Universal Studios reopens to Osaka-Kyoto-Nara travel bubble

Jun 21, 2020 | News On Japan

Jun 21, 2020 (Nikkei) - Summer is here at last, and Universal Studios Japan finally opened its doors again on Friday. But before you get too excited, make sure you live in or around the cities of Osaka and Kyoto. Otherwise, you won't be able to enter.

The park, which was closed for three months during the coronavirus outbreak, had opened to Osaka Prefecture residents only on June 8. People from Kyoto, Nara, Hyogo, Shiga and Wakayama prefectures, all in the region known as Kansai, will now be admitted as well.

Annual-pass holders from other prefectures will also be allowed in.

Operator USJ requires visitors to have their temperatures checked at the gate and to wear face masks. To prevent heatstroke, the park has designated areas where guests can remove their masks without facing each other.

Asked when the park might open to the rest of the country, USJ Vice President Taku Murayama said that "I personally would like to start in the summer, but we'll decide the timing carefully in consultation with authorities."

With foreign visitors still largely locked out of the country, tourism-dependent businesses in the region are trying to work out how best to bring in locals now free to travel, while also minimizing the risk of spreading the virus.

The Namba Grand Kagetsu theater in Osaka -- run by Yoshimoto Kogyo, Japan's largest entertainment group -- resumed stage performances on Friday, with precautions including better air circulation and frequent disinfection. Only 112 of the 858 seats will be available, though the company has begun offering paid online livestreams in hopes of recouping lost revenue.

Marriott International announced Friday that it would open its first luxury hotel in Japan, the JW Marriott Hotel Nara, on July 22 after postponing the previously scheduled spring launch date.

Keihan Bus resumed sightseeing tours Friday along one route, circulating around the Kyoto tourist hot spots of Kinkakuji, Ginkakuji and Kiyomizu Temple. More routes will reopen from July onward.

Source: Kyodo

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