Swine flu in Japan - Cancel trip?

Now that there is an outbreak of swine flu cases in Japan.. I expect general freakouts amongst the locals and the health authorities.

I am not too worried about the flu itself (at least right now it doesn't seem too lethal), but more worried about Japan's reaction to the flu. I am afraid public gatherings will be banned and establishments will shut down (such as museums and onsens). Even more so I'm afraid of being quarantined just because someone close to me sneezed a few times during the plane trip.

Maybe it's not the best time to travel to Japan? I will be going in 5 days, on the 25th. Should I just cancel? :(
What is the opinion of the locals? I am trying to decide whether to cancel the trip in the next few days by gauging Japanese reaction to the outbreak.. can the locals on the forum please keep me updated? Thanks!

I wouldn't worry about it at all. Yes, there are cases of it here, and the government and media are reporting all about it and encouraging people to wear masks, etc. but there is no need to cancel your trip. Just make sure you wish your hands and cover your mouth when coughing, etc. as you probably normally do and enjoy your trip!

Thanks for the reply - the thing that concerns me most is the DELAY at customs when I arrive at Narita - if its take 4 hours I'm going to miss the last NEX train to my hotel..

And also since all the schools are closed down, the streets must be packed with young students like it's early summer holidays. Also I am afraid that Japan will soon ban public gatherings, shut down establishments like TMG buliding, museums, parks, Tsukiji, etc...

That would REALLY suck!

If there is a big hold up there, they will provide buses. There will be a lot of people on the flight and they won't just leave everyone stranded. My friend flew in from Australia and his plane was 6 hours late and landed at 2 in the morning. There was special buses provided to take us home. They were free too!

Hi Guest,

Have you read my response on the other thread in the "Others" section? Airport quarantine and customs are already running smoothly.

Also, the purpose of closing schools are to prevent the flu from spreading and therefore students aren't allowed to walk around town even if they're healthy. Surely there are some who never obey the rules, but there aren't enough to get the streets "packed". And schools are only closed in the Kansai Region.

Currently only schools in the Kansai region are shut down but we all know, it's only a matter of time until it hits Kanto (including Tokyo) and people are going to be freaking out... Of course, it doesn't help either that you're squished into a train with hundreds of strangers, any of whom could have the virus.

To be honest, if there isn't a massive fee or penalty for changing accommodations, I'd actually lean towards at least delaying your trip. In my mind, there's just too high of a probability that festivals, large gatherings, etc. will be canceled.

Japanese tend to over react, I wouldn't worry at all.
In the news today they will suspend all airport checks by the end of this week.
Have a great time in Japan!

In fact, to avoid trains being packed by those with virus, a lot of employers have adapted "flex time" where workers are allowed to come and leave the office earlier or later than usual.

Also, not many "Japanese" are over-reacting at the moment. It's just that the government is slow in making changes, or in other words, too causious.

just read the news and headlines say that WHO is planning to raise the h1n1 assessment to level 6, the highest level.
when this happens, the world is in a global pandemic, which means very likely that countries will cancel public gatherings, and close down some establishments.

http://www.caymanmama.com/2009/05/18/china-britain-japa...