Japan is a rustic the place companies nonetheless use fax machines and the place, up till a couple of years in the past, it was troublesome to pay for issues with bank cards. The primary time I visited the nation, foreigners couldn’t purchase Japanese SIM playing cards—you needed to “hire” one, or extra doubtless a cell WiFi unit.
With the announcement that Tokyo would host the 2020 Olympics, the nation rapidly modernized numerous features of society. The video games, after all, ended up being an utter disaster, however that didn’t cease Japan’s progress on different fronts.
Amongst these is Go to Japan Net, a device that sees Japan’s immigration and customs varieties digitized for the primary time ever.
Why Go to Japan Net Exists
Japanese authorities have mentioned digitizing its arrival course of for years, however because the aforementioned Olympics approached, they’d principally failed to take action. Paradoxically, it wasn’t till throughout covid-19 (and the near-total entry ban Japan imposed in response to it, which is far of what made Tokyo 2020 such a tragic, pathetic affair) that main change ended up going down.
Initially, vacationers who have been capable of enter Japan regardless of the entry ban have been required to fill out a health-related questionnaire on-line and convey a QR code that quarantine officers may scan. After Japan reopened, Go to Japan Net was rolled out first as a method of verifying vaccination and testing standing. It was solely after pandemic restrictions have been scrapped totally that it started functioning solely as an immigration and customs device.
5 Benefits to Utilizing Go to Japan Net
No have to fill out an arrival card
It’ll solely take you a couple of minutes to fill out the varieties on Go to Japan Net, which ask for particulars like your flight and passport quantity, and the identify, handle and cellphone variety of your Tokyo resort. It’s the identical data you’d have to enter on a bodily arrival card, however let’s be trustworthy: Writing with a pen is tough (and gradual) today!
You may get straight in line
One other benefit of utilizing the Japan digital arrival card? You don’t need to scramble for a paper arrival card, or waste time at a desk filling it out. As an alternative, you possibly can proceed immediately from the airplane, previous the quarantine desk and into the immigration line.
Expedited immigration processing
Come for a rustic whose residents require a visa to enter Japan? Until you might be coming to Japan as a resident, you possibly can hyperlink your vacationer visa to your passport on Go to Japan Net. Vacationers who enter visa-free profit, too. You merely scan your QR code and the immigration desk; the officer can nearly immediately admit you.
Devoted customs queue
In case you have a QR code to enter Japan, you’ll use the identical code to undergo customs. You’ll first proceed to a kiosk, the place you scan your passport and QR code, then affirm your solutions to the questionnaire you stuffed out on-line. You then proceed by way of an automatic gate and growth—you’re in Japan!
Digital tax-free buying
I don’t normally hassle availing Japan’s beneficiant tax-free buying allowance. That is in all probability dumb of me—I spend loads in mixture, even when I don’t make massive particular person purchases. If you’re a giant shopper, you’ll be pleased to know that there’s a bit inside Go to Japan Net that digitizes your buying.
Different Methods to Expedite Your Entry into Japan
Go to Japan Net is the best technique to expedite your entry into Japan, and one which just about each traveler can use, nevertheless it isn’t the one technique to enter Japan extra rapidly:
- Japan Trusted Traveler Program: In the event you come to Japan usually and meet sure different standards, you might be able to enter Japan utilizing a kiosk, bypassing a human immigration examine totally.
- APEC Enterprise Journey Card (ABTC): Touring to Japan (or in different APEC nations) for enterprise? In the event you acquire an ABTC in your house nation, you possibly can bypass the queue in Japan.
- Fly in first or enterprise class: Whereas premium passengers don’t achieve entry to expedited arrival queues (although they do on departure), getting off the airplane first means you’ll attain immigration extra rapidly.
Different FAQ About Go to Japan Net
Is Go to Japan Net nonetheless required?
Go to Japan Net has by no means been “required” for immigration and customs, although it has at all times been strongly really useful. In the event you neglect to make use of it, you possibly can fill out paper varieties like everybody needed to do a number of years in the past. Nevertheless, utilizing Go to Japan Net can velocity up your entry into Japan.
Do I nonetheless want a QR code to enter Japan?
A QR code isn’t required to enter Japan, nevertheless it makes doing so loads straightforward. In the event you don’t acquire a QR code upfront, you possibly can fill out bodily immigration and customs varieties. Your airline ought to have the ability to give you these, although chances are you’ll have to acquire them within the Arrivals space in some circumstances.
Is it sooner to make use of Go to Japan Net?
Utilizing Go to Japan Net hastens your entry into Japan in a couple of methods. First, it saves you from having to fill out bodily varieties. Secondly, it permits the immigration officer to entry your particulars immediately. Lastly, it afford you entry to a devoted customs queue, which you’ll usually clear in simply seconds.
The Backside Line
You don’t have to make use of Go to Japan Net, however doing so will easy and ease your entry into the nation. Not solely will it prevent from having to fill out varieties onboard (or, worse, to have to search out them and fill them out after you land), however it’s going to expedite the immigration screening course of. In the case of customs, your code lets you entry a devoted queue, which not often has the lengthy strains you see within the regular lanes on the finish of the bags carousels. Want personalised assist planning your subsequent journey to Japan? Whether or not it’ll be your first time within the nation or your fiftieth, rent me to plan a customized Japan itinerary.