BruceMuzz

Hank, You nailed it. The Japanese Prime Minister is being forced to open up the country to foreign tourists sooner than most Japanese wanted him to. Foreign cruise ships will remain a problem until at least one other nearby country opens up - to comply with Cabotage Laws. It appears that South Korea is considering opening as well, which could satisfy the Cabotage requirements. Note that even with the depreciated Yen, Japan is still the most expensive country in Asia for cruise ships to operate. They MUST have another country - like South Korea, China, or Taiwan - where they can purchase fuel, water, and Food & Beverage items, at much lower prices. Even if Japan waived the Cabotage requirements for foreign cruise ships (highly unlikely), those ships still cannot afford to visit until they have a viable foreign port to visit.

Cruise Line pricing relies heavily on supply / demand. Christmas week is - by far - the busiest week of the year (highest demand) for cruise lines. With seemingly all of humanity trying to buy a cruise for that week, which intelligent Cruise Line Executive would choose to offer discounts ??? Hint: The weeks before the Christmas Cruise and after the New Years Cruise are when / where you will find your deals.

Current rules and regulations for foreigners to enter Japan are changing very rapidly right now. As of today, foreign flag cruise ships are not even allowed to enter Japan. But all that may be changing very soon. Japanese Immigration is expected to make announcements in the next week or so.

Cabotage Laws generally (but not always) apply to cruises that begin and end in the same country.

Japan has a small Domestic Cruise Industry, with about 5 cruise ships total. But we do have an extensive Ferry system that operates much like a domestic cruise line system. These businesses all do better when foreign cruise ships do not call at Japan. Additionally, most foreign cruise lines spend most of their money outside Japan. Fuel and food are a cruise line's biggest expenses. Although Japan does it better than just about anyone, they also charge top prices. So the cruise lines tend to do their purchasing and loading in South Korea or Taiwan. Crew changes are another big expense for cruise lines. Japan is very difficult and expensive for these as well, as so many crew want to "jump ship" in Japan. Most cruise lines do crew changes in South Korea.

There is some good news for entering Japan in today's Yomiuri Shimbun. The Japanese Yen has been depreciating more rapidly than expected during this post-COVID period. The Bank of Japan has taken their traditional conservative approach, causing the Yen to drop to the range of 150 / Dollar. The Japanese Government is considering opening up the country more rapidly than they want, in order to reap the financial benefit of increased tourism. At 150 Yen / Dollar, Japan is suddenly an incredible bargain. There is still no talk of re-welcoming foreign cruise ships, as there never have been very many anyway. But it appears that Japan tourism will be re-starting sooner than hoped.

It is also possible that Japan will choose to support Japanese Domestic Cruise Companies by delaying the return of Foreign Flag ships.

The Japan Times reported yesterday that the Government is considering allowing foreigners with a minimum of three COVID inoculations and a negative COVID test to enter Japan. The decision could be made as soon as next week. Although good news, this still does not help foreign flag ships trying to enter Japan. Japanese Cabotage Laws require at least one other East Asian Country to open to Foreign Cruise Ships before it will be legal for them to visit Japan.

Japanese Immigration is very, very slowly relaxing entry requirements for foreigners. Currently they are allowing a limited number who purchase packages from a limited number of Japanese Travel Agents to have special visas that allow them to visit Japan. COVID jabs and PCR tests are still required for entry, but that may be relaxed soon. There is still no discussion on allowing foreign Cruise Ships into Japan again. If Japan does open up to foreign ships, at least one other East Asian nation must to the same before the ships can come. Like the USA and Canada, Japan has cabotage laws that require a foreign flag ship to visit another country during your cruise. All the "experts" here in Japan are speculating that Japan will be fully open to foreigners and foreign cruise ships sometime in Spring 2023.

You can believe what you want. I work at one of those Japanese tourism companies whose stocks have gone up. We are pretty sure that unregulated visits of foreigners to Japan will not happen until next Spring - and we all really hope we are wrong. Permission for foreign cruise ships to visit Japan may be even further away. China, South Korea, and Taiwan also need to open up to foreign cruise ships before they can legally sail in Japan. All those countries - including Japan - have their own domestic cruise companies that have been very busy and very profitable these past 2 years with no foreign competition. Very few people in Asia want that to change.

One needs to read the articles very carefully. The English version leaves out some very important details. The Japanese version spells out that foreign visitors MUST purchase a PACKAGE from a very limited number of Japanese Travel Agents. These packages require you to stay in an approved hotel with all the other people who bought the package. You must eat all your meals there, and travel with an escort in a group, to selected tourist sites only. The escort will be enforcing masks worn always and social distancing always. If one of the group gets COVID, the tour is cancelled and everyone flies home.

In most countries, taking food off a cruise ship to eat ashore is prohibited by law. They are worried that most anything you bring ashore - except sometimes packaged, processed food - could introduce harmful foreign plant and animal diseases, or insects into their country. They are especially worried about meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. Most cruise lines will not offer lunches to take ashore. If you try to do it on your own, you may meet an official on the pier, standing next to an over-flowing garbage bin, filled with all the foods that naive passengers tried to take ashore.

As of 02 September, Japan remains closed to most foreigners. A few very carefully controlled and regulated tours are being allowed for foreigners, but that doesn't sound like much fun. The Government is talking about loosening up and allowing foreign visitors soon. But there is still no discussion on allowing foreign cruise ships to visit. Even if Japan opens to foreign cruise ships, they still will not be able to visit until at least one other Asian country opens up as well. Japan's Cabotage Laws require a foreign flag cruise ship to visit at least one other country during a Japan cruise. Currently, South Korea, China, and Taiwan are also closed to cruise ships. Russia is still a possibility, but you probably do not want to visit there.

They go to Japan in the later part of the year for the same reason that all the cruise lines go to the Caribbean during Hurricane season. The Typhoons and Hurricanes are predictable, slow moving, and easy to avoid. During that time of year, the weather is generally very pleasant when there is not a Typhoon or Hurricane.

Windstar has a tour / transfer that will get you there in time for your flight. You could also just take a taxi. Not expensive, Travel time about 45 minutes.

Cruising has been on the decline since the Beatles broke up. I fully blame Yoko Ono and John Lennon for all of this trouble.

Japan is currently in the middle of it's 7th wave of COVID infection. We are seeing extremely high numbers reported. While the Government has reported that they will not be locking down any further, it also appears that they are not willing to open up any further either. It is probably safe to guess that there will be no foreign flag cruise ships visiting Japan in 2022. Now we can start worrying about 2023.

Hank, You have a very good read on the current situation. The only thing you missed is the continuing high COVID numbers at all the US Military bases in Japan. The Japanese are not very happy about this, as the infections are spreading to the locals who live and work in the cities around those bases. The US Military have been caught several times now, trying to fly infected US troops on commercial flights into and out of Japan. The US Military is hoping the whole thing will go away, but are doing basically nothing to mitigate the situation. This doesn't give the Japanese any warm fuzzy feelings about allowing any more foreigners into the country.

Japan remains closed to foreigners until further notice. The only tourists being allowed to visit must go through a few approved Travel Agents, get a special COVID Visa, travel in a bubble with a small group, escorted by a travel agent, must avoid public transit. must stay in an approved hotel with the group, must wear a mask always, will be tested frequently, and will be deported if you test positive or violate any of the requirements. US Military bases in Japan continue their lockdowns, with major COVID outbreaks. Japan will not be opening up until that gets sorted out. Japan remains closed to foreign cruise ships. Japanese Cabotage laws require a foreign cruise ship to visit a nearby foreign country during the cruise. All those nearby foreign countries are also closed to foreign cruise ships. It is safe to guess that nothing will be happening very soon.

This is a new temporary requirement related to the new COVID Entry Requirements. If all goes well, when things get a bit more "normal", the visa requirement will probably go back to the old system of issuing an automatic 90 day entry visa to Americans.