News On Japan

Australians visit Kanazawa on test tour to resume accepting foreign tourists

May 26 (NHK) - Four people from Australia have visited Kanazawa, central Japan, to take part in a government-sponsored test tour aimed at resuming the acceptance of foreign tourists.

The government is considering opening the country to foreign tourists from next month in stages. The Japan Tourism Agency started test tours this month, inviting small groups of people in the tourism industry from the United States, Australia, Thailand and Singapore.

On Wednesday, four people from Australia arrived at Tokyo's Haneda Airport, and they traveled to Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, on the Hokuriku Shinkansen bullet train. After arriving in Kanazawa, they visited a popular tourist destination in the city.

Through the tests, officials from the agency ask participants about what anti-infection measures, such as measuring body temperature and disinfection, they have experienced, as well as their opinions on the measures.

The officials plan to work out guidelines for hotels and tourism firms on what steps they should take for foreign tourists.

Source: ANNnewsCH

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

Bear sightings across Japan have already climbed to nearly twice the level recorded during the same period last year, prompting entry bans in mountain areas behind Kyoto’s Ninna-ji Temple and the cancellation of hiking events in Kansai, while new research suggests that the key to reducing encounters may lie in understanding what bears eat in each region.

Copper roofing panels were stolen from several shrines in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, including a city-designated cultural property, in the latest case amid a nationwide surge in copper thefts targeting shrines and temples across Japan, where soaring metal prices have fueled crimes that leave historic religious buildings damaged, exposed to the elements, and facing repair costs of millions of yen.

Flames broke out on the morning of May 20th on Miyajima Island in Hiroshima Prefecture, home to one of Japan's World Heritage sites, destroying Reikado Hall near the summit of Mount Misen.

Uncertainty surrounding the situation in the Middle East is beginning to affect daily life in Japan, as concerns over crude oil supplies spread to restaurants, cleaning services and even household garbage disposal systems across the Kansai region.

A 25-year-old woman arrested as a suspected ringleader in a robbery-murder case in Tochigi Prefecture once posted cheerful dance videos on social media and was remembered by those who knew her as an energetic and outgoing young woman.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Travel NEWS

Traditional ukai cormorant fishing, a seasonal custom signaling the arrival of early summer, began on May 20th along the Chikugo River in Asakura, Fukuoka Prefecture, following the opening of ayu sweetfish fishing on the river that flows through southern Fukuoka.

Surrounded by mountains in Kyoto Prefecture, Miyama’s Kitamura district preserves one of Japan’s most iconic rural landscapes, where rows of traditional thatched-roof houses have been maintained for generations through strong community cooperation and deeply rooted village traditions.

The Japanese government has released a set of guidelines titled "Six Rules to Avoid Encountering Bears" as bear sightings across the country continue to rise sharply compared to the same period in previous years.

Video footage appears to show graffiti being carved into bamboo at Kyoto’s Fushimi Inari Taisha, with witnesses claiming two foreign visitors were involved in the vandalism.

Dazaifu Tenmangu in Fukuoka Prefecture, which enshrines Sugawara no Michizane, the deity of learning, opened its restored main shrine to the media on May 18th after completing its first major renovation in 124 years.

A 78-year-old man who drove off a brown bear by punching it in the nose has recounted the terrifying ordeal, as an unusual surge in spring bear sightings continues across Japan, including in the Kanto region and Tokyo.

A bear sighting in a residential area of Hachioji, western Tokyo, at the end of April has heightened concerns among local residents as encounters involving bears continue to increase across Japan.

A Russian man in his 30s suffered serious injuries after being attacked by a bear while hiking on Mount Mutsuishi in Okutama Town, western Tokyo, at around 12:10 p.m. on May 17th, according to the Metropolitan Police Department and the Tokyo Fire Department.