Gov't seeks faster entry procedures for foreigners at airports

Tuesday 03rd March, 03:45 PM JST

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Thenewfront at 03:57 PM JST - 3rd March

This is not really news is it, especially with so few non Japanese entering the country anyhow.
dragonmonkey at 05:29 PM JST - 3rd March

A lot of the people posting comments here have re-entry permits, so your comments about fast waiting times are completely irrelevant. This article is talking about tourists, not foreign residents with re-entry permits. My husband is Japanese, and we don't live in Japan at the moment so I have travelled to japan several times as a tourist. The queuing times are a nightmare - between 45 minutes and an hour at Kansai in the middle of summer. I feel sorry for tourists with young children that have just come off a 10 hour flight and have to wait in that line. My husband has to wait on the other side for an hour for us because it takes five minutes for him to get through - they have so many desks for japanese open, which are then closed once there are no more japanese queuing. Why don't they then use these desks to process tourists?

The security guard shouting FAW-REE-NAHS! at us and pointing at the Non-Japanese queue doesn't help either :(
Hotbox08 at 06:22 PM JST - 3rd March

Japan, focus on how to make the over all experience a tourist has in Japan is a good one. and they will want to come here.

That's right. Keeping Japan looking like how Japan is supposed to look is the first step. Japan should stop with the high-tech, loose immigration laws, foreign brand name goods, and the "foreign look", and start remembering what makes them special. Stop with the foreign personalities on TV and keep Japan the way it should be. That way, tourists would actually feel like they are in Japan, and not like their own country back home.
Patrick Smash at 07:29 PM JST - 3rd March

dragonmonkey

In Narita, as soon as the Japanese have gone through, those desks process the foreigners. I think they should open more of them as there are only ever about half in use. The queue for tourists can be depressing in Tokyo too, but when I came through the other day there was no wait at all for anyone.
Cos at 08:46 PM JST - 3rd March

Dragomonkey, you have not traveled to Japan recently.

This article is talking about tourists, not foreign residents with re-entry permits

We wait in the same line, so wait the same time. We give our fingerprint and our photo. And we see a poster saying "anti-terrorist checking" in front of us while we wait. And everybody, tourists and residents feel this is really a lovely way to arrive in a country in such an atmosphere.

The waiting line is not what deters tourists. Long lines occur on busiest days only. Visa conditions are still very strict for Asian neighbours, and there are not many budget/ average price leasure facilities in the country. Everything is made on a scale of a 2 to 5 day trip. The bulk of tourists from far away would stay 2 to 4 weeks to make a long flight worth. In other countries they combine visits and relaxing time. What can they do in Japan ? Rent a condo ? Camping ? Beach bungalows ? There is nothing for them.

Roughly for a family, a week in Japan costs several times a week anywhere else in the rest of Asia. They may come once to see Japanese culture, but not many will visit 5 or 6 times like they do for Bali or Thailand.
taikan at 05:16 AM JST - 4th March

The waiting lines at the airport are not that significant a problem, because they are no worse than waiting lines at airports in other countries. However, I frequently am asked by friends who are planning a trip to Japan what there is to see outside of Tokyo and Kyoto. If the government really wants to increase the number of tourists visiting Japan, it has to do a better job of publicizing the many other locations in Japan that are interesting to visit and/or that have beautiful scenery. Making sure that some of the hotels and restaurants in those other areas are tourist-friendly probably would help, also. However, I note that my friends who have visited places such as Nara and Tohoku on my advice always have reported that they had good experiences during their visit.
LFRAgain at 12:52 PM JST - 4th March

If you're visiting a country, you need to make an effort to learn the language. The burden is not on the native population.

In principle, I agree. But when applying this logic to a nation that is trying to increase the number of tourists, and subsequently tourist revenue, is doesn't really apply. If you're a business looking to make money off of foreign tourists, like a hotel, its pays to make the effort to ensure the guest's stay is pleasant. Making some effort towards providing languages other than Japanese is a good place to start.

Furthermore, a country isn't going to win many fans by declaring, "Please visit, but only if you speak our language." The de facto travel language the world over is English. This isn't cultural imperialism. It's reality. If Japan wants the tourist revenue, then it needs to make the effort.

