Japan said on Tuesday it would start conducting "test tourism" in the form of limited package tours in May as a way of gathering information prior to a full re-opening of the country to tourism. Though tourism was a major pillar of Japan's economy, tourists have not been permitted to enter since it adopted strict border controls in 2020 at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Regulations have been loosened slightly to allow students and some business travellers to enter. But, individual tourists remain barred despite calls from industry leaders hoping to restart tourism to take advantage of the yen, which has fallen to 20-year lows. FILE PHOTO: Tourists wearing protective face masks following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are seen at Asakusa district in Toky...
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Japan plans to ease COVID 19-related border restrictions by lifting its entry ban for foreign nationals from 106 countries including the United States, Britain and France on Friday, the government said. Tokyo has been gradually relaxing pandemic-induced curbs but the loosened border regime does not mean a full reopening to tourists. The foreign ministry said in an update on Wednesday that foreigners from the 106 countries would not be subject to denial of permission to enter Japan from Friday, but foreigners with tourist purposes were still not allowed into the country. Japan closed its borders to most foreign travellers from the early days of the pandemic in 2020 and only recently accepted a trickle of students and business people into the country. Many other developed count...
Read MoreA research group at the Politecnico di Milano analysed the orientation of ancient Japanese tombs – the so-called Kofun, using satellite images. This study has never been carried out before A research group at the Politecnico di Milano analysed the orientation of ancient Japanese tombs – the so-called Kofun. This study has never been carried out before, due to the very large number of monuments and the fact that access to these areas is usually forbidden. For these reasons, high-res satellite imagery was used. The results show that these tombs are oriented towards the arc of the rising sun, the Goddess Amaterasu that the Japanese emperors linked to the mythical origin of their dynasty. Locations of the sites considered in this study (image courtesy Google Earth Pro, edited by the aut...
Read MoreEuropean Union governments agreed on Wednesday to add Japan to their small list of countries from which they will allow non-essential travel, while holding off until at least mid-June for British tourists, EU sources said on Tuesday. Ambassadors from the EU's 27 countries approved the addition of Japan at a meeting on Wednesday, with the change to take effect in the coming days. People make a toast in a beer garden as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions continue to ease, in Vienna, Austria May 19, 2021. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger EU countries are recommended gradually to lift travel restrictions for the current seven countries on the list - Australia, Israel, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand. Individual EU countries can still opt to demand a ne...
Read Moreजापान में बसंत की कल्पना करें तो खुद-ब-खुद चेरी ब्लॉसम का ख्याल आता है। कोई एक फूल किसी जगह के लिए कितनी अहमियत रखता है कि उसका खिलना पूरे देश में महीनों तक जश्न की वजह रहता है। जापान का चेरी ब्लॉसम फूल इसका उदाहरण है। लेकिन इसका इस साल जल्दी खिल जाना लोगों की चिंता का सबब बन गया है। यह कोई मामूली बात नहीं, लेकिन क्या यह किसी बड़े बदलाव का संकेत है! फूलों के खिलने का मौसम है। आखिरकार धरती के ऊपरी आधे हिस्से, जिसे हम लोग उत्तरी गोलार्ध कहते हैं, में ये बसंत के दिन हैं। सतह पर पसरी ठंड जैसे-जैसे पिघलने लगती और उसे सूरज की तपिश मिलती है तो फूल अंकुरित होने लगते हैं। ऐसे में स्वाभाविक ही है कि खिलते फूल पूरे माहौल में उल्लास व रंगत भर देते हैं। फाइल फोटोः जापान में हर तरफ चेरी ब्लॉसम का रंग कोई खास फूल कितनी अहमियत रखता है कि उसका खिलना पूरे देश में महीनों तक जश्न की वजह रहता है, जाप...
Read MoreAn iconic cafe and show venue that symbolises Japan’s “kawaii” pop culture, and is beloved by tourists and celebrities, has shut its doors in Tokyo, the capital, after business dried up following the COVID-19 pandemic. A funky aesthetic of outlandish colours and designs made Kawaii Monster Cafe in the capital’s youth culture hotspot of Harajuku a hit, drawing overseas A-listers, such as reality star Kim Kardashian, singer Dua Lipa and Jenny of K-pop’s Blackpink. Staff members of Kawaii Monster Cafe called 'Monster Girls' send off guests before the cafe ends its five-year run operation on the day, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Tokyo Japan January 31, 2021. REUTERS/Issei Kato But its five-year run ended on Sunday, in part after overseas clientele disappeared ...
Read MoreMany high-end stores closed down in top malls The number of foreign visitors to Japan plunged 87% in 2020 to a 22-year low as the country mostly closed its borders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan National Tourism Organization data showed on Wednesday. The number of foreign arrivals, which include tourism and business arrivals, fell to about 4.1 million last year from 31.9 million in 2019. It was the lowest annual figure since 1998. FILE PHOTO: The entrance gate to the normally crowded Kiyomizu temple, a favourite location among tourists, is pictured amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Kyoto, Japan. REUTERS/Leika Kihara Meanwhile, more than a dozen stores closed in Tokyo’s high-end Ginza Six mall this week as the coronavirus pandemic kept big...
Read MoreJapan’s government may stop travel subsidies meant to boost regional economies and help hotels and airlines as concern grows that the tourism campaign may spread the coronavirus amid a fresh wave of infections, Nippon TV’s NEWS24 reported. Any decisions to halt the “Go To Travel” campaign would represent a U-turn by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who until now has defended the subsidies as necessary to boost an economy hurt by a pandemic that has kept people at home. Wary of growing public concern, Suga’s administration is considering stopping the campaign for two months at year end and into the New Year, NEWS24 reported, citing unidentified sources. Japan was among the first nations to provide incentive for domestic travel saying it was needed to stop many small businesses i...
Read MoreJapan’s government is considering the resumption of inbound tourism on a limited basis from the spring as Tokyo prepares to host a delayed summer Olympics, the Asahi newspaper reported on Sunday. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s administration is leaning toward allowing small tour groups from Asian countries where coronavirus infections are well under control, such as China and Taiwan, the Asahi reported without citing sources. Japanese government officials did not return calls from Reuters seeking comment. Suga’s government has launched a subsidy programme to revive domestic tourism, a key driver of economic growth in recent years, but the scheme has been criticised because Japan is struggling with a third wave of coronavirus infections. New cases have spiked to record hig...
Read Moreयह बड़ा अजीब दौर है। जब कोरोना वायरस जड़ें जमाने की कोशिश कर रहा था तो हम घरों में दुबके बैठे थे और जब वायरस खुलकर अपना खेल खेल रहा है तो हम ‘आ बैल मुझे मार’ के अंदाज में सबकुछ खोल दे रहे हैं। लेकिन लोगों का यह भी कहना है कि अब और कोई रास्ता भी नहीं बचा सिवाय इसके कि वायरस से दो-दो हाथ करते हुए ही आगे बढ़ा जाए। एक नया वायरस कई नई-नई चीजें हमें दिखा रहा है। कोविड-19 की मार सबसे ज्यादा झेलने वालों में ट्रैवल व टूरिज्म का उद्योग सबसे प्रमुख रहा है। उड्डयन क्षेत्र भी उसी का एक हिस्सा है। हालांकि एक के बाद एक देश और इलाके अपनी सीमाओं को फिर से खोल रहे हैं, लेकिन थोड़ी एहतियात फिर भी सब बरत रहे हैं। बुखार में ऊपर-नीचे होते तापमान की ही तरह कोविड-19 से संक्रमित लोगों की संख्या आस-पड़ोस में जैसे ही कम-ज्यादा होती है, रियायत व पाबंदियां उसी तरह घटती-बढ़ती रहती हैं। खास तौर प...
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