I finally made it back home to Tokyo and now I have to sit at home for the next 14 days. Here's my journey.
I started planning back in late July about going home. We had some gem and mineral shows to do in Japan in September and October so I began to once again look at the restrictions in place when traveling to Japan.
The government updates their policies on travel in and out of Japan each month. So I hopped on the Ministry of Health website and poked around. When it was unclear to me whether I could go back I called a Japan Tourism Board in Tokyo to ask them. Bad idea because they told me that the current policy was actually one that wouldn't take effect until September 1st which said I could travel, but I had to get a COVID test, then get a letter of approval from the Japanese Embassy in Los Angeles. The COVID test would cost me $200 and take 3-7 days for results. So I put my travel plans on hold until the August guidelines were released.
The August guidelines gave me hope because there was a window in the restrictions which said if you left Japan before April 1st 2020, you could return before September 1st without the test or the letter. So I called the Embassy in LA and they confirmed that information. I immediately hopped on HIS Travel website and grabbed a flight into Haneda for only $600! Usually it's upwards of $1000.
Now there was still a catch. When you fly into Japan you have to be COVID tested and then you have to either be picked up by a family member or friend or you have to rent a car to leave the airport. We don't have a car so I decided I would rent one, but since I didn't know how long I would be in Immigration I couldn't actually book one until I landed, so here is what happened.
I took a red-eye, overnight, flight from LAX to Haneda. Before I could board the airline representatives made sure you either had documentation to travel or a residence card, the latter I did. We also had to fill out 2 pages of paperwork regarding our whereabouts and health before entering Japan.
On the plane there were only about 25-30 passengers. About a 50/50 split of Japanese and non-Japanese. We all had our own rows of seats so most of us laid down and slept.
We landed at 5am Japan time and departed into a 4 stage process.
One thing the rest of the world could learn from Japan is how to handle situations like this efficiently. First we were to bring our paperwork we filled out back in LA to one of the Quarantine officers. They looked it over, assigned us a number, and moved us to the second area to give saliva samples. This 2 processes took less than 5 minutes.
From there we spoke with another immigration agent about our plans in Japan, how they could track us(phone) and how we would be getting to our next destination. Once cleared we headed upstairs to another gate which had been turned into a waiting area. By just after 6:30 am my results came in, negative. I was then clear to go to the Immigration//Customs area you normally go through when you arrive in Japan.
I forgot to mention the airport was a ghost town except for the workers patrolling. It was depressing to see the contrast between before COVID and after.
At Immigration I had to give all of my paperwork to a special agent who then took it into a room to be filed and approved by higher ups. This process took about 10 minutes. Once cleared I then went down to pick up my baggage. The final customs check was like normal, just "Hi, welcome back" and I was home free, or so I thought.
After I cleared the doors I exchanged some cash, grabbed a coffee and located the car rental counter. Unfortunately it wouldn't open until 8:00am so I had to wait a little over 1 hour.
When it did open I rushed over to see what I could rent. The response from the agents were, sorry there are no rentals available from any of the car rental companies. They were all booked. A cold chill spread throughout my body. I'm screwed I thought. The agents told me to look on-line to see if I could find something. So I called my wife and we both went to work searching. Kayak, Booking, Expedia, every site came up negative for that day. Some had cars for the following day which then made me think about getting a hotel room and waiting it out. Even many of the hotels I checked were booked.
Then my wife called me back and said get to the Nissan counter in Terminal 2, they have a car for you. So I rushed over there and sure enough, outside of the airport, about 15 minutes away, they had a car for me. Saved!
By 10am I was in my rental and on the way home. Traffic was unusually backed up and what should have been an hour drive home turned into a two hour drive, but at least I made it home.
So now, I am home in Tokyo, but even though I tested negative I still have to quarantine for 14 days. After 5 months away from my family it's a small price I'm willing to pay. Until then, I'll enjoy the food my wife and kids bring me like this Earl Grey donut.
A few things to note in closing. If you are thinking to travel to Japan, call their embassy before making plans. Japan is in a serious lockdown to foreigners. Even I am a resident and spouse of a Japanese Citizen, it was a challenge to get back in.
Japan itself seems to be going about daily life with people wearing all kinds of masks and/or face shields. Every store I saw was open and people were out and about.
Our mineral business is doing well, better than pre-COVID, and we have a few shows coming up next month. I'll have more details on that soon.
That's it for now. Gonna go enjoy my quarantine 🙃. Thanks for reading!