It't not as if the natives have to be fluent in English or hotels have to have a dedicated English-speaking staff on hand 24-7. Seriously, how difficult could it possibly be to provide hotel information in English in something like a pamphlet? Many business hotels in major cities do just this, and it seems to be enough. How can major tourist hotels not provide such a service? You'd think someone would jump on the opportunity to provide translation and materials for such hotels.
Hotbox08 at 06:35 PM JST - 4th March

Seriously, how difficult could it possibly be to provide hotel information in English in something like a pamphlet?

Actually, I've stayed in a number of business hotels in Japan, and they all have had some measure of English. It wasn't really hard for me to reserve a room at all. And let's face it; where is the adventure and wonder in having your hand led all the time? I laugh at the Japanese who take package tours over backpacking. Some of my most enjoyable and exciting travels have been to places where there was some fumbling about with the language, staying in B and B's where very little English if at all is spoken. Oh the stories I could tell. In Japan, the best places to go and experience, involves riding a bicycle, visiting roadside ryokans, trekking in the mountains, and chatting with obasans, while enjoying the local foods. It kind of takes away from the experience if I were to see more English signs than kanji on the roadsides and ryokans, IMHO.
Richard_III at 03:50 PM JST - 5th March

Getting through customs and immigration is pretty quick. Getting to the airport itself is a different matter. They should put a non-stop shinkansen between Narita and Tokyo. Current service is a joke.
Richard_the_First at 12:22 PM JST - 6th March

Anal I know, but romaji signs are in Japanese not English. ABC is not English. In my experience people are friendly, on the whole, towards foreigners. I am married to a Japanese woman so my view is skewed to some degree, plus I also speak Japanese so don't encounter the barriers that tourists may face.
Richard_the_First at 12:24 PM JST - 6th March

Actually, that's a good point, My cousin Richard. I have always wondered why the bullet train doesn't stop at Narita.
elbudamexicano at 05:29 PM JST - 6th March

******The recommendation to the tourism ministry includes boosting the number of hotels able to provide foreign-language service.

In 2007, 40% of 1,560 hotels where foreign travelers stayed provided no foreign-language service, though they were registered as hotels giving such service in line with the international sightseeing hotel law.

No signs written in foreign languages were posted at 41% of those hotels.****** The most horrible experience in all my life has had to have been this stupid hotel built like a maze! It is is Hakone and they have guests from all over the world but their lazy Japanese workers can barely give decent directions in Japanese let alone English, Chinese,Korean etc..all of these hotels should be boy cotted for not providing proper service to their foreign guests!
kyolicious at 05:27 PM JST - 7th March

As far as the hotels go, I think it's more than hotels. But it's better than it used to be. At least the train maps are a bit more readable for non-Japanese-speakers. A bit more romaji and a bit more English here and there.

I was pretty surprised at how Japan was caught off guard during the World Cup. Like, you KNOW a bunch of foreigners are coming and you don't consider that maybe it would help to have more romaji/English on the subways (which were far worse than JR IIRC). After the World Cup, things got better. A bit. I think it was a mild kick in the pants. But if they want the Olympics they're going to have to try harder. I don't know how many times I've been at an event/store/station/something and seen tourists having trouble and thought "Would it kill them to have ONE English speaker on staff??" I mean, a hotel can probably get by with a little bit and a brochure, but at major stations or department stores or info centers ... really? No one? Odd.
SumoBob at 02:48 PM JST - 9th March

I've never had a problem at Narita. What I would suggest would be to do away with the separation of people at immigration. In this day and age, there is no need to saparate "Japanese" from "the others". I can't speak for other nations, but in Canada it's anyone and everyone together. And it shows that all people are treated fairly and equally.
frontandcentre at 02:14 PM JST - 10th March

As a re-entry permit holder, it's actually quicker to get in at Narita now because we have a special queue all of our own, rather than joining the Japanese or Gaijin queues. I still oppose the fingerprinting and photographing as a matter of principle, though.

What I can't understand is this obsession with entry procedures, though. The reason people don't come to Japan in greater numbers is because it's far away from Europe and America and it's very expensive compared to other more tropical destinations in Asia. Simple, really.