Japan to resume visa-free travel for tourists, including Singaporeans, from Oct 11

Singaporeans looking to visit the famed Shibuya crossing or the UNESCO World Heritage Site Kiyomizudera in Japan can soon do so without the need to apply for a visa. 

Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced on Thursday (Sep 22) that the country will scrap its COVID-19 travel restrictions on foreign visitors and fully reopen its borders on Oct 11.

There will no longer be a cap on daily arrival numbers too, while its visa-free programme for countries, including Singapore, that was in place prior to the pandemic will be resumed for vaccinated visitors.

Japan will also introduce a nationwide travel program which offers discounts for domestic travel, theme parks and sporting events from Oct 11.

Currently, foreign visitors need to apply for a visa. The number of visitors, who have to go on package tours, was also capped at 50,000 per day.

The current price for an air ticket to Japan costs as cheap as $511 on Scoot or up to $1,167 on Singapore Airlines.

Budget airline Scoot in September introduced a new Pikachu Jet that will be available till Oct 19. The Pokémon-themed flights will ferry passengers from Singapore to Tokyo.

The Japanese yen is also weakening against the Singapore dollar. As of Friday, S$1 was worth 100.2 yen.