests are asked & suppose to abide by. Sanitizer bottles are present everywhere.

I hope this helps

A small update:

An hour ago, a health worker (•ÛŒ’�Š) from my final destination prefecture where I intend to travel after the quarantine (I listed my mother-in-law's address as the home address on the questionnaire at Narita) has contacted me via email and asked to report him the following items every morning:

1. Today's body temperature:
2. Respiratory symptoms (cough, sputum, runny nose, stuffy nose, sore throat, suffocation, etc.): Yes / No
3. Other symptoms (dullness, nausea, red eye, headache, joint pain, diarrhea, etc.): Yes / No

It means that Ministry of Health, Labour & Welfare does keep track of all the arrivals and their condition, which is definitely good (for my opinion).

MrZaggy,

Thank you for the information. Although my chances to visit Japan are currently slim then that kind of posts are always interesting to read.

Do you have to stay 24h in the hotel or can you visit nearby supermarket and just walk around the city?
Is it limited how far can you walk?

Best regards,
Lauri

Hi Lauriandres,

Sure, not a problem. Happy to share.

Well, as I mentioned earlier, you are expected to do the right thing and that means not taking public transport, stay in (as much as possible), isolate and avoid socializing. But, as I also mentioned earlier no one is checking on you (I am not encouraging to break the quarantine, I am merely saying).

In my case, I try to stay in my room as much as possible. I do wear a mask when moving through the hotel (i.e.: laundry room, to get breakfast which is provided). Furthermore, I put goggles on (this is just a personal preference) when taking the hotel elevator (or when going to the laundry room), because other people also quarantine here. Although the elevators seems to be ventilated, they are pretty small. I saw only one guest up until now that was without a mask in a common hotel area.

I do go out for walks in early hours of the morning to get some fresh air. I do have a mask on all the time while outside. Where I usually walk in the morning, the streets are pretty empty during that time and I am not walking in busy areas anyways. If a human approaches, I make sure to keep/create a social distance. I try to create 3 meters (approx. 10 feet) between us.

Regarding food & drinks: I did make a few runs to a local convenience store to stock up on water. The breakfast is included in the hotel. For lunch and dinner, there are a few places in the hotel area that sell food as a take away. My Japanese is good enough to be able to order from places that do not have food pictures or/and menus in English, so this gives me more choices. When I order I stay outside and wait.

I am bumping this up.

Now that I quarantined in my hotel for a week, I have some thoughts about the shortcomings of the current hotel quarantine process (at least when it comes to my personal experiences & observations). I strongly feel that this process requires more attention and should/can be refined.

As I mentioned in my earlier posts, guests are not supposed to go out, avoid public transport, stay in (as much as possible), and isolate and avoid socializing. For the conversation's sake, let's assume that no one is going out (that's not the case in reality btw).

Guests can still move around within the hotel for various reasons: to talk to the front desk (level 2), to do laundry/dry clothes (level 4), to go down in the morning to grab brekky (level 2), or to use a microwave (level 8). The two available elevators are small (roughly: 2 meters x 2 meters), and I had seen multiple times when there were at least three people inside (not too often, but it happens).

Today I noticed new faces during breakfast (maybe from an international flight(s) that came in on Friday) - a fresh infusion of humans that potentially came from overseas. Perhaps some of them arrived on a domestic flight; I do not know. Also, there is one guy who I never saw wearing a mask, and today when I saw him again at the breakfast area, I alerted the hotel employee and asked her to ask him to wear a mask.

As it is now, I do not find the current hotel-based quarantine process to be effective. There is a potential risk for people to infect each other while staying at the hotel and moving around. Just because someone got a negative PCR result before the flight to Japan, followed by a negative test result upon arrival, may not mean a lot - the virus can take up to 14 days to incubate. So, it is possible to pick up a "surprise" while at the hotel and then bring it back to your home town/area/family.

That said, I do not have a perfect alternative hotel-based quarantine solution. Perhaps a hotel-based quarantine that got attempted in Melbourne, Australia, is worthwhile piloting in Japan: the quarantined guests suppose to remain under strict supervision. (Interestingly, the Melbourne solution did not work due to shortcomings with a third-party security company hired to keep watch; the investigation is still ongoing there).

This is so interesting to read, thanks for putting it up!

Hotel quarantine is happening in a number of Australian cities at the moment, it's pretty strict, with quarantining people able to leave their room only for short, supervised exercise periods at a designated spot in the hotel. Apart from that there is no direct contact between them and anyone. Family and friends can drop items in (food, clean washing etc) but I understand can't bring anything out. Also people can order food from outside. Items are delivered to outside their rooms and then the door is opened for them to pick it up. Clean bed linen and towels are supplied this way.

Police are used to supervise hotel quarantine in my home state, as they have powers to deal with members of the public that soldiers or private security (or hotel staff) don't. They also have training in de-escalating difficult situations and in dealing with the public. I gather the police find it necessary to guard staircases as some guests have tried to escape or move around the hotel against the rules.

Anyway, hope you are safe and stay well, and can get back to your wife and her mum very soon.

Thanks, Who !